Information exchanged between computer applications is difficult, thus the need for data exchange standards. The ISO STEP project defines data exchange standards using the EXPRESS language, which supports inheritance. Currently there are two algorithms used to evaluate an inheritance hierarchy: the Test and Generate algorithms. In this thesis, enhancements are made to both algorithms to support the Total Over Constraint, which is proposed for the third edition of EXPRESS. A formal algorithm is derived for the Test algorithm. The two enhanced algorithms are compared and shown to be result equivalent. However, it is shown that the Test algorithm is the more efficient of the two.

Although religious beliefs often associate with gendered hierarchy in sociological studies, very few studies have examined religion and gendered hierarchy within intimate relationships. This study used an exemplary sample to explore how religious, heterosexual married couples view and possibly practice gendered hierarchy. Interviews from 77 highly religious, highly satisfied couples provided insight into the following themes: (1) the potential harm of hierarchy, (2) misunderstanding hierarchy, (3) rejection of hierarchy, and (4) acceptance of hierarchy. For couples who expressed acceptance of hierarchy, further exploration revealed subthemes explaining how they conceptualized this practice. Subthemes included (4a) mutual submission, (4b) joint discussion, and (4c) the male burden of responsibility. Data drawn directly from interviews provide detailed support in the paper for each theme and subtheme. While a minority of participants described their marriages as equal partnerships, a majority of the couples in this sample expressed acceptance of some degree of gendered hierarchy in their relationships. Participants expressed devotion to God and belief in sacred roles as partial explanations for their acceptance of gendered hierarchy. For both participants who accepted and those who rejected hierarchy, the importance of love and respect between partners emerged as central to navigating power dynamics in marriage.

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Asexualitet som begrepp är förhållandevis outforskat och omgärdas av många frågor, varför syftet med denna uppsats varit att belysa såväl asexualitetens innebörd som upplevelsen av att vara asexuell i ett samhälle där uttryckandet av sexualiteten ses som en avgörande del av individens hälsa och välmående. Inför denna uppsats har nio självidentifierade asexuella personer i åldrarna 18 till 45 år intervjuats och vägledande frågor i arbetet är; Hur beskriver informanterna asexualiteten och dess innebörd? Hur har informanternas individuella process till att anamma begreppet asexuell sett ut? Hur upplever informanterna att omgivningen bemöter/har bemött deras asexualitet, samt vilken uppfattning upplever de att omgivningen har kring asexualitet i stort? Påverkas informanterna av den obligatoriska sexualiteten som normsystem och hur återspeglas detta i så fall i deras berättelser?Studien visar att asexualitet är ett komplext begrepp som innefattar såväl individualism som mångfald. Asexuella personer möter en misstro och ett ifrågasättande från omgivningen utifrån ett antagande om en essentiell sexualitet, vilket återspeglar den obligatoriska sexualiteten som normsystem. Informanterna efterfrågar en förståelse för asexualitetens existens och en acceptans för att behovet av sexuella uttryck ser olika ut för alla människor. Vidare framkommer parallella beskrivningar av asexualiteten, som å ena sidan medfödd och inneboende del av individen och å andra sidan som någonting rörligt och i högsta grad föränderligt, vilket kan relateras till de normer som påverkar synen på asexualitet och andra icke-sexuella uttryck. Då dessa uttryck existerar, oavsett om de beskrivs som perioder av bristande lust eller livslång asexualitet, finns det ett värde i att bredda synen på såväl sexualiteten som asexualiteten. Detta då ett breddande kan skapa bättre förutsättningar för välmående i relation till såväl asexualiteten som sexualitetens föränderlighet under livets gång. / The concept of asexuality is relatively unexplored and surrounded by many questions, why the purpose of this essay has been to illustrate the meaning of asexuality as well as the experience of being asexual in a society where expressing your sexuality is considered to be a crucial part of the individual´s health and wellbeing. In this essay interviews have been conducted with nine self identified asexual individuals, aged 18 to 45 years and indicative questions in the essay are: How do the informants describe asexuality and its meaning? What has the individual process of embracing its meaning looked like? How do the informants experience society´s approach to asexuality and what percpetion of asexuality do they feel that society has over all? Are the informants affected by the compulsory sexuality as a normative system and if so, how is this reflected in their stories?This study shows that asexualty is a complex concept that includes both individualism and diversity. Asexual individuals face distrust and questioning attitudes in society, based on assumptions of an essential sexuality, which reflect compulsory sexuality as a normative system. The informants ask for an understanding of the excistence of asexuality, as well as acceptance of the fact that the need for sexual expressions is different for all people. Furthermore the study shows parallel descriptions of asexuality as congenital and inherent, as well as something highly variable, which can be related to the norms that affect the perception of asexuality and other non-sexual expressions. These expressions exist, regardless if they are described as temporary lack of sexual desire or life-long asexuality and therefore there is a value in broadening the perception of both sexuality and asexuality. This broadening can create better conditions for wellbeing in relation both to asexuality, and sexuality as changeable during the path of life.

This research examines the percentage of imported foods sold in stores at three levels of the food retail hierarchy—small-sized retail food stores, known locally as colmados; medium-sized food retail stores, or super-colmados; and the large supermarkets, or supermercados —in the Dominican Republic. It also considers variations in sources of imported foods for the three types of stores. Data were collected during fieldwork conducted in Verónâ a small town located in the province of La Altagracia on the eastern end of the Dominican Republic—over a three-week period from August 15 to September 9, 2009. A stratified random sample was selected along the primary highway in Verón consisting of 15 stores. At these stores, the principal investigator collected inventory data and conducted interviews with storeowners and employees. The findings suggest that food import dependency increases as the level in the food retail hierarchy, or store size, increases. / Master of Science

A nation-wide survey of hardwood flooring manufacturers was conducted in the spring of 1998. The objectives of the study were to determine the differences in beliefs towards certification between certified and non-certified hardwood flooring manufacturers and to explore the decision to certify and the implications of that decision. Those objectives were chosen because certification is a developing phenomenon of which there are some aspects that remain unknown. The survey consisted of a mail questionnaire that was sent to more than 250 hardwood flooring manufacturers. The questionnaire was used to collect demographic and attitudinal information from the respondents about certification. The second part of the research used the Analytic Hierarchy Process to model the decision process hardwood flooring manufacturers go through when deciding whether or not to certify. Data were collected as part of the mail questionnaire. The final goal of the research, to explore the experiences of certified manufacturers, was met through the use of personal interviews with the manufacturers. The results from the mail survey indicated that certified hardwood flooring manufacturers tended to be smaller than non-certified hardwood flooring manufacturers. The total amount of certified hardwood flooring produced in the U.S. in 1997 was estimated to be 435,579 bdft, roughly 0.1% of the total reported amount of hardwood flooring produced. The research also indicated that certified manufacturers felt that there was a need for certification in the U.S. and that it was the environmentally responsible thing to do, while the non-certified manufacturers felt that that was untrue. The most important factor in the non-certified manufacturers' decision whether to certify is the profit potential of the product, while the certified manufacturers based their decision to certify on the marketing advantages, image benefits, and access to new markets that the certified product provides. Overall, certified and non-certified hardwood flooring manufacturers hold widely differing views on certification, and those differing beliefs contribute to the choices each group makes. / Ph. D.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(情報学) / 甲第24931号 / 情博第842号 / 新制||情||141(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院情報学研究科知能情報学専攻 / (主査)教授 神谷 之康, 教授 熊田 孝恒, 教授 西田 眞也 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Informatics / Kyoto University / DFAM

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第18498号 / 理博第4013号 / 新制||理||1578(附属図書館) / 31384 / 京都大学大学院理学研究科生物科学専攻 / (主査)准教授 半谷 吾郎, 教授 湯本 貴和, 教授 高田 昌彦 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

The increasing speed gap between microprocessors and off-chip DRAM makes last-level caches (LLCs) a critical component for computer performance. Multi core processors aggravate the problem since multiple processor cores compete for the LLC. As a result, LLCs typically consume a significant amount of the die area and effective utilization of LLCs is mandatory for both performance and power efficiency. We present a novel replacement policy for last-level caches (LLCs). The fundamental observation is to view LLCs as a shared resource among multiple address streams with each stream being generated by a static memory access instruction. The management of LLCs in both single-core and multi-core processors can then be modeled as a competition among multiple instructions. In our proposed scheme, we prioritize those instructions based on the number of LLC accesses and reuses and only allow cache lines having high instruction priorities to replace those of low priorities. The hardware support for our proposed replacement policy is light-weighted. Our experimental results based on a set of SPEC 2006 benchmarks show that it achieves significant performance improvement upon the least-recently used (LRU) replacement policy for benchmarks with high numbers of LLC misses. To handle LRU-friendly workloads, the set sampling technique is adopted to retain the benefits from the LRU replacement policy.

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