Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Statics and dynamics (Social sciences)'
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Plourde, Lise. "La dynamique sociale et économique de la réingénierie des processus chez Desjardins : le cas de la caisse populaire de Mistassini /." Thèse, Chicoutimi : Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 1999. http://theses.uqac.ca.
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Sundberg, Marcus. "Spatial computable general equilibrium modelling : static and dynamic approaches." Licentiate thesis, Stockholm : Div. of transport and location analysis, Dept. of transport and economics, Royal institute of technology, 2005. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-484.
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Huang, Chien-Cheng. "Statics, dynamics, and rheological properties of micellar solutions by computer simulation." Thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 2007. http://www.theses.fr/2007METZ022S/document.
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Les propriétés statiques, dynamiques, rhéologiques et la cinétique de scissions et recombinaisons de micelles linéaires auto-assemblées sont étudiées à l'équilibre et sous-écoulement par simulations sur ordinateur, en utilisant un modèle mésoscopique nouveau. Nous représentons les micelles comme des séquences linéaires de billes browniennes dont l'évolution spatio-temporelle est gouvernée par la dynamique de Langevin. Un algorithme de Monte-Carlo contrôle l'ouverture des liens ou la fusion de deux chaînes par les bouts. Un paramètre cinétique o, qui modélise l'effet d'une barrière le long d'un chemin de réaction, est introduit dans notre modèle. A l'équilibre, nous nous concentrons sur les mécanismes de scission/recombinaison aux temps long et court. Nos résultats montrent que pour les temps plus grands que le temps de vie d'une chaîne moyenne, la cinétique est en accord avec le modèle champ-moyen de Cates. L'étude de fonctions de relaxation macroscopique confirme que nos constantes cinétiques effectives obtenues aux temps longs sont pertinentes pour ces relaxations. Pour la situation hors équilibre, nous étudions les effets du couplage entre un écoulement de cisaillement et la cinétique de scission et recombinaison sur les propriétés structurales et rhéologiques du système micellaire. Nous nous plaçons dans un régime semi-dilué et dynamiquement 'unentangled'. Le paramètre o est choisi de façon à ce que la durée de vie d'une chaîne moyenne soit plus courte que son temps de relaxation de Rouse le plus long. Nos analyses font apparaître une longueur dynamique A, le fiagrnent de chaîne dont la durée de vie TA est égale à son temps de Rouse. Nous trouvons que les propriétés telles que la rhéo-fluidification, l'orientation des chaînes et l'étirement des liens sont des fonctions du taux de cisaillement réduit PA= YT* , alors que la longueur moyenne des micelles est une fonction décroissante du taux de cisaillement, indépendamment de la barrière du processus scission/recombinaisonStatics, Dynamics, and Rheological properties of Micellar solutions by Computer Simulation Statics, dynamics, rheology and scission-recombination kinetics of self-assembling linear micelles are investigated at equlibrium state and under shear flow by computer simulations using a newly proposed mesoscopic model. We model the micelles as linear sequences of Brownian beads whose space-time evolution is governed by Langevin dynamics. A Monte Carlo algorithm controls the opening of a bond or the chain-end fusion. A kinetic parameter o, modelling the effect of a potential barrier along a kinetic path, is introduced in our model. For equilibrium state we focus on the analysis of short and long time behaviors of the scission and recombination mechanisms. Our results show that at time scales larger than the life time of the average chain length, the kinetics is in agreement with the mean-field kinetics model of Cates. By studying macroscopic relaxation phenomena such as the average micelle length evolution after a T-jump, the monomer diffusion, and the zero shear relaxation function, we confirm that the effective kinetic constants found are indeed the relevant parameters when macroscopic relaxation is coupled to the kinetics of micelles. For the non-equilibrium situation, we study the coupled effects of the shear flow and the scissionrecombination kinetics, on the structural and rheological properties of this micellar system. Our study is performed in semi-dilute and dynamically unentangled regime conditions. The explored parameter o range is chosen in order for the life time of the average size chain to remain shorter than its intrinsic (Rouse) longest relaxation time. Central to our analysis is the concept of dynamical unit of size A, the chain fiagrnent for which the life time TA and the Rouse time are equal. Shear thinning, chain orientation and bond stretching are found to depend upon the reduced shear rate P1\=y~A while the average micelle size is found to decrease with increasing shear rate, independently of the height of the barrier of the scission-recombination process
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Kollin, Lori. "Comparing the Effects of Static and Dynamic Signals during Multiple Schedules." Scholar Commons, 2017. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/6882.
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Functional communication training (FCT) is an effective procedure to teach a functional communication response (FCR) and decrease problem behavior. However, there are limitations to FCT. These limitations include excessive manding (e.g., requesting items at a high rate) and manding at inappropriate times (e.g., requesting attention when caregiver is driving). Multiple schedules using static signals (e.g., colored cards) have been used to decrease these limitations while maintaining appropriate levels of the FCRs and low levels of problem behavior. Moreover, dynamic signals have been used to maintain low levels of problem behavior and appropriate levels of alternative responses outside of a multiple schedule format. Presently, no research has examined the comparison of static and dynamic signals to address the limitations of FCT. Therefore, the purpose of the current study is to compare the effects of static and dynamic signals (i.e., Time Timer®) during multiple schedules consisting of reinforcement and extinction components following FCT.
Key words: functional communication training, multiple schedules, static signals, Time Timers®
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Redhead, Daniel Joseph. "The dynamics of social hierarchy." Thesis, University of Essex, 2018. http://repository.essex.ac.uk/23263/.
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A growing body of research has outlined that humans gain social rank through two pathways: prestige and dominance. This dual model of social hierarchy advocates that individuals either attain positions of high rank though signals of an ability and willingness to either inflict harm (dominance) or confer benefits (prestige) to group members. While there is growing support for the dual model of social hierarchy, the extant empirical evidence has been cross-sectional and has neglected the impact that time and context has on the efficacy of prestige and dominance as long-term processes. The present research outlines a theoretical framework for the trajectories of prestige, dominance and social rank over time, and further provides longitudinal evidence of their temporal dynamics. In addition, the current research tests the longitudinal associations that prestige and dominance have with social networks, Results of study 1 suggest that, in collaborative task groups, prestige has a positive and bidirectional temporal association with social rank, while the association that dominance has diminished over time. Study 2 indicated that in these task groups those high in prestige were more likely to be asked advice and prestige was transmitted through advice ties but had a limited association with friendship. Those high in dominance were less likely to be nominated as friends, but dominance was transmitted through friendship ties. Results from Study 3 suggest that those high in prestige status were more likely to aid in food sharing and food production, and that the prestige status of an individual’s food sharing and food production partners increased their prestige status over a period of twelve years among the Tsimane forager-horticulturalists of Bolivia. Overall, the present research highlights the distinction between prestige and dominance over time and shows that prestige, dominance, social rank and social networks have bidirectional, dynamic relationships over time.
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Russell, Benjamin Anderson. "Static and Dynamic Spectral Acuity in Cochlear Implant Listeners for Simple and Speech-like Stimuli." Scholar Commons, 2016. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/6375.
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For cochlear implant (CI) listeners, poorer than normal speech recognition abilities are typically attributed to degraded spectral acuity. However, estimates of spectral acuity have most often been obtained using simple (tonal) stimuli, presented directly to the implanted electrodes, rather than through the speech processor as occurs in everyday listening. Further, little is known about spectral acuity for dynamic stimuli, as compared to static stimuli, even though the perception of dynamic spectral cues is important for speech perception.
The primary goal of the current study was to examine spectral acuity in CI listeners, and a comparison group of normal hearing (NH) listeners, for both static and dynamic stimuli presented through the speech processor. In addition to measuring static and dynamic spectral acuity for simple stimuli (pure tones) in Experiment 1, spectral acuity was measured for complex stimuli (synthetic vowels) in Experiment 2, because measures obtained with speech-like stimuli are more likely to reflect listeners’ ability to make use of spectral cues in naturally-produced speech. Sixteen postlingually-deaf, adult CI users and sixteen NH listeners served as subjects in both experiments.
In Experiment 1, frequency discrimination limens (FDLs) were obtained for 1.5 kHz reference tones, and frequency glide discrimination limens (FGDLs) were obtained for pure-tone frequency glides centered on 1.5 kHz. Glide direction identification thresholds (GDITs) were also measured, in order to determine the amount of frequency change required to identify glide direction. All three measures were obtained for stimuli having both longer (150 ms) and shorter (50 ms) durations.
Spectral acuity for dynamic stimuli (FGDLs, GDITs) was poorer than spectral acuity for static stimuli (FDLs) for both listener groups at both stimulus durations. Stimulus duration had a significant effect on thresholds in NH listeners, for all three measures, but had no significant effect on thresholds in CI listeners for any measure. Regression analyses revealed no systematic relationship between FDLs and FGDLs in NH listeners at either stimulus duration. For CI listeners, the relationship between FDLs and FGDLs was significant at both stimulus durations, suggesting that, for tonal signals, the factors that determine spectral acuity for static stimuli also largely determine spectral acuity for dynamic stimuli.
In Experiment 2, estimates of static and dynamic spectral acuity were obtained using three-formant synthetic vowels, modeled after the vowel /^/. Formant discrimination thresholds (FDTs) were measured for changes in static F2 frequency, whereas formant transition discrimination thresholds (FTDTs) were measured for stimuli that varied in the extent of F2 frequency change. FDTs were measured with 150-ms stimuli, and FTDTs were measured with both 150-ms and 50-ms stimuli. For both listener groups, FTDTs were similar for the longer and shorter stimulus durations, and FTDTs were larger than FDTs at the common duration of 150 ms. Measures from Experiment 2 were compared to analogous measures from Experiment 1 in order to examine the effect of stimulus context (simple versus complex) on estimates of spectral acuity. For NH listeners, measures obtained with complex stimuli (FDTs, FTDTs) were consistently larger than the corresponding measures obtained with simple stimuli (FDLs, FGDLs). For CI listeners, the relationship between simple and complex measures differed across two subgroups of subjects. For one subgroup, thresholds obtained with complex stimuli were smaller than those obtained with simple stimuli; for another subgroup the pattern was reversed. On the basis of these findings, it was concluded that estimates of spectral acuity obtained with simple stimuli cannot accurately predict estimates of spectral acuity obtained with complex (speech-like) stimuli in CI listeners. However, a significant relationship was observed between FDTs and FTDTs. Thus, similar to the measures obtained with pure-tone stimuli in Experiment 1 (FDLs and FGDLs), estimates of static spectral acuity (FDTs) appear to predict estimates of dynamic spectral acuity (FTDTs) when both measures are obtained with stimuli of similar complexity in CI listeners.
Taken together, findings from Experiments 1 and 2 support the following conclusions: (1) Dynamic spectral acuity is poorer than static spectral acuity for both simple and complex stimuli. This outcome was true for both NH and CI listeners, despite the fact that absolute thresholds were substantially larger, on average, for the CI group. (2) For stimuli having the same level of complexity (i.e., tonal or speech-like), dynamic spectral acuity in CI listeners appears to be determined by the same factors that determine spectral acuity for static stimuli. (3) For CI listeners, no systematic relationship was observed between analogous measures of spectral acuity obtained with simple, as compared to complex, stimuli. (4) It is expected that measures of spectral acuity based on complex stimuli would provide a better indication of CI users’ ability to make use of spectral cues in speech; therefore, it may be advisable for studies attempting to examine the relationship between spectral acuity and speech perception in this population to measure spectral acuity using complex, rather than simple, stimuli. (5) Findings from the current study are consistent with recent vowel identification studies suggesting that some poorer-performing CI users have little or no access to dynamic spectral cues, while access to such cues may be relatively good in some better-performing CI users. However, additional research is needed to examine relationship between estimates of spectral acuity obtained here for speech-like stimuli (FDTs, FTDTs) and individual CI users’ perception of static and dynamic spectral cues in naturally-produced speech.
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Saganowski, Stanislaw. "Analysis of Social Group Dynamics." Thesis, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Sektionen för datavetenskap och kommunikation, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-3232.
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The continuous interest in the social network area contributes to the fast development of this field. New possibilities of obtaining and storing data allows for more and more deeper analysis of the network in general, as well as groups and individuals within it. Especially interesting is studying the dynamics of changes in social groups over time. Having such knowledge ones may attempt to predict the future of the group, and then manage it properly in order to achieve presumed goals. Such ability would be a powerful tool in the hands of human resource managers, personnel recruitment, marketing, etc. The thesis presents a new method for exploring the evolution of social groups, called Group Evolution Discovery (GED). Next, the results of its use are provided together with comparison to two other algorithms in terms of accuracy, execution time, flexibility and ease of implementation. Moreover, the method was evaluated with various measures of user importance within a group. Obtained results suggest that GED is the best method for analyzing social group dynamics.
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Lospinoso, Joshua Alfred. "Statistical models for social network dynamics." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2012. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:d5ed9b9c-020c-4379-a5f2-cf96439ca37c.
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The study of social network dynamics has become an increasingly important component of many disciplines in the social sciences. In the past decade, statistical models and methods have been proposed which permit researchers to draw statistical inference on these dynamics. This thesis builds on one such family of models, the stochastic actor oriented model (SAOM) proposed by Snijders [2001]. Goodness of fit for SAOMs is an area that is only just beginning to be filled in with appropriate methods. This thesis proposes a Mahalanobis distance based, Monte Carlo goodness of fit test that can depend on arbitrary features of the observed network data and covariates. As remediating poor fit can be a difficult process, a modified model distance (MMD) estimator is devised that can help researchers to choose among a set of model elaborations. In practice, panel data is typically used to draw SAOM-based inference. This thesis also proposes a score-type test for time heterogeneity between the waves in the panel that is computationally cheap and fits into a convenient, forward model selecting workflow. Next, this thesis proposes a rigorous method for aggregating so-called relational event data (e.g. emails and phone calls) by extending the SAOM family to a family of hidden Markov models that suppose a latent social network is driving the observed relational events. Finally, this thesis proposes a measurement model for SAOMs inspired by error-in-variables (EiV) models employed in an array of disciplines. Like the relational event aggregation model, the measurement model is a hidden Markov model extension to the SAOM family. These models allow the researcher to specify the form of the mesurement error and buffer against potential attenuating biases and other problems that can arise if the errors are ignored.
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Kidd, Alicia Sheridan. "The dynamics of contemporary slavery and conflict : agency, asylum and accountability." Thesis, University of Hull, 2018. http://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:17243.
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This thesis offers a new approach to understanding contemporary slavery by focusing on the root causes rather than on the end result of the enslavement. Adopting this approach allows for a move away from the current tendency of homogenising victims of contemporary slavery as having been 'vulnerable in some way' prior to their exploitation and identifies precisely what those vulnerabilities are and from where they derive. The first-hand accounts of victims of contemporary slavery used in this research highlight the failings of current understandings of the 'ideal victim' which generate ideas of weak and passive individuals who find themselves caught in this crime. The notion of the 'ideal victim' does not reflect the experiences of a 'real victim', and this research explores how a person's agency interacts with overarching structures to lead them towards their exploitation. The research compares the stories gathered via in-depth interviews with individuals who have experienced conflict to those of individuals who have experienced both conflict and contemporary slavery. By giving voice to those whose stories are rarely heard, this thesis identifies the point at which those who flee conflict become vulnerable to contemporary slavery. It finds that it is rare that victims of contemporary slavery experience a complete removal of agency in the lead up to their exploitation. Instead, they experience a limiting of their agency as a result of the impact of large scale structures, such as conflict. It is this restriction of agency in the face of inherently risky options that puts them at risk of contemporary slavery. These findings have policy implications in requiring action to identify and tackle the issues most likely to limit a person's agency and lead them into making active, but not entirely autonomous, choices.
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Beall, Allyson Marie. "Participatory environmental modeling and system dynamics integrating natural resource science and social concerns /." Online access for everyone, 2007. http://www.dissertations.wsu.edu/Dissertations/Fall2007/a_beall_2111907.pdf.
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Wong, Hou-wai Mimi. "Power dynamics in project organisations." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1999. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31251638.
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Rowan, Colleen Frances. "Health, well-being, and social dynamics in mixed communities." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2015. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/6778/.
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The promotion of a ‘home-owning democracy’ in Britain was bolstered by the Thatcher government’s Right-to-Buy policy and from this point onwards a chasm opened up between housing tenures. This broadly speaking resulted in the categorization of owner-occupation as the tenure of choice and the social rented sector as the ‘tenure of last resort’ (Daly et al., 2005, p. 328). When New Labour came to power in 1997 the creation of mixed tenure communities was regarded as a key policy tool for tackling the interconnected problems or social exclusion manifest in the most disadvantaged and residualized mono-tenure, social rented housing estates. The thesis is concentrated on New Labour’s mixed community policies from 1997 until 2007. The study drew on the policy and academic literatures (area-effects, social exclusion and sustainability) which inform the concept of mixed communities and on health and place literatures (health inequalities, relative deprivation) to develop an analytical framework. The over-arching aim of the thesis was to explore the ways in which features of neighbourhood may impact upon health and well-being in the context of mixed communities. The research concludes that with regards to the bigger policy picture the mixed community policy agenda has put communities and especially disadvantaged communities at the heart of urban regeneration, social inclusion and housing policy. However, although this is to be welcomed the danger is that tenure diversification is seen as the ‘silver bullet’ which can be used to combat all of the problems which are often manifest in disadvantaged social rented housing estates.
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Pan, Wei Ph D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Reality hedging : social system approach for understanding economic and financial dynamics." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/97971.
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Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2015.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 101-112).
This dissertation's main contribution is a new methodology, Reality Hedging, which is to use big-data driven approaches and tools from Computational Social Science for understanding, monitoring and designing economic and financial systems. The center idea in this approach is to treat economic and financial systems as systems of connected people. We are entering a new age where many aspects of our lives are digitized thanks to social media and smart phones. As we see many areas of research topics using these datasets to establish new behavioral and social theories about our society (e.g.: Reality Mining, Social Network Analysis, etc), it is natural to ask if and how we can use these advancements to build better economic and financial structures and institutions especially after the past financial crisis. After all, all economic systems are systems of people, rather than systems of atoms which always follow the same physics principles and mechanism. I collected and analyzed some large economic and financial social systems from individual levels to city levels. Many connections between financial dynamics with social dynamics were examined. I also focus on results and findings that can be used to build resilient and productive economic systems, and can be used to hedge out risks resulting from the social connectivity. In this thesis, I will discuss my research efforts in collecting valuable large-scale behavior data using smart phones. I will show that such datasets are helpful in inferring individual financial status. I will expand individual observations to new models for understanding the innovation economics in cities. I will continue to elaborate the idea of idea flow in behavior changes by focusing on the study of an online trading platform which allows traders to discuss and share trades with each other.
by Wei Pan.
Ph. D.
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Lucas, William A. "Dynamics of Food Consumption in a Q'eqchi' Maya Community." Thesis, California State University, Long Beach, 2017. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10604462.
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This thesis examines how a nutrition transition effects identity, locality, and economy in a Q’eqchi’ Maya aldea (hamlet) near Livingston, Guatemala, located along the Caribbean coast. The data collected explore community members’ attitudes and behaviors regarding food consumption, food sources, and health—both individual and familial. This thesis examines the structuralist categories community members created within a larger discussion of the effects of globalization and economic development on indigenous communities. Analysis explored how external processed food companies profit by hijacking internal cultural attributes. Findings indicate that, as community members have had consistent contact with external forces for at least 25 years, local notions of healthiness have accommodated processed foods into the diet. Based on these findings, this research enhances our understandings of how processed food companies have used marketing and branding to insert themselves into rural communities—what Thomas Leatherman calls “Coca Colonization.”
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Demir, Seker Sirma. "The Dynamics Of Poverty In Turkey." Phd thesis, METU, 2011. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12613400/index.pdf.
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Ozturel, Adnan Ismet. "A Computational Model Of Social Dynamics Of Musical Agreement." Master's thesis, METU, 2011. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12613693/index.pdf.
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Semiotic dynamics and computational evolutionary musicology literature investigate emergence and evolution of linguistic and musical conventions by using computational multi-agent complex adaptive system models. This thesis proposes a new computational evolutionary musicology model, by altering previous models of familiarity based musical interactions that
try to capture evolution of songs as a co-evolutionary process through mate selection. The proposed modified familiarity game models a closed community of agents, where individuals of the society interact with each other just by using their musical expectations. With this novel methodology, it is found that constituent agents can form a musical agreement by agreeing on a shared bi-gram musical expectation scheme. This convergence is attained in a self-organizing fashion and throughout this process significant usage of n-gram melodic lines become observable. Furthermore, modified familiarity game dynamics are investigated and it is concluded that convergence trends are dependent on simulation parameters.
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Chivers, William. "Investigating the dynamics of surveillance and resistance in the information society." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2016. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/94957/.
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This thesis investigates the relationships between surveillance, acts of resistance to surveillance and their respective roles in the contemporary social order. The context for this investigation is the contemporary ‘information society’. This is characterised by globally networked information and communication technologies, and is represented most plainly by one medium in particular: the Internet. The Internet has historically been a contested domain; it represents, for some, the cornerstone of civil liberties yet at the same time it is highly regulated and susceptible to control. The significant social, cultural, economic and political impacts of the Internet include the proliferation of techniques of digital surveillance. However, while the Internet has facilitated the growth of these practices, it has also created new opportunities for resistance to surveillance. By attending to the social dynamics and mechanics of resistance, we can generate more nuanced and subtle understandings of the ways in which social control is being performed. A framework of nodal governance steers this research. Consequently, this study locates these dynamics within three specific sites: online civil society, the regulatory process and the media. These cases demonstrate how a range of social actors, across a variety of settings, are implicated in the dynamics of digital surveillance and resistance. An innovative, multi-strategy approach to the fieldwork, including computational social science methods, captures these emergent dynamics as they are played out. The analysis of the data is guided by a theoretical preoccupation with control that serves to illustrate its plural and fluid character. Central to this are social and technological networks as forms of organisation and communication that facilitate surveillance and resistance. The thesis concludes that contemporary social control is an inherently socio-technical process, shaped primarily by dynamics of digital surveillance and resistance.
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Jackson, Jeremy. "Agent-based simulation of urban residential dynamics: a case study of gentrifying areas in Boston." Thesis, McGill University, 2009. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=32501.
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This study uses an agent-based modeling (ABM) approach to simulate residential dynamics in an area of Boston, a city that has increasingly experienced gentrification in the past decades. The model is instantiated using housing data from the City of Boston Assessing Department and uses simple decision-making rules for four classes of agents to simulate the area's residential dynamics. The model employs the consumption explanation of the cause of gentrification, which emphasizes the choices of individuals drawn to urban amenities, while testing the production explanation, which suggests that major investments from the public and private sphere attract and explain gentrification. Verification shows that the processes in the model work according to its construction, capture the system's emergent phenomena and that this ABM may be a valuable explanatory tool for understanding and learning about some processes underlying gentrification.Cette étude recourt à une approche de modélisation à base d'agents dans le but de simuler la dynamique résidentielle d'un quartier de Boston, une ville où l'on observe une forte hausse de l'embourgeoisement depuis quelques décennies. Le modèle est instancié au moyen des données relatives à l'habitation du Assessing Department de la ville de Boston et applique des règles simples de prise de décision à quatre catégories d'agents afin de simuler la dynamique résidentielle du quartier à l'étude. Le modèle se sert de l'explication des habitudes de consommation, qui cause l'embourgeoisement en attirant les individus vers la ville, et examine l'explication de la production qui suggère que l'embourgeoisement est le résultat des investissements massifs en provenance des domaines publics et privés. La vérification montre que les processus du modèle fonctionnent suivant la construction de ce dernier, qu'ils mettent en lumière le phénomène émergent du système et que la modélisation à base d'agents peut permettre de comprendre et d'apprendre certains processus qui sous-tendent l'embourgeoisement.
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Stickland, Francis. "The nature and dynamics of change : a systems approach to exploring organisational change." Thesis, City University London, 1995. http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/7777/.
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There has been a significant increase in interest in the area of organisational change over the past thirty years. A multitude of approaches and methodologies have been proposed, developed and applied by organisational and management theorists, as well as systems and social scientists. Business practitioners and consultants have also not been hesitant in devising their own approaches to organisational change - undoubtedly attracted by the lucrative commercial gains they are capable of generating. It is the author's belief that much of this work focuses upon issues of change management: how to initiate, control and implement effective change within organisations. Yet the proliferation of such approaches in recent years belies an acute lack of any clear understanding of the very nature and essence of change itself. This thesis seeks to explore the concept of change, as it is manifested and described across the sciences. Firstly, it surveys the organisational change literature, highlighting the dearth of research devoted to analysing change from a conceptual and theoretical perspective. A cross discipline approach based upon General Systems Theory is proposed, as a means of further investigating the phenomenon and concept of change. The basic premise being that a deeper understanding of what change is, will better inform and guide our attempts to manage it. In applying the approach, a number of views, definitions, paradigms and phenomena of change are examined from across the natural, physical and social sciences. The recurring themes, principles and unifying ideas from this review are used to construct an initial change framework. This framework is not meant to be prescriptive, but rather is proposed as a qualitative analytical and descriptive tool with which to study change within organisations. To this end, two organisational case studies are documented, during which the framework is applied in an attempt to assess its analytical utility. The thesis concludes with some suggestions for further research, including ways in which the framework can be developed conceptually, and further applied practically within an organisational context.
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Perry, Brea L. "The ripple effect social network dynamics, social location, and strategies of interaction in mental illness careers /." [Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2008. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3330810.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Sociology, 2008.Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Jul 21, 2009). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-10, Section: A, page: 4133. Adviser: Bernice A. Pescosolido.
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Datoo, Al Karim. "Critical ethnography, local-global cultural dynamics and students' identity: perspectives from an urban school in Pakistan." Thesis, McGill University, 2009. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=40775.
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This critical ethnographic project is based on one year of field-work carried out in an urban high school in the context of Karachi. The research seeks to critically explore the local-global dynamic as it manifests in the school’s official curriculum and the students’ lived-world experiences, especially with reference to their interaction with the media-scape, which in turn bears implications on dissolution and re-construction of students’ identities. The research employs an ethnographic research method. In this respect, monological and dialogical data were generated through participant observation, focus group discussions, semi-structured and open-ended interviews, participant-made visuals, document/textbook analysis, observation and analysis of the school’s material culture, and home-visits. The data analysis was informed by Carspecken’s (1996) methodological guide. The research finds the schooling and media as globalizing and localizing sites for the youth. The official curriculum, especially the Pakistan Studies textbook, constructs a sense of narrow political nationalism that seems to inform the students’ sense of national identity. The local/national reference is constituted by three complex interrelated discourses: religious/ideological (reference of Islam); linguistic nationalism (Urdu language); and territorial (juridical-legal bounded-space). Furthermore, the official text constructs the local as national (political) and ethnic as (sub-national) references, whereby the national identity overrides the sub-national/ethnic identities. With reference to the global, the official text constructs the global as trans-national/supra-national, as religious/social reference to Ummah (Muslim collectivity), and as international. Whilst the school text mainly provides a nation-state-centric view of the world and the other, the media-scape in particular and the lived-world in general open up multiple references of belonging, identifications, and diffeCe projet analytique et ethnographique est basé sur un travail sur le terrain d'une année effectué dans un contexte d’un lycée urbain de Karachi. La recherche sollicite une exploration de façon critique du dynamisme local et global comme démontré dans un programme scolaire "officiel" et des cas vécus des étudiants, particulièrement en ce qui concerne leur interaction avec les médias, qui comporte des implications sur la dissolution et la reconstruction des identités des étudiants. Par la suite, cette étude pratique la méthode de recherche ethnographique. À cet égard, des données monologiques et dialogiques ont été produites après une observation de participants, débats des groupes de consommateurs, des interviews partiellement structurés et ouverts, moyens audio-visuels des participants, une analyse de l'exemplaire et des documents, l'observation et l'analyse de la culture matérielle et visite domestique de l'école. L'analyse de données a été informée par le guide méthodologique de Carspecken (1996).La recherche indique que les études et les médias sont des sites de globalization et de localization pour les jeunes. Le programme d'études 'officiel' particulièrement l'exemplaire d'étude du Pakistan construit un sens du nationalisme politique 'étroit' qui semble informer aux étudiants un sens d'identité nationale. La référence locale ou nationale est constituée par des triples discours complexes reliés réciproquement aux corrélations religieux ou idéologiques (la référence à l'Islam), le nationalisme linguistique (l'Urdu) et territorial (juridique-légal d'espace limité). En outre, le texte 'officiel' fabrique le local comme: national (politique) et ethnique comme des références (sous-nationales), par lequel l'identité nationale ignore les identités sub-nationales et ethniques.En ce qui concerne "le global" l'exemplaire 'officiel' construit le global comme: une référence trans-national/supra-national religieu
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Fairless, Louise. "Ecology and ecophysiology of social structure and population dynamics in bats (Vespertilionidae)." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2013. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/360180/.
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Worldwide, bats are in decline with populations under threat from many pressures, including habitat loss, disease and climate change. A detailed understanding of bat social structure and population dynamics is needed to understand and tackle this decline. Yet despite bats representing around twenty percent of all mammalian diversity, they are underrepresented in life history studies, restricting our understanding of social associations, spatial patterns and mating systems for many species. This, in turn, inhibits efforts to conserve species and restricts interpretation of their population dynamics. This study, therefore, aimed to analyse the ecology of social structure and population dynamics using long-term ringing data from several British bat species: Natterer’s bats (Myotis nattereri), brown long-eared bats (Plecotus auritus), Pipistrellus spp. (P. pipistrellus and P. pygmaeus) and Bechstein’s bats (Myotis bechsteinii). Analysis of long-term data of M. nattereri and P. auritus revealed that bats maintain long-term associations persisting over several years. Spatial patterns revealed high fidelity to roost sites. However, on occasions when bats were disturbed during ringing, their dispersal patterns suggested that bats possess a wide knowledge of alternative roost sites which may facilitate relocation following habitat or climate change. Analysis of population dynamics and social structure of three sympatric species (M. nattereri, P. auritus and Pipistrellus spp.) revealed that social systems vary between species and seasons. Large roosting groups were reported for M. nattereri and P. auritus. Males were found to roost with females both pre- and post-parturition, however populations were female-biased for both species. Solitary male Pipistrellus spp. found pre-parturition were joined by an influx of predominantly new adult females for the formation of mating groups post-parturition. There was no preference for roosting in boxes facing North, South-east or South-west for any species. Roosting groups of M. nattereri persisted from pre- to post-parturition whilst the abundance of P. auritus found in boxes post-parturition was low, suggesting alternative roosting behaviour for this species post-parturition perhaps due to increased activity at swarming sites. Increasing population trends were reported for M. nattereri and Pipistrellus spp. whereas the pre-parturition population of P. auritus showed a moderate decline, the cause of which requires further investigation. Survival analysis revealed female-biased survival rates for M. nattereri and P. auritus. Cohort variation in juvenile survival was found in female M. bechsteinii whereby high rainfall during the lactation period and an additive effect of high population density resulted in lower survival. Age of first reproduction varied between one and five years for this species, but did not vary between cohorts with the majority of females reproducing for the first time aged two years. Furthermore, an ecophysiological field study revealed no effect of social structure or roost microclimate on the metabolic rates of free-ranging M. nattereri. However, low metabolic rates indicated torpor was frequently used both pre-and post-parturition. The results of this study suggest that future studies on population biology should take an integrated approach incorporating aspects of both ecology and ecophysiology for the conservation of a species, especially in the face of climate change.
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Altinordu, Zeynep. "Transnational Dynamics Of Global Governance In Energy." Master's thesis, METU, 2010. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12612998/index.pdf.
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This thesis aims to provide an analytical outlook for the relevant dynamics of transnational relations in the field of energy with specific reference to key issues and tools for governance. Not only contemporary structure of interdependent and in some cases asymmetrical relations requires a multi-level approach in addressing main issues but also there exists considerable amount of attention in global agenda over alternative policies in response to the developments in this complex context of dynamic and transnational relations whereby an action of an actor results in spillover effects in other regions. It is necessary to have a multi dimensional approach in addressing issues of energy governance where interdependence plays a significant role.
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Bengtsson, Felix. "Local flavour, global labour : A qualitative study of the dynamics of strawberry production in Sweden in 2021." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Institutionen för ekonomisk historia och internationella relationer, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-193928.
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Kvist, Catarina. "Lärstilar - Human Dynamics - Inlärningsprocesser - Intervjustudie med pedagoger i grundskolan." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Lärarutbildningen (LUT), 2006. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-32326.
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Föreliggande studie bygger på kvalitativa intervjuer av fem pedagoger. Genom att intervjua pedagoger med utbildning i Human Dynamics, undersöker jag hur pedagoger arbetar praktisk med Human Dynamics med fokus på inlärningsprocessen. Jag undersöker även likheter och skillnader mellan Human Dynamics och Dunn och Dunns lärstilsmodell.Learning Style - Human Dynamics - Learning Process - Intervjues with teachers in nine-year compulsory school
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Pullin, Allison Nicole. "The Effect of Environment and Social Dynamics on Lamb Behavior." The Ohio State University, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1492511346580333.
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Fall, Salimata. "The Gray Area: A qualitative exploration of the unconventional dynamics of black/white couples." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2020. https://dc.etsu.edu/secfr-conf/2020/schedule/26.
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Although the number of black/white marriages has significantly increased since the 1970s, interracial marriage is far more common between whites and members of other minority groups, making black/white pairing still rare (Carolyn, Sitawa, & Murray, 2013). As Rockquemore and Brunsma (2001) argued, blacks and whites continue to be the two groups with the most spatial separation, the greatest social distance, and the strongest taboos against interracial marriage. In this qualitative study, common themes will be analyzed to contribute to literature regarding black/white interracial romantic relationships. The research question guiding this exploratory qualitative study will be to explore how black/white couples describe their experience and what these pairings reveal about black/white race relations presently. Grounding the research in the bioecological theory, this study allows for an intimate portrayal of the two races as they navigate interacting systems.
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Ferdowsi, Lubna. "From pioneers to new millennials : a dynamics of identity among British Bangladeshi women in London." Thesis, University of Hull, 2017. http://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:16533.
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This dissertation is an ethnography about British Bangladeshi women of different age groups who live in London. In this study I explore the identity dynamics of these women. I do this through an intersectional approach, focussing on age, generation, socio-economic status, and time of migration. I argue that the term 'generation', which has been used in existing literature on diaspora and migration, is confusing and inappropriate to address the diversity of diaspora people in relation to their intersectional and contextual differences. Hence, a significant finding is that using 'cohort' can be an appropriate way to avoid generalizing diasporan, and address diversity among them and the different contexts in which they are situated. My participants have been through distinctive experiences in their process of migration, most at different and particular stages of their life cycles, and in some cases, even women in the same age groups have had different contextual or transnational upbringing in the pre and post migration phases. Therefore, arguing that the term 'generation' is confounding, I have preferred to categorise my participants as members of particular 'cohorts' from an ethnographic perspective through intersecting their age, time of migration, and contextual upbringing. I have termed them as follows: the Pioneer Cohort, the Cooked in Britain Cohort, the British-born Cohort and the New-migrant Cohort. I argue that by playing multiple, dynamic and multifaceted roles in a diaspora and transnational space, these diverse groups of women are constantly forming and reforming their positionality. This process of forming fluid and dynamic identities in context, which I call 'contextual identity', challenges the feminization of ethnicity in a diaspora space, and provides diaspora women of different age groups with the power of speech, prominence, belonging, demonstration and self-confidence to contribute in a changing diaspora and transnational space.
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Samuel, Anthony John. "An empirical study of the marketing dynamics of the Fairtrade Towns movement." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2012. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/47570/.
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This study explores the marketing dynamics of the Fairtrade Towns movement in the United Kingdom and presents unique, empirical insights and understandings of its place-based marketing dynamics. It recognises that Fairtrade Towns, despite their rapid growth and recognition as a major contributor to Fairtrade marketing, still remain significantly under-researched. It also argues that the activities of Fairtrade Towns need to be considered through a marketing lens and presents a comprehensive application of grounded theory, to empirically capture the marketing dynamics of Fairtrade Towns directly from the people and places that socially construct them. This study theorises that Fairtrade Towns have capitalised upon the significance of symbolic interactionism to develop their marketing dynamic. It argues that Fairtrade Towns have embraced consumer culture and have used media not necessarily associated with marketing practices to validate their actions. It theorises that the Fairtrade Towns movement has generated a marketing dynamic built upon both intrinsic and extrinsic validity. Intrinsic validation transpires from better quality products, increased availability and the development of the Fairtrade mark. Extrinsic validity emerges from the strengths, backgrounds, skills, situations and symbolic value of other people, places and social movements. Fairtrade Towns demonstrate an ability to identify spaces and places not normally recognised for their marketing potential. This study explores how Fairtrade Towns transform and develop these spaces and places into media capable of effectively marketing Fair trade products. Fairtrade Towns display increasing consumer citizenship sophistication, achieved through a marketing dynamic, emerging from a collision between sustainable/ethical consumption, place and responsibility. Fairtrade Towns are therefore presented as a place where marketing functions are socially constructed around a ‘unique to place’ ethos, in which people and places are developed to their full potential in their capacity and desire to increase Fair Trade consumption wherever and whenever possible.
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Li, Qinyun. "A systems dynamics perspective of forecasting in supply chains." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2014. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/69349/.
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Purpose: To evaluate the impact of forecasting on supply chain via a system dynamics perspective. Method/approach: Techniques from Control Theory (such as block diagram, z-transforms, Fourier transforms, Jury’s Inners approach, and frequency response analysis) and Time Series Analysis are used to investigate the performance of supply chains analytically. Simulation is also used to verify the results. Findings: This thesis provides a new and complete proof to the knowledge that Naïve, simple exponential smoothing, and Holt’s forecasting when used in the Order-Up-To (OUT) policy always produce the bullwhip effect for any demand pattern and for all lead-times. In terms of the bullwhip performance when Damped Trend (DT) forecasts are used in the OUT policy, the bullwhip effect is always generated for traditional parameter suggestions. However, the bullwhip avoidance behaviour occurs for some unconventional parameter values. Using these unconventional parameter values, the DT / OUT system acts like a low-pass filter that can eliminate the bullwhip effect and maintain good inventory performance at the same time. The thesis also proves that the Proportional Order-Up-To (POUT) policy is able to reduce system nervousness at the manufacturer. Moreover, the proportional future guidance (PFG) mechanism proposed may reduce system nervousness and inventory costs at the manufacturer and reduce the bullwhip effect in the supply chain simultaneously. Implications: This thesis shows that the bullwhip and net stock variance reduction behaviours exist when unconventional parameter values are used in the DT forecasting procedure. It is the first evidence that it is possible to design a system with good financial performance but without directly looking into the performance of forecasting. The thesis is also the first to consider the MRP nervousness problem and the bullwhip effect at the same time. The PFG method proposed is easy to understand, and since it does not require sophisticated integrated IT systems, or demand / inventory information sharing, it should be easy to implement.
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Wong, Kai Tim (Douglas). "Essays on international stock markets and real exchange rate dynamics." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2019. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/41051/.
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This thesis aims to examine the long-run determinants of the real exchange rate, and to identify the sources of real exchange rate and relative stock price short-run fluctuations. In chapter 1, I incorporate the relative stock prices into the Dornbusch's Mundell-Fleming Real Exchange Rate Model in order to investigate the long-run relationship between the money, goods and stock markets. In chapter 2, I build on the work of Dornbusch (1976), Clarida and Gali (1994), Malliaropulos (1998) and Hoffmann and MacDonald (2000) in order to form the sticky-price equilibrium solution for identifying the source of real exchange rate fluctuation. In chapter 3, I empirically investigate whether the financial crises, the US monetary policy and the exchange rate regime switching of a country affect the real exchange rate co-moment. In addition to the cross-country real exchange rates correlation, the evolution of the equilibrium real exchange rates equicorrelation and temporary real exchange rates equicorrelation are also examined. In chapter 4, I present a model which builds on the stochastic rational expectations open macro model presented by Obstfeld (1985) and Clarida and Gali (1994) and incorporates Malliaropulos's (1998) theoretical relationship between the real exchange rate and the relative stock differential. The model provides both the short- and long-run flexible price solution for identifying the source of relative stock prices. In chapter 5, I attempt to investigate whether the exchange rate can predict future changes in the stock market return and in the economic performance of a country. I present a model that can be used for analysing whether the real exchange rate or the real exchange rate misalignment would contain an economically significant predictable component on forecasting the future stock price movement and the real output.
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Hellmann, Jennifer K. "Neighbor Effects: The Influence of Colony-level Social Structure on Within-group Dynamics in a Social Fish." The Ohio State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1464129648.
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Pradelski, Bary S. R. "Distributed dynamics and learning in games." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:37185594-633c-4d78-a408-dfe4978bacb7.
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In this thesis we study decentralized dynamics for non-cooperative and cooperative games. The dynamics are behaviorally motivated and assume that very little information is available about other players' preferences, actions, or payoffs. For example, this is the case in markets where exchanges are frequent and the sheer size of the market hinders participants from learning about others' preferences. We consider learning dynamics that are based on trial-and-error and aspiration-based heuristics. Players occasionally try to increase their performance given their current payoffs. If successful they stick to the new action, otherwise they revert to their old action. We also study a dynamic model of social influence based on findings in sociology and psychology that people have a propensity to conform to others' behavior irrespective of the payoff consequences. We analyze the dynamics with a particular focus on two questions: How long does it take to reach equilibrium and what are the stability and welfare properties of the equilibria that the process selects? These questions are at the core of understanding which equilibrium concepts are robust in environments where players have little information about the game and the high rationality assumptions of standard game theory are not very realistic. Methodologically, this thesis builds on game theoretic techniques and prominent solution concepts such as the Nash equilibrium for non-cooperative games and the core for cooperative games, as well as refinement concepts like stochastic stability. The proofs rely on mathematical techniques from random walk theory and integer programming.
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Bedin, Stephanie. "Migration as an individual resilience strategy : A contextualized understanding of adult resilience dynamics in relation to migration." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för samhällsstudier (SS), 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-91234.
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Migration is one of the most current political issues of our time, and due to the large-scale mobility of people, impacts of migration are of great interest. Suitably the second decade of the twenty-first century has seen an increased stray of literature combining migration and individual resilience in research. However, such research has been one-sided and viewed migration in a negative relation to individual resilience. The purpose of this dissertation is to introduce a positive perspective of migration to individual resilience, by investigating if migration can be considered an individual resilience strategy, meaning a process that contributes to the capacity of an individual to regain or improve one’s well-being when facing a crisis or disturbance, by recognizing how a new setting meets individual goals and aspirations. For that purpose, a qualitative approach conducted through person-centered interviews of six voluntary immigrants in Sweden from non-western countries is conducted. The immigrants in this study are regarded as voluntary migrants, and although being a blurred category, voluntary in this research include moving away from a hostile and dangerous environment by choice. A complementary method used during interviews is a Cantril ladder to perceive a general understanding of how the well-being of the six immigrants changed over the ten years of consideration in this study. The findings suggest that migration can be considered a resilience strategy, not only as a process that protects against harm but one that contributes to goal attainment. The analysis conducted according to the process-oriented resilience framework presented by Liebenberg, Joubert, and Foucalt (2017) suggests that migration enabled a positive interaction of nurturing relationships, education, and a strong ability to act while remaining positive, in a context where one shares values, which resulted in improved or regained well-being. The former mentioned interaction was allowed by the new setting where a safe and secure environment, along with a changed community meaningmaking framework, including a different set of resources and opportunities, enabled goal attainment.
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Munro, Fiona Robertson. "Renewable energy in Scotland : extending the transition-periphery dynamics approach." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2018. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/8714/.
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Scotland is being transformed as renewable energy resources are being exploited through new developments and infrastructure as part of an energy transition. Scotland has a significant amount of potential onshore and offshore renewable energy available for capture largely located in rural and isolated regions. Some of this potential renewable energy has been developed and contributes to the increasing amount of energy from low carbon sources in the UK, aiding in the UK reaching its greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets. This thesis responds to four research questions. The first proposes an analytical framework that incorporates the concept of resource peripheries and processes of peripheralization and centralization in the multilevel perspective (MLP) from the sociotechnical transitions literature. The second discusses the transition dynamics during the renewable energy transition in Scotland that are being shaped by a number of drivers including the shift to community ownership in Scotland and a range of policies, targets, and legislation. The third address the relationship dynamics between cores and peripheries created through processes of peripheralization that include relational, multi-dimensional processes that are also multi-scalar. The fourth discusses the uneven multi-scalar dynamics created as a transition occurs with processes of peripheralization and centralization creating resource peripheries as ‘transition-periphery dynamics’. By better understanding these dynamics and relationships during transitions the renewable energy transition can be better informed to deal with possible implications and ensure possible benefits are secured for a more sustainable future.
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Verdy, Ariane. "Dynamics of marine zooplankton : social behavior, ecological interactions, and physically-induced variability." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/43158.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Physical Oceanography (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2008.Includes bibliographical references (p. [221]-232).
Marine ecosystems reflect the physical structure of their environment and the biological processes they carry out. This leads to spatial heterogeneity and temporal variability, some of which is imposed externally and some of which emerges from the ecological mechanisms themselves. The main focus of this thesis is on the formation of spatial patterns in the distribution of zooplankton arising from social interactions between individuals. In the Southern Ocean, krill often assemble in swarms and schools, the dynamics of which have important ecological consequences. Mathematical and numerical models are employed to study the interplay of biological and physical processes that contribute to the observed patchiness. The evolution of social behavior is simulated in a theoretical framework that includes zooplankton population dynamics, swimming behavior, and some aspects of the variability inherent to fluid environments. First, I formulate a model of resource utilization by a stage-structured predator population with density-dependent reproduction. Second, I incorporate the predator-prey dynamics into a spatially-explicit model, in which aggregations develop spontaneously as a result of linear instability of the uniform distribution. In this idealized ecosystem, benefits related to the local abundance of mates are offset by the cost of having to share resources with other group members. Third, I derive a weakly nonlinear approximation for the steady-state distributions of predator and prey biomass that captures the spatial patterns driven by social tendencies. Fourth, I simulate the schooling behavior of zooplankton in a variable environment; when turbulent flows generate patchiness in the resource field, schools can forage more efficiently than individuals.
(cont.) Taken together, these chapters demonstrate that aggregation/ schooling can indeed be the favored behavior when (i) reproduction (or other survival measures) increases with density in part of the range and (ii) mixing of prey into patches is rapid enough to offset the depletion. In the final two chapters, I consider sources of temporal variability in marine ecosystems. External perturbations amplified by nonlinear ecological interactions induce transient ex-cursions away from equilibrium; in predator-prey dynamics the amplitude and duration of these transients are controlled by biological processes such as growth and mortality. In the Southern Ocean, large-scale winds associated with ENSO and the Southern Annular Mode cause convective mixing, which in turn drives air-sea fluxes of carbon dioxide and oxygen. Whether driven by stochastic fluctuations or by climatic phenomena, variability of the biogeochemical/physical environment has implications for ecosystem dynamics.
by Ariane Verdy.
Ph.D.
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Norcross, Janet L. "Effects of Dominance/Subordination, Encounter Site and Olfactory Cues on Behavior and Spatial Dynamics of Male Peromyscus leucopus noveboracensis." W&M ScholarWorks, 1986. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1539625339.
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Cannon, Russell. "Niche innovation dynamics and the urban mobility transition." Thesis, Malmö universitet, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS), 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-22153.
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This thesis seeks to provide a detailed understanding of the introduction of dockless bike-sharing to London. As part of a wave of new smart and shared mobility services that are aiming to transform the way people move around cities, this emerging form of transport has created disruptions in London since its launch in 2017. This study aims to analyse to what extent dockless bike-sharing aligns or conflicts with the aims and objectives of local authorities governing public space in London. In doing so, it also aims to reveal insights into transformations in contemporary mobility by exploring the dynamics of niche innovations within socio-technical transitions, thus contributing to knowledge in the field of transition studies.To do this, a qualitative case study methodology was employed using document analysis and interviews with four stakeholders integrally involved in the case study, representing both public authorities and a private sector dockless bike-sharing operator, Mobike.The findings demonstrate that dockless bike-sharing is well aligned with the city’s explicit objectives to reduce car dependency and encourage active travel. It has particular potential to make cycling more accessible by bringing bike-sharing to parts of the city that do not have access to the pre-existing, docked bike-sharing scheme, operated by the central transport authority, Transport for London. Despite this, dockless bike-sharing, as a niche innovation, has struggled to break into the existing urban mobility regime. This can be seen to result from a variety of factors that include a failure to collaborate and build local legitimacy or pay sufficient regard to local conditions during early implementation. Furthermore, dockless bike-sharing’s demand for flexible parking has resulted in uses and misuses of public space that have created friction and placed the innovation in conflict with the existing physical urban landscape and the authorities that govern it. Its momentum has been further hindered by London’s complex governance structure, a structure which has not proved conducive to the dockless bike-sharing operating model. It is posited that if dockless bike-sharing is to build momentum and achieve its potential to expand the reach of bike-sharing in London, greater support is required from public authorities.
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Cortés, Calderón Sofía Valeria. "Embracing complexity: Dynamics governing urban drinking water supply security in Mexico City." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Stockholm Resilience Centre, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-188976.
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Drinking water supply insecurity is globally on the rise, and prevalent in most low and middle-income urban areas. Multiple responses have emerged to cope with the lack of a reliable and equitable supply of safe and sufficient drinking water in cities, which presents a wide range of social-ecological implications. Yet, many of the analyses to date are focused on predominantly technological, ecological, and economic perspectives, overlooking broader cultural and political dimensions. What are the elements and the interrelationship between them that sustain the lack of drinking water supply security at an urban scale? The empirical case study is located in Mexico City, the capital city of one of the most drinking water-insecure countries globally and among the world’s five largest metropolitan areas. Qualitative data is elicited from a literature review and semi-structured interviews with key experts and urban stakeholders. The results provide an integrated understanding of the proposed system structure that created and maintain the water supply problem in the long-term. Hindrances include knowledge lock-ins and critical dynamics that inhibit the political support to transition towards a drinking water security scenario. This study shows that drinking water supply crisis in the study area and other cities with similar conditions need to be understood as multi-dimensional and from a system perspective, by challenging underlying assumptions and embracing interconnectedness. Key feedback mechanisms are presented in causal loop diagrams, allowing the exploration of higher-order leverage points to reduce existing path-dependencies as one increasingly important research area, and potentially relevant for decision-makers.
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Ricks, Brian C. "Improving Crowd Simulation with Optimal Acceleration Angles, Movement on 3D Surfaces, and Social Dynamics." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2013. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/3566.
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Crowd simulation plays a critical role in modern films, games, and architectural design. However, despite decades of algorithmic improvements, crowds use sub-optimal heuristics, are primarily constrained to 2D surfaces, and show few if any social dynamics. This dissertation proposes that a solution to these problems lies in altering how each agent perceives its environment as opposed to new obstacle avoidance algorithms. First, this dissertation presents a theoretical look at optimal agent movement. Next, in order to place crowds on arbitrary 3D manifolds, algorithms are proposed that change how each agent perceives its environment. The resulting crowds move naturally across a large range of surfaces with up to 100,000 triangles in real-time. Additionally, these algorithms are shown to work in real-time strategy game settings by using the GPU to determine which parts of the surface are visible to each agent. Results show that these algorithms can do visibility testing for up to 200 agents in real-time. Lastly, these same principles are used to create believable social dynamics with crowds based on the transactional analysis area of psychology. These social dynamics allow agents to stop and talk, pair walk, and have repeated social interactions. All this is done by changing how agents perceive the world based on their social reward.
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Seed, Lawrence. "The dynamics of BIM adoption : a mixed methods study of BIM as an innovation within the United Kingdom construction industry." Thesis, University of Huddersfield, 2015. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/26167/.
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Building Information Modelling is an approach that fully integrates people, systems, business structures and practices into a collaborative and highly automated process, applicable to the design, construction and operation of buildings. With the United Kingdom Construction Industry (UKCI), the UK Government, as the industry’s largest client, has mandated the use of BIM on all public sector projects by 2016. By considering BIM as an innovation, a total of 104 potential dynamics of BIM adoption were identified from literature along with potential variations by company type and size. Through the application of equal status mixed methods and robust stratified random sampling of 335 respondents, to match the profile of the UKCI, the key findings of the study are: Overall 62% of respondents have adopted BIM, with adoption highest among Consultants and Main Contractors, and lowest among Sub-Contractors, with a substantial increase in adoption following the Government Mandate. Although there is scope for the increased utilisation of BIM for those who have adopted it, 10% of respondents have no plans to adopt BIM. 23 significant dynamics of BIM adoption were identified, with 15 of these inhibiting adoption and 8 supporting adoption. For large companies the government mandate and advantages of BIM as a collaboration tool were the more significant supporting dynamics, while for smaller companies the cost of BIM was the more significant inhibiting dynamic. For Main Contractors, the robustness of existing practices and for Sub-Contactors the cost and complexity of BIM, along with company survival were the most significant inhibiting dynamics. The results suggest that under Rogers’s diffusion of innovation model, while relative advantage is an important supporting characteristic of BIM, compatibility with existing practices Is an equally important but inhibiting characteristic, while observability is not relevant.
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Todd, Andrew John. "Talk, dynamics and theological practice of Bible-study groups : a qualitative empirical investigation." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2009. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/54856/.
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This thesis maps a qualitative empirical investigation of the talk, dynamics and theological practice of Bible-study groups. Chapter 2 locates this in the field of practical theology, demonstrating only a rather tenuous link between practical theological reflection on biblical interpretation and the practice of churches. This clarifies the aim of the thesis: to investigate the practice of Bible-study groups, as a contribution to the practical theology of biblical interpretation. Chapters 3 and 4 consider the methodology of the investigation (including in operation), bringing together interests from ethnography and discourse analysis, in relation to a wider frame of action research. Chapters 5 to 7 of the thesis account for the field work of the research, carried out through meetings with the three Bible-study groups, recording of data, transcription, coding and further analysis. Analytical concerns include the speech-exchange patterns of group meetings and the linguistic resources employed, in order to investigate how interpretative activity is achieved in the interaction between group participants. A particular interest is in the way different voices interrupt each other, and re-contextualise the conversation but also contribute to dialogue, especially between authoritative interpretations and critical questions from participants' experience. Comparisons are drawn with discourse in medical contexts and of scientists. Chapters 8 and 9 offer a comparative study of the three groups: of group dynamics and of the dynamics of interpretative dialogue. They also provide a rich picture of the practice of Bible-study, which includes sensual, ritual, relational and theological dimensions, key to which is the critical recruitment of texts and other voices, in order to interpret the relationship between God, group participants and others. God is experienced as incarnate in this interaction but also transcends the dialogue. Chapter 10 concludes the thesis, identifying questions for further research and offering suggestions designed to enhance Bible-study practice.
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Steinberg, Alexandra. "Emergent knowledge dynamics in innovation : exploring e-business entrepreneurship after the dotcom crash." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2005. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/140/.
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This thesis explores emergent knowledge dynamics in innovation in the context of ebusiness entrepreneurship. Based on a critique of the dialectic interpretation of knowledge dynamics, it forwards a perspective that stresses the creative force of emergence that disrupts existent meanings and produces new potentialities for innovation. It suggests ways of using such a perspective in policy-targeted research. The first part elaborates on the traditional uses of concepts of knowledge in explanations of entrepreneurial innovation and on the need to account for a dynamic perspective on emergent knowledge. The thesis employs work by Deleuze and Guattari as meta-theoretical vehicle to expand the conceptual potential of social representations theory beyond its traditional focus on a dialectic ontology of becoming. It highlights a dynamic which does not exclusively assume conceptual difference as the source of the novel and which allows for patterns of becoming other than the triadic continuity of dialectics. Together, this provides new possibilities for an understanding of knowledge dynamics taking into account both adaptive and creative dynamics of emergence. The empirical part combines thematic analysis of interviews and a focus group with Deleuzian analysis of participant observation to facilitate an exploration of emergent conditions for innovation in a particular milieu of e-business entrepreneurship. The exploration shows how changes in shared evaluative dimensions guided – and constrained – the creation of new concepts. Simultaneously, distinct assemblages arising from novel connections of affect and technology in networks created the conditions of fluidity and ambiguity required for new knowledge: in the aftermath of the dotcom crash, new concepts of network leadership and trust in business interaction were emerging. This study forwards new insights on the study of emergent knowledge dynamics as oscillating between rhizomic opening and dialectic closure. It is in the disruptive encounters between the two that new conditions for innovation can assemble.
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Tonguc, Ozlem. "Wheat Price Dynamics In Turkey: A Nonlinear Analysis." Master's thesis, METU, 2010. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12612357/index.pdf.
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Wheat is an extremely important agricultural commodity, due to its crucial role in everyday nutrition, food security, and in terms of incomes of a large body of farmers worldwide. This study examines the dynamics of wheat prices in Turkey in a framework that allows for regime switching. Due to their simplicity, threshold autoregressive (TAR) models are used to capture the effects of factors such as transaction costs and other institutional arrangements that generate discontinuous adjustment to equilibrium price level. The results are compared with standard linear model estimations. Results indicate that there is strong evidence for asymmetric adjustment of wheat prices in Turkey to the equilibrium price, hence models allowing for regime switching are more preferable over the linear ones. However, the diagnostics of the TAR model reveal that specification of a TAR model allowing for more than two regimes, or a smooth transition autoregressive (STAR) model that allows for smooth transition through a continuum of regimes might be more appropriate.
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Söderqvist, Maria. "Social Media Reactions - An Empirical Study about the Shifting Communication Dynamics on Facebook." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS), 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-23950.
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Facebook is in the forefront when it comes to technical development and allowing new and faster communication opportunities. In this study, one of the latest technical additions on Facebook is being researched; namely the reaction-button. The aim of this paper is to understand the usage of the reaction-button as well as its impact on interpersonal communications, immediacy and speed in society. The research focuses on six different themes; Culture of Speed, Social acceleration, Space and time, Media richness, Immediacy as well as Telemediation. Empirical material have been collected through qualitative Think-aloud interviews and quantitative content analysis. The research is, among other things, questioning the actual need of a reaction-button and whether it is used the way it is intended. Furthermore, it presents the problematics within a potential harm on social relationships, a loss in communicative value and an inactive behavior caused by the obsession about speeding up online social interactions.
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Bridgeforth, Brian W. "Leadership as role and relationship in social dynamics: An exploratory study seeking a leadership archetype." ScholarWorks, 2009. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/665.
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Previous research on leadership as archetype considered archetype as metaphor and not as it is understood in other literatures as a collectively accepted and defined role within and across cultures. Archetypical theories are posited as useful because they help us understand universal aspects of human behavior; however, empirical research demonstrating archetypical thinking and behavior remains rare. Accordingly, this phenomenological study investigated whether a leadership archetype exists as a shared cognitive template and if so, what characteristics define it. The theoretical framework used to examine the phenomenon of leadership combined leadership theory, philosophy of the mind, Jungian psychology, social constructionist theory, and neuro-linguistic programming. Data were collected in semi-structured interviews from a convenience sample of 10 Midwestern subjects belonging to professional and social organizations and having an expressed interest in leadership. Interviews were coded and sequentially analyzed using a semiotic--phenomenological method that included thematic descriptions, reduction, and interpretation. Results failed to identify an archetypical view of a leader, but identified choice and attribution as key elements in selecting leaders and accepting their leadership. These findings suggested an explanation of leadership as a group consensus that emerges through a dynamic process rather than solely from leader behavior. Implications for positive social change result from the study's contribution toward further understanding of the psychology of leader selection and follower behavior. Given the multiplicity of existing leadership models, the insights gained from this research contribute to the scholarly literature highlighting group-dynamic influences and can lead to improvements in leadership training and leadership development outcomes.
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Eaton, Benjamin David. "The dynamics of digital platform innovation : unfolding the paradox of control and generativity in Apple's iOS." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2012. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/463/.
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Mobile digital platforms provide an architectural basis for third party innovation of platform complements. Platform owners have property rights, enabling them to establish a boundary of permissible innovation demarcating the permitted from the prohibited. This allows for the curation of complements, which provides a means of controlling for value creation. Consequently, platform innovationthe innovation of platform complements is occasionally refused by platform owners. When this occurs tensions may arise between the two parties over where the boundary of permissible innovation should lie. Tussles may break out, embodied in complex interactions, as each party attempts to get its way. Eventually an outcome is achieved, and a platform innovation is either allowed or prohibited. A body of platform innovation literature is emerging from fields including information systems. Whilst this literature considers many aspects of platform innovation, the dynamics concerning the control of the innovation of platform innovation complements is overlooked. This research attempts to address that gap. Its relevance to information systems concerns the digitalisation of platforms as systemsdigital infrastructures, which affects their capacity for innovation and regulation. This research uses the method of narrative networks to analyse 45 examples of contested platform innovation. This approach, informed by empirical data sourced from over 4500 blog entries, identifies patterned sequences of actions across the examples. These sequences describe how tension builds, how control is asserted, and how control is then resisted. A theory of formal managerial control is used to explain how mechanisms of control are applied by platform owners as well as how developers respond to control. The principle contribution of this research is to theory. It develops and presents a theory to describe and explain the dynamics of contested innovation of complements on curated digital platforms. In doing so, iIt challenges the understanding that the platform owner alone controls platform design rules and concerning which platform complements are allowed, and which are notthe boundary of permissible innovation. Furthermore, tThe study indicates opens up the possibility that the forces of digitalisation provide third parties with the power to affect influence platform architecture, but at the cost of additional means of being controlled.
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Kaprálková, Michaela. "Football coaches’ awareness and implementation of team dynamics." Thesis, Malmö universitet, Fakulteten för lärande och samhälle (LS), 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-31399.
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AbstractTitle:Football coaches’ awareness and implementation of team dynamicsObjectives: This research aims to explore, based on the in-depth interviews with Czech male football coaches, how the football coaches work with team dynamics and its principles, during recruitment/transfers, training process, and specific situations, and potentially ascertain what are the obstacles for the team dynamics principles implementation.Methods:The primary method used in this research is the qualitative method of semistructured in-depth interviews. Research is focused on the population of male Czech football coaches with at least half a year of experience. The research sample consists of 7 respondents. The data are proceeded according to GDPR and anonymized. For the data interpretation, the interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) is used. Results:The respondents are aware of team cohesion, climate, and synergy and understand the importance of team dynamics in general. If it is possible, the coaches look at the players' psychological characteristics and consider them in relation to the rest of the team and even their potential behavior. The coaches’ behavior and interventions differ based on the situation. However, they tend not to intervene much, and they also don't use almost any analytical tools in terms of team dynamics. That can be caused by many factors such as they perceived the team dynamics as part of psychology, which according to this research, might be perceived as a tool for problem treatment, not as a preventive tool. There are also some structural barriers such as unclear club concept, unclear competency among the responsible, not enough emphasis on team dynamics during the licenses education and players’ agents pressure, as well as language barrier, which seems to prevent successful implementation of foreign players. The respondents tend to rationalize some of the problems. Keywords:cohesion, team climate, synergy, competencies, recruitment, training process, leadership styles, systematical obstacles, barriers
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Frederick, Brian Jay. "Exploring the (sub)cultural dynamics of gay, bisexual and queer male drug use in cyberspace." Thesis, University of Kent, 2016. https://kar.kent.ac.uk/57031/.
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In 2015, Peccadillo Pictures released the movie 'Chemsex', an 80-minute documentary about the experiences of gay, bisexual and queer male (GBQM) drug users in London-men whose lives have been impacted by chemsex, that is, the mixing of illicit drugs such as crystal methamphetamine, gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) and mephedrone with 'risky' sex. The film has been described by the media as painting a bleak portrait of a 'subculture on the edge'-one that is fueled by both the heteronormative marginalization of GBQM and the popularity of online and mobile-based GBQM social networks. The release of 'Chemsex' was prompted by research that reveals increases in GBQM drug use-not only in London, but among GBQM in many gay ghettos throughout the world. Most of these studies emerge from disciplines outside criminology-for example, behavioral health, epidemiology and public health. These studies also describe GBQM drug users as existing within a subculture. Moreover, these studies also link GBQM drug use to external marginalization and or stigma related to sexual identity or HIV-seropositivity. Yet, rarely are the cultural dynamics of GBQM drug use fully explored. Neither do these studies address the fact that drug use-in most jurisdictions-is a crime. Cultural criminologists argue that crime, deviance and transgression are part of an ongoing process that is interwoven with the dynamics of culture and all of its attendant meanings. This thesis explores the cultural dynamics that may shape the meanings that underlie GBQM drug use-in particular, drug use that is facilitated and or expressed through cyberspace. This thesis conceptualizes the cultural dynamics of GBQM drug using three tenets that are central to cultural criminological inquiries: that crime and deviance and transgression are often related to marginalization and oppression; that these phenomena are often subcultural in nature; and, that subcultures cannot be studied apart from their mediated representations. Complementing this framework is a research design that employs virtual ethnography, instant ethnography, ethnographic content analysis and visual content analysis. Critical discourse analysis is also employed in an effort to analyze the underlying power differentials that are present in the mediated representations of GBQM drug use. Using these methods, I was able to participate in the activities and understandings of GBQM drug users who were situated in cyberspace. Using the theoretical framework that was constructed, I was then able to analyze and draw conclusions as to the cultural dynamics that underlie their activities, behaviors, language, norms, rituals and values. One of the key findings of this thesis was in the discovery of shared group drug injecting experiences that are constructed as temporary networks using Skype and other webcam conference call applications. Another finding concerns the sharing by GBQM of drug-themed photo content in mainstream and GBQM social networks. A third finding involves their sharing of drug-themed videos to Internet 'tube sites'.
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Yeates, Samuel H. M. "Optimal Foraging and Population Dynamics: An Archaeological Investigation at the Birch Creek Rockshelters, Idaho." DigitalCommons@USU, 2019. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/7460.
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This thesis aims to integrate the study of population change with the expectations of foraging models, and to test whether expectations resulting from integrating these two bodies of theory have greater predictive power than foraging models alone. To compare these models, I monitored prey age, butchery practice, and prey desirability in five prehistoric occupations of the Birch Creek rockshelters of Idaho. I modeled hunting pressure with a human population density estimate based on radiocarbon dates from Idaho archaeological sites, and modeled prey abundance with a model of historic effective moisture. Both models predicted younger prey, lower average prey desirability, and more intensive extraction of nutrients from prey when human hunting pressure is high and when prey are scarce. However, unlike the prey model, the Forager-resource Population Ecology (FPE) model predicts that similarly desirable prey with different reproductive rates should show different degrees of resilience to hunting pressure. Contrary to FPE model predictions, statistical analyses of the Birch Creek faunal materials did not indicate that human hunting pressure disproportionately stressed populations of slowly reproducing prey compared to quicker-reproducing prey. While the faunal specimens from Birch Creek provided a limited and flawed dataset, my results did not support the use of the FPE model.