Sanilab International SAC, una empresa social, ha desarrollado un sistema de inodoros secos en colaboración con las comunidades locales en Perú para mejorar la saneamiento y la calidad de vida. Sus líneas de productos incluyen SaniSystems (inodoros secos) y Fortyplant (fertilizante) que convierten los desechos humanos en biofertilizantes. Un análisis resaltó una creciente demanda de inodoros secos en comunidades peruanas desatendidas, pero también reveló desafíos internos relacionados con la estructura organizativa y la falta de recursos financieros. Los problemas incluyen la falta de acceso al mercado y un enfoque específico, además de ventas mínimas, la existencia de competidores establecidos en el mercado, e ineficiencias operativas y organizativas. La solución propuesta es cambiar el enfoque únicamente hacia una dirección más social, alineándose con su misión de mejorar el saneamiento en comunidades desatendidas. La implementación incluye refinar la estrategia, formar alianzas, ejecutar proyectos y crecer enfocandose en reunir al equipo adecuado, incluyendo a personas con experiencia en negocios. Los Indicadores Clave de Desempeño (KPIs) supervisarán el impacto ambiental, social, organizativo y financiero, evaluando la efectividad de los futuros proyectos de Sanilab. / Sanilab International SAC, a social enterprise, has developed a dry toilet system in collaboration with local communities in Peru to enhance sanitation and improve the quality of life. Their product lines include SaniSystems (dry toilets) and Fortyplant (fertilizer) that converts human waste into biofertilizers. An analysis by the company highlighted a growing demand for dry toilets in underserved Peruvian communities; however internal challenges stemming from the organizational structure and limited finances have prevented the company from capitalizing on this demand. Problems include a lack of market access and specific focus, minimal sales, established competitors in the market, and operational and organizational inefficiencies. The proposed solution is to shift the focus solely toward a more social direction, aligning with its mission to improve sanitation for underserved communities. Implementation includes refining the strategy, forming partnerships, project execution, and growth with a focus on assembling the right team, including individuals with a background in business. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) will monitor environmental, social, organizational, and financial impact, gauging the effectiveness of Sanilab's future projects.

Abstract Pervasive environments are physical spaces saturated with devices collecting data, controlling the environment, and interacting with users. These environments support human users in their everyday tasks so that the users can focus on their own tasks and access services and resources whenever and wherever they want. Such environments are also called smart spaces. Knowledge-based systems would enable realizing a variety of intelligent applications for pervasive environments. Generally, such systems recognize the situation in the environment from sensor data and utilize automated reasoning techniques to respond to the situation and the needs of the users. However, building knowledge-based systems for pervasive environments presents challenges. This dissertation focuses on the challenge of data and knowledge representations. Knowledge-based systems utilize expressive knowledge representations that are verbose and require sufficient resources in order to use them. Most devices in pervasive environments cannot handle these representations as the devices have limited resources for computation, storage, and communication. The main aim of this dissertation is to tackle this challenge. That is, on the one hand, pervasive environments demand data and knowledge representations that do not require many resources from the resource-constrained devices; and on the other hand, the representations should be compatible with the knowledge-based systems. Specifically, a general solution is required that enables many applications to use the same data with minimal effort from application developers. This dissertation presents a novel representation, Entity Notation (EN), to tackle these challenges. EN is designed as a general lightweight representation for data and knowledge. EN expresses entities, their properties, and property values. This structure resembles the triple structure of Resource Description Framework (RDF) and Web Ontology Language (OWL). Hence, sensor data in EN syntax can be transformed into common knowledge models in a straightforward manner and utilized with ease by knowledge-based systems. EN Schema is designed for transferring advanced knowledge models. Moreover, EN also offers an approach to shorten the format with templates and prefixes. This way, EN can be utilized by resource-constrained devices and environments. Our evaluation verifies that small devices can utilize EN to transfer data and knowledge to devices realizing intelligent functions, such as inference. Moreover, the expressive power of EN is comparable with the alternative representations. Finally, resource consumption is verified by prototypes. Based on the evaluation, we can conclude that EN can facilitate harnessing the full potential of pervasive environments. / Tiivistelmä Kaikkialla läsnäolevat ympäristöt ovat fyysisiä tiloja täynnä laitteita, jotka keräävät dataa, ohjaavat ympäristöä ja ovat vuorovaikutuksessa käyttäjien kanssa. Nämä ympäristöt tukevat ihmisiä päivittäisissä tehtävissä siten, että ihmiset voivat keskittyä tehtäviinsä sekä käyttää erilaisia palveluja ja resursseja ajanhetkestä ja paikasta riippumatta. Tällaisia ympäristöjä kutsutaan myös älykkäiksi tiloiksi. Tietämysjärjestelmät mahdollistavat monia sovellusskenaarioita näihin ympäristöihin. Nämä järjestelmät tunnistavat ympäristössä vallitsevan tilanteen sensoridatan avulla ja hyödyntävät automaattista päättelyä reagoidakseen tilanteeseen ja käyttäjien tarpeisiin. Tietämysjärjestelmien kehitys näihin ympäristöihin on kuitenkin haasteellista. Tämä väitöskirja keskittyy datan ja tiedon esitystavan haasteisiin. Tietämysjärjestelmät käyttävät ilmaisuvoimaisia tietämyksen esitysmalleja, joiden monimuotoisuus puolestaan edellyttää riittäviä resursseja. Monet laitteet eivät pysty käsittelemään näitä esitysmalleja koska niillä ei ole riittäviä laskenta-, kommunikaatio- ja tallennusresursseja. Väitöskirjan päätavoite on ratkaista tämä haaste: Toisaalta dataa ja tietämyksen esitysmalleja on voitava käsitellä niukoilla resursseilla; toisaalta esitysmallien on oltava yhteensopivia erilaisten tietämysjärjestelmien kanssa. Erityisesti tarvitaan yleisratkaisu, joka voidaan yhdistää useaan sovellukseen vähäisellä sovelluskehitystyöllä. Tämä väitöskirja esittää ratkaisuksi uuden datan ja tietämyksen esitystavan, Entity Notation -mallin (EN). EN on suunniteltu yleiseksi ja kevyeksi tiedon ja tietämyksen esitystavaksi. EN ilmaisee entiteettejä sekä niiden ominaisuus-arvopareja. Tämä rakenne muistuttaa RDF-kuvauskieltä sekä OWL-ontologiakieltä. Täten sensoridata EN-kielessä voidaan muuttaa suoraviivaisesti yleisiksi tietämysmalleiksi ja hyödyntää helposti tietämysjärjestelmissä. EN Schema on suunniteltu tietämysmallien siirtämiseen. EN tarjoaa myös tavan lyhentää muotoa mallineilla ja etuliitteillä. Näin EN-esitystapaa voidaan hyödyntää resurssirajoitteisissa laitteissa ja ympäristöissä. Tehdyt kokeet osoittavat, että pienet laitteet voivat käyttää EN-esitystapaa tiedon ja tietämyksen siirtämiseen älykkäitä toimintoja toteuttaviin laitteisiin. Lisäksi EN-esitystavan ilmaisuvoimaisuus on verrattavissa vaihtoehtoisiin esitystapoihin. Prototyyppien avulla tarkistettiin resurssien tehokas käyttö. Kokeiden perusteella voidaan todeta, että EN-esitystapa helpottaa läsnäolevien ympäristöjen täyden potentiaalin hyödyntämistä.

Manually typing long numbers on paper invoices is tedious and timeconsuming work. The task of typing all the fields of an invoice into a text editor was given to two subjects working with bookkeeping, and the average time consumed was measured to be five minutes. The time and cost spent on manual typing will accumulate for companies that receive a lot of invoices. Swedbank along with other banks, have addressed this issue with a mobile application that reads and interprets the numbers on an invoice using the built in camera. This solution is directed to the public and the extracted information cannot be imported into bookkeeping software. A standalone software for digital reading and interpretation of scanned invoices is our solution for companies in regards to this issue. There is already technology available that will interpret written text. These techniques were applied in our work, but the focus of this project was to implement algorithms for finding the location for a specific number and resolve what bookkeeping terms the number references e.g. OCR, IBAN numbers, etc. This is hampered by the missing of a general invoice layout. 52% of all the sought information was extracted correctly and almost 95% of the bookkeeping details that are changed most frequently on invoices from the same service providers were extracted correctly. The average time it takes for the application to extract the vital data is 30-40 seconds. / Manuell inmatning av alla långa nummer på en pappersfaktura är ett tråkigt och tidskrävande arbete. Uppgiften att skriva in alla fält från en faktura till en ordbehandlare gavs till några personer som jobbar med bokföring. Tiden mättes till ett snitt på 5 minuter. Tiden det tar och den kostnad det medför kommer att ackumuleras för företag som får regelbundna fakturor från sina leverantörer. Swedbank, och andra banker, har adresserat problemet med en mobil applikation som kan läsa och tolka nummer på en faktura via mobilkameran. Den här lösningen riktar sig mot privatpersoner och den extraherade informationen skickas direkt till banken och kan inte importeras i ett bokföringsprogram. Ett fristående program för digital läsning och tolkning av inskannade fakturor är vår lösning till företagen för detta problem. Det finns redan väldigt kraftfull teknologi för att tolka skriven text. Dessa tekniker användes i vårt arbete, men svårigheten i detta projekt var att implementera algoritmer för att lokalisera ett nummer och lista ut vilken bokförings referens det representerar, t.ex. OCR, IBAN etc. Detta försvåras av avsaknaden av ett generellt faktura format. 52% av den önskade information var korrekt extraherad och nästan 95% av bokförings-detaljerna som ändras mest mellan fakturor med samma avsändare extraherades korrekt. Tiden det tog var i genomsnitt för programmet att extrahera informationen var vid dessa försök 30-40 sekunder.

Thesis (MTech(Human Resource Management))-- Cape Peninsula University Of Technology, 2012 / Presently, in Lesotho women form a larger percentage of the workforce as compared to the previous years. Even though, there seems to be several factors, which affect their progress up the corporate ladder, one of them being the glass ceiling. The purpose of this research was to examine factors that affect career advancement of women into senior positions in selected parastatals in Lesotho; to determine the cause of under-representation of women in top management positions and their reluctance to advance their careers once they make it to the top; to identify if what women feel would help to improve their career advancement from their perspective; to determine whether women who are mentored face the same challenges as those who are not mentored; to identify whether selected biographical characteristics such as age and marital status play a role in career advancement; to propose a career advancement strategy for women in Lesotho’s public service; and to determine what challenges women in senior positions face. To accomplish this aim, questionnaires were distributed to women in senior positions at selected parastatals in Lesotho. In addition, a method to conduct the research was carefully and logically planned and then implemented. A comprehensive literature study was undertaken in order to obtain views from different authors concerning the phenomenon. Once the questionnaires were collected and the data analysed, the researcher was able to draw conclusions and propose a range of recommendations based on the findings in order to assist women and organisations. The findings revealed that existing laws and legislation in Lesotho have contributed massively towards the promotion of women’s rights. Conversely, quite a number of women in their organisations still face significant challenges in terms of career advancement as a result of the existing glass ceiling phenomenon and other factors, which are discussed in this study.

Idag sker en snabb ökning av handeln med varor och tjänster över hela världen. Detta ställer krav på att genom förpackningssystem bidra till effektivitet i distributionskanaler. Det vill säga att bygga upp system av förpackningar som möter de krav som ställs hos organisationerna som samverkar för distributionen av varor. Dock finns en bristande kunskap om distributionskanalers uppbyggnad och de krav som ställs vilket leder till problem. För att undvika suboptimeringar krävs en helhetssyn av distributionskanaler. Detta är särskilt viktigt för förpackningssystem som spelar en viktig roll i distributionen av varor. Små problem i systemen kan leda till stora problem genom hela kanalen. Identifieras inte brister längs flödet kan det vara svårt för förpackningsutvecklare att ta fram nya lösningar. Holistiskt belyser examensarbetet förpackningssystemets funktioner och brister i olika distributionskanaler. Genom en vidareutveckling och IT-fierad modell presenteras systemets utförande och tänkbara förbättringsförslag längs hela logistikflödet. Syftet med examensarbetet är att påvisa att en holistisk syn kan bidra till att skapa effektivitet i distributionskanaler. Genom att skapa en modell belysa förpackningssystems bidrag till ett effektivt distributionsflöde, det vill säga flödet genom en kanal. Vidare generera analyserbar data om hur små förändringar på förpackningssystem skulle kunna leda till ökad effektivitet genom hela distributionsflödet. För att svara på de ställda frågorna har litteraturstudier och fallstudier gjorts. För att mäta förpackningssystems effektivitet i distributionskanaler har verktyget Packaging Scorecard utnyttjats. Vidare har IT-baserade verktyg använts. Fallstudier visar att små förändringar kan bidra till effektivt utnyttjande av förpackningssystem i hela distributionskanalen. En vidareutveckling av Packagning Scorecard med tillämpning av CapePack- och CAD-verktyg har resulterat i en ny modell. Resultatet visar att modellen kan bidra till ökad förståelse för hur förpackningssystem kan skapa effektivitet. Genom tillämpning av verktygen CapePack och CAD kan förpackningsrelaterade problem längs distributionskanalen illustreras för vidare analys. Arbetet har bidragit till en verifiering av verktyget och har banat väg för en IT-fiering. / Today the trade with products and services are fast moving on the global market place. This requires that the packaging system should be able to create efficiency in distribution channel. Still there is a lack of knowledge in development of the distribution channel. This leads to problems. A holistic view of the distribution channels is needed to avoid sub optimisations. This is especially important regarding packaging systems that are important for the distribution of goods. Minor problems in the system may lead to major problems in the distribution channel. It can be difficult for the designers of packaging to develop new solutions if insufficiencies are not identified in the distribution flow. The master thesis illustrates a holistic view of the packaging system’s benefit and lack in functionalities in distribution channel. Through development and an IT-fied model the systems implementation and possible proposals of improvements can be done in the distribution flow. The purpose of the master thesis has been to prove that a holistic approach may contribute to an effective distribution flow. It has also been to generate analysable data about how minor changes in packaging systems may lead to increased efficiency through the entire distribution chain. Case studies and Literature studies have been done to find answers to the questions. Packaging Scorecard has been used to measure performance of the packaging systems. Further has an IT based tool been used. The case study shows that minor changes may contribute to efficient usage of packaging systems in the complete distribution channel. Further developments of the Packaging Scorecard applying CapePack and CAD tools have resulted in a new model. The result shows that the model may contribute to increase the understanding of how the packaging systems can create efficiency. Package related problems in the distribution channel can be illustrated and analysed by using the tools CapePack and CAD .The work has contributed to a validation of the tool and also introduction for the use of IT.

Eye trackers have enabled users to interact with computers for a long time. Yet, there are still many challenges left to be solved to make the interaction easy for users with development disabilities. Especially, when it comes to setup eye tracking where calibration of the eye tracker is important to get accurate estimation of where users are looking. This paper presents a study in which three modified versions of a calibration interface for eye trackers has been designed and evaluated by nine participants with development disabilities. These calibration interfaces used regions that were aware of when a user gazed at them, gaze-aware regions, and varied in the speed of which a stimulus moved during the calibration and how quickly the regions around the stimulus grew. Data was collected for each interface about interaction with the gaze-aware regions, time to complete a calibration, how many calibration points that were completed and gaze offset from the stimulus. No statistically significance was found between the modified interfaces for its efficiency, effectiveness and accuracy. However, a stimulus moving quicker and a gaze-aware region growing faster indicated a more effective and efficient calibration method without loss in accuracy. Also, if only screen engagement is involved using smooth-pursuit calibration could improve the calibration process. / Ögonstyrning har under en längre tid möjliggjort interaktion för användare. Dock är det fortfarande många utmaningar för att göra interaktionen lätt för användare med intellektuella funktionsnedsättningar. Framförallt när det kommer till inställningar för ögonstyrning, där kalibrering har visat sig vara viktigt för att ge en noggrann uppskattning vart användarna fokuserar. Denna rapport presenterar en studie där tre modifierade versioner av ett kalibreringsgränsnitt för ögonstyrning har blivit designat och utvärderat av nio deltagare med låg fokuseringsförmåga. Dessa gränssnitt använde regioner som var medvetna när en användare tittade inom dom, så kallade blickmedvetna regioner, och varierade i vilken hastighet ett stimuli rörde sig och hur snabbt regionerna runt ett stimuli växte. Data samlades in för varje gränssnitt om interaktionen med de blickmedvetna regionerna, tiden för att genomföra kalibreringen, antal avklarade kalibreringspunkter och avståndet mellan användarnas blick och stimuli. Ingen statistisk signifikans hittades mellan de modifierade gränssnitten mellan tidseffektivitet, effektivitet och noggrannhet. Däremot indikerades en mer tidseffektiv och effektiv kalibreringsmetod, utan minskad noggrannhet, genom användningen av ett stimuli som rör sig snabbare med blickmedvetna regioner som växer. Dessutom skulle kalibreringsprocessen kunna förbättras om enbart engagemang med skärmen används genom smooth-pursuit kalibrering

Ce travail est consacré au rôle pléotropique des microparticules endothéliales dans la réponse et l'homéostasie vasculaire. Un modèle de sénescence réplicative a été caractérisé en utilisant des cellules endothéliales de coronaires de porc en culture primaire. Ce modèle a mis en évidence des changements drastiques du phénotype endothélial avec la production de ROS, la dépolarisation de la membrane mitochondriale et la surexpression de régulateurs clés du cycle cellulaire incluant p53, p21 et p16. La sénescence a transformé le phénotype endothélial vers un statut procoagulant indiqué par la libération de microparticules (MP). L'induction d'activité Facteur Tissulaire (FT) et une réduction drastique de l'inhibition de l'agrégation plaquettaire due à la sécrétion réduite de NO endothélial. Simultanément, une augmentation importante des protéines du système de l'angiotensine à la surface des cellules sénescentes et des MPs qu'elles émettent a été mesurée. D'autres résultats obtenus avec les MPs circulantes de patients transplantés ou atteints de syndrome coronarien suggèrent l'existence dune boucle d'amplification des effets délétères des MPs au travers de la signalisation Redox et l'altération des fonctions vasculaires résultant d'une sénescence exacerbée. En plus de ses qualités reconnues d'immunosuppresseur, la cyclosporine A (CsA) est un inhibiteur puissant de l'ouverture des pores mitochondriaux (mPTP). Certaines études ont présenté le traitement bref et contrôlé par CsA comme un moyen de limiter les dommages vasculaires de l'ischémie reperfusion.Nos données suggèrent une possible modulation de la sénescence endothéliale induite par les MPs grâce au préconditionnement avec des concentrations faibles de CsA. nos résultats suggèrent aussi que de faibles doses de Cs A peuvent avoir un effet bénéfique dans les pathologies cardiovasculaires lorsque la sénescence est exacerbée et contribue les fonctions vasculaires de l’endothélium. / This scientific work has tackled the issue of the pleitropic role mediated by endothelial microparticles function and homeostasis. A replicative model of senescence using coronary endothelial cells was set showing drastic phenotype changes characterized by ROS production, mitochondrial membrane depolarization and the up-regulation of key regulators of cell cycle arrest including p53, p21 and p16.Replicative senescence shifted the coronary endothelial phenotype toward a procoagulant status as evidenced by (i) procoagulant MP shedding (ii) enhanced tissue factor (TF) expression and (iii) a marked decrease in the endothelial NO-mediated inhibition of platelet aggregation. In parallel, a drastic up regulation of the angiotensin system could be evidenced at the surface of senescent cells or derived MP. Results obtained with MPs from patients with acute coronary artery syndrome and from grafted patients,suggested a feedback loop disseminating the deleterious effect of circulating MPs redox signaling and alteration of vascular function owing to exaggerated senescence. In addition to its well-known immunosuppressive properties, cyclosporine A (Cs A) is a potent inhibitor of the opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP), and several reports have indicated that a brief and timely administration of Cs A can limit ischemia-reperfusion injuries. Our data evidenced the possible pharmacological modulation of endothelial MP-mediated senescence by cell preconditioning with low concentrations of Cs A. our data are thus suggestive of a beneficial effect of CsA in cardiovascular disorders where senescence is altering the endothelial vascular functions.

Con el fin de identificar y comprender la secuencia de eventos y los mecanismos involucrados en las transiciones glaciales-interglaciares y el establecimiento de los posteriores períodos interglaciares, es esencial mejorar nuestro entendimiento acerca de la variabilidad del clima y la sensibilidad del océano en áreas clave como el Atlántico Norte a escalas de tiempo de alta resolución. El Atlántico Norte es una región muy sensible a los cambios de las condiciones climáticas durante terminaciones glaciares debido a su proximidad a las capas de hielo del Hemisferio Norte. Por otra parte, el Atlántico Norte es una región de formación de aguas profundas, lo cual es crítico en el ajuste del modo de la circulación meridional atlántica (AMOC). Por tanto, cualquier perturbación en esta región es de importancia global. Reconstrucciones climáticas del Atlántico Norte durante el último periodo interglacial (Estadio Isotópico Marino 5e, en sus siglas en inglés, MIS 5e) revelan condiciones climáticas en común con las proyecciones que los modelos climáticos predicen para el siglo 21, bajo la continua influencia humana y el aumento de gases de efecto invernadero. Por tanto, el período MIS5e se considera un buen análogo para el futuro calentamiento climático. Esta tesis contribuye en este sentido con reconstrucciones climáticas de alta resolución que muestran la variabilidad de la climatología superficial oceánica del Atlántico Norte durante el actual (Holoceno) y el último (MIS5e) períodos interglaciares y sus respectivas previas deglaciaciones (T1, T2): las secuencias MIS6-T2-MIS5e (150-105 ky) y MIS2-T1-Holoceno (25-0 ky) secuencias. Los datos se generan a partir de muestras de sedimento marino procedentes del punto de sondeo ODP 976 en el Mar de Alborán, Mediterráneo occidental, que recibe las señales del clima del Atlántico Norte a través de la atmósfera y la advección de aguas superficiales atlánticas que entran en el mar Mediterráneo a través del estrecho de Gibraltar. Se presentan series temporales de “proxies” medidos en el foraminífero planctónico, Globigerina bulloides, relativos a temperatura superficial del océano (derivada de la proporción Mg/Ca, SSTMg/Ca) y d18O, los cuales se combinan para indicar la variabilidad salinidad de la superficie del océano (d18Osw). Las altas tasas de sedimentación en ODP 976, (del orden de 23 cm/ky; Bernasconi et al., 1999), nos permiten resolver la variabilidad a escalas de tiempo de centenal a multi-decenales. A fin de evaluar el grado en que los perfiles generados ODP976 de hecho representan la climatología marina de la zona se comparan con perfiles similares en otros puntos de referencia en el Mar de Alborán , ODP 977 ( Martrat et al., 2004) y MD95-2043 (Cacho et al., 1999, 2002); en el margen Ibérico occidental, MD95-2042 (Shackleton et al., 2000, 2002, 2004), MD95-2040 (Schönfeld et al., 2003), MD99-2339 (Voelker et al., 2006) y MD99-2334 (Skinner et al., 2003), y con registros de d18O de testigos de hielo de Groenlandia: NGRIP (NGRIP members , 2004), NEEM (NEEM community members, 2013 ) y el registro sintético de variabilidad climática (Barker et al., 2011). Durante la secuencia de MIS2-T1-Holoceno, los perfiles de datos están estrechamente correlacionados, mostrando los registros del ODP976 una mayor resolución temporal, confirmando así la calidad de estos registros para representar la evolución climática del Atlántico Norte. Las diferentes secuencias captan características transiciones en múltiples pasos relacionados con la incursión de la acelerada desintegración de las capas de hielo, aunque a diferentes magnitudes y tiempos relativos. La característica más frecuente de ambas terminaciones glaciales es el calentamiento acelerado de 5-6 °C inmediatamente después de los respectivos períodos de deshielo deglacial asociados a los eventos Heinrich H1 y H11. Durante T1 esto ocurre hace ~15 ky, es decir, durante el episodio Bølling/Allerød, cuando on ODP 976 se registra un calentamiento de SSTMg/Ca a niveles interglaciares de 20°C. Hace 12,5 ky, las SSTMg/Ca descienden ~4-4,5 °C durante el período “Younger Dryas” (YD) que se documenta en los registros ODP 976 como un evento en dos fases, con un período seco y frío inicial entre 12,5-12 ky seguido de un intervalo más húmedo comprendido entre 12-11,5 ky. Durante el Holoceno, las SSTMg/Ca se estabilizan alrededor de 17.5 °C, coincidiendo con mediciones presentes de SST estacional de primavera del Mar de Alborán (MEDATLAS II, Medar Group, 2002). En comparación, T2 estuvo regida casi en su totalidad, por un solo evento masivo deshielo que coincidió con H11 o que contuvo el principal evento de H11 en el mismo. Este evento se destaca claramente en el perfil de SSTMg/Ca y los datos de d18Osw que representan los cambios de salinidad. Este escenario de una oleada masiva de agua de deshielo se apoya en registros bentónicos de d13C del Atlántico Norte (MD95-2042, U1308) que revelan una baja formación de aguas profundas del Atlántico Norte (NADW) y una débil circulación de retorno durante ese período. Una vez el evento H11 llega a su fin, tiene lugar un abrupto e ininterrumpido incremento de SSTMg/Ca de ~ 5 °C en 1 ky, alcanzando los niveles de SST interglaciares (~ 20°C) hace 129 ky. Este incremento de SSTMg/Ca ocurre es coetáneo al rápido establecimiento de flora interglaciar, tal y como evidencian los registros de polen que reconstruyen la expansión de bosque templado y mediterráneo en ODP 976 (Combourieu-Nebout, sin publicar) y el margen ibérico (Sánchez Goñi et al., 2003, 2012; Tzedakis, comunicación personal), lo cual sugiere un inicio sincrónico del período interglacial en ambos ambientes terrestres y marinos. Con el fin de superar las dificultades para obtener datación absoluta de la secuencia MIS6-T2- MIS5e, esta tesis genera un modelo de edad alternativo para los registros del ODP976 basados en la estrecha correlación del Atlántico Norte y la SST del Mediterráneo con la variabilidad del monzón asiático y las precipitaciones del Mediterráneo. Esas variables ambientales se representan en registros de espeleotemas y, por tanto, se correlaciona el registro de SSTMg/Ca del ODP 976 con los perfiles de d18O de las espeleotemas de Antro del Corchia, en Italia (Drysdale et al., 2004, 2009), BD-La Chaise, en Francia (Couchoud et al., 2009) y la Cueva Dongge, en China (Kelly et al., 2006). La transferencia de las cronologías basadas en series de uranio de las espeleotemas a los perfiles de datos del ODP976 ofrece una nueva cronología que ayuda a una mejor correlación de los registros de los testigos continentales, marinos y de hielo. Una incertidumbre importante durante T2 se deriva de la discrepancia observada entre los registros de Corchia y los registros de ODP976 SSTMg/Ca; discrepancia que proponemos posiblemente refleja cambios en las trayectorias atmosféricas durante el evento H11 de masas de aire húmedo que llegan al Mediterráneo. / In order to identify and understand the timing of events and mechanisms involved in glacialinterglacial transitions and the establishment of interglacial periods it is essential to learn about the climate variability and ocean sensitivity of key areas such as the North Atlantic at high resolution time scales. This region is highly sensitive to the changes of climatic conditions during glacial terminations because of its proximity to the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets. Moreover, the North Atlantic is a prime location where surface-to-deep-ocean coupling occurs that is critically involved with setting the mode of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Hence any perturbations in this region likely are of global consequence. North Atlantic climate reconstructions of the last interglacial period (Marine Isotope Stage, MIS 5e) show many features that model projections predict for the 21st century under continuing human influence and increasing greenhouse gas forcing. Hence, the MIS5e period is considered a good analogue for future climate warming. This thesis contributes to this theme with high resolution records that depict the variability of North Atlantic surface ocean climatology during the present (Holocene) and last (MIS5e) interglacial periods and the preceding deglaciations: the MIS6-T2-MIS5e (150-105 ky) and MIS2- T1-Holocene (25-0 ky) sequences. The data are generated for ODP Site 976 in the Alboran Sea, westernmost Mediterranean, which receives North Atlantic climate signals through the atmosphere and the advection of Atlantic inflow waters entering the Mediterranean Sea. Time series are presented of planktonic (Globigerina bulloides) Mg/Ca derived sea surface temperature (SSTMg/Ca) and d18O that both in combination are used to indicate sea surface salinity variability (d18Osw). High rates of sediment deposition at the site, in the order of 23 cm/ky (Bernasconi et al., 1999), allow us to resolve variability at centennial to multi-decadal timescales. In order to assess the extent to which the ODP976 data profiles indeed represent the marine climatology in the area they are compared with similar profiles from other sites in the Alboran Sea, ODP 977 (Martrat et al., 2004) and MD95-2043 (Cacho et al., 1999, 2002); at the western Iberian margin, MD95-2042 (Shackleton et al., 2000, 2004), MD95-2040 (Schönfeld et al., 2003), MD99- 2339 (Voelker et al., 2006) and MD99-2334 (Skinner et al., 2003), and with Greenland ice core d18O records NGRIP (NGRIP members, 2004), NEEM (NEEM community members, 2013) and the synthetic record of Greenland climate variability (Barker et al., 2011). During the MIS2-T1- Holocene sequence the data profiles are tightly correlated while ODP976 consistently displays highest temporal resolution hence confirming the quality of this site as representing the North Atlantic climate evolution. Multiple-step features connected with the incursion of accelerated icesheet disintegration are captured by the ODP 976 palaeo-climatic records across the MIS6-T2- MIS5e and MIS2-T1-Holocene sequences reflecting periodic ice-sheet break down albeit at different magnitudes and relative timing. The most prevalent feature of both glacial terminations is the accelerated warming by 5-6°C immediately after the major deglacial meltwater surges associated with Heinrich events H1 and H11. During T1 this occurs at ~15 ky i.e., during the Bolling/Allerod episode, when ODP976 registers a warming of SSTMg/Ca to full-interglacial levels of 20°C. At 12.5 ky, SSTMg/Ca decreases by ~4-4.5°C into the Younger Dryas cold phase that is documented in the ODP 976 records as a two-phase event with an initial dry and cold period at 12.5-12 ky followed by a more humid interval at 12-11.5 ky. Holocene SSTMg/Ca stabilizes around 17.5°C closely matching today’s Alboran Sea region modern spring SST (MEDATLAS II, Medar Group, 2002). T2 by comparison was almost entirely controlled by a single massive meltwater surge that was coincident with H11 or that embedded the main H11 event in it. This event clearly stands out in the SSTMg/Ca profile and the computed d18Osw data depicting salinity changes. The scenario of a single massive meltwater surge is supported by North Atlantic benthic d13C records (MD95-2042, U1308) revealing low North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) formation and weak overturning circulation at this time. Once H11 ends, an abrupt and uninterrupted SSTMg/Ca increase of ~5°C occurs within 1 ky, reaching full interglacial SST levels (~20°C) at 129 ky. This SSTMg/Ca shift is accompanied by the rapid establishment of interglacial flora evidenced by an abrupt expansion of temperate and Mediterranean forest pollen taxa in ODP 976 (Combourieu-Nebout, unpublished) and the Iberian margin (Sánchez Goñi et al., 2012; Shackleton et al., 2003; Tzedakis, pers. comm.), which suggests an in-phase onset of the interglacial period in the regional terrestrial and marine environments. In order to overcome the difficulties of obtaining precise dating of the MIS6-T2-MIS5e sequence this thesis attempts generating an alternative age model for ODP976 that exploits the tight correlation of North Atlantic and Mediterranean temperature with the variability of the Asian monsoon and Mediterranean rainfall. Those environmental variables are depicted in speleothem records and hence the ODP 976 SSTMg/Ca record is correlated with the speleothem profiles of Antro del Corchia in Italy (Drysdale et al., 2004, 2009), BD-La Chaise in France (Couchoud et al., 2009) and Dongge Cave in China (Kelly et al., 2006). Transferring the uranium-series dated chronologies of those speleothems to the ODP976 data profiles provides a new chronology that aids an improved correlation of continental, marine and ice core records. A major uncertainty derives from the offset structure of T2 in the Corchia and La Chaise profiles from that of the ODP976 SSTMg/Ca profile which possibly reflects shifted atmospheric trajectories during H11 of moist air masses reaching the Mediterranean.

This study conducted a framing analysis of the medical marijuana issue in United States print media. In addition, this analysis investigated whether the medical marijuana issue was portrayed as a policy issue or a medical issue, and based the inquiry in public opinion and health communication literature. This analysis extracted a sample (N=240) from newspaper stories that reported the issue within the past five years in states that have enacted medical marijuana legislation. The framing analysis measured the occurrence of frames in three different categories: gain vs. loss, types of frames, and policy vs. medical. Furthermore, this analysis determined if a relationship occurred between the use of a policy context and the conflict frame, and the medical context and the human interest frame. Findings indicate that a majority of the medical marijuana conversation is framed as policy related, as a loss, and as a conflict. This study also uncovered that print media pair the use of conflict and policy frames together, and likewise for human interest and medical frames.

The South African Schools Act of 1996 mandates the establishment of School Governing Bodies (SGBs) in all schools with grade eight and higher. Amongst others, the SGB has the authority to develop a Code of Conduct for learners in a school. This study includes a literature review of discipline in schools, the functions of SGBs, the development and implementation of a Code of Conduct by the SGB. A qualitative investigation of the perceptions of parents, educators and learners, of discipline and dealing with misbehaviour was conducted in three secondary schools in the North-West Province. It was established that role-players differed in their understanding of coming to a common understanding of what to include in a Code of Conduct. It seems as if measures to deal with misbehaviour are often in violation of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution. Based on the findings, recommendations for addressing discipline by means of a Code of Conduct were proposed. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Education Management)