Cities constitute important political, economic and cultural frameworks, playing a potentially crucial role in influencing the residents' views and opinions about the world. In the context of Central Europe, there has been little attempt to examine the dynamics and construction of attitudes within urban societies. In this research, I explore the influence of urban spaces on citizens' attitudes towards the city and the European Union (EU). This study investigates such citizen behaviours in the largest new EU member state - the Republic of Poland. Building on existing scholarship, I include economic factors and attachment-related approaches to assess support of EU integration among highly skilled citizens living in European cities, the so-called Eurostars. The thesis asks to what extent perceived conditions in Polish cities shape the attitudes of young well-educated urban citizens towards the EU. How do citizens' perceptions of the local and of the supranational space affect their choice of location and work? I assess these questions by employing a sequential mixed methods approach that combines a quantitative and a qualitative method. I devised a survey that I conducted on 923 Masters (MA) students in Polish cities to evaluate their perceptions about their cities' performance. The survey further assessed students' attachments to their cities and their support for the EU. This collected data is complemented by detailed semi-structured interviews with 27 MA students to investigate whether their individual views on their respective city and on the EU influence their motivations to leave or stay in their city. This study situates these students as 'potential Eurostars' as they still live in their hometown. I conducted the comparative investigation in five large urban spaces in Poland: the Tricity area (Gdańsk-Sopot-Gdynia), Poznań, Warsaw, Wrocław and Kraków. Although not representative of every urban centre in Poland, these cities serve as a microcosm to understand the impact of local conditions and Europeanisation in Central and East Europe. (CEE) The use of cities as sites of analysis departs from the traditional and dominant nation-state framework. This thesis further underscores the attitudes of a specific social urban group, whose newly-gained access to the EU - with its opportunities for mobility - potentially offers them new perspectives. Such conditions may influence students' choices of future location and work. The developed methodological framework, with its focus on Polish cities, can be further applied to other countries, groups and territorial units in future research. The quantitative and qualitative findings reveal a relatively marginal influence of urban conditions on place attachment. I further demonstrate that satisfaction with economic and cultural conditions in Polish cities relate to positive attitudes towards the EU. The perception of quality of life plays an important role for the sampled MA students in how they decide where to work and live after graduation. Although, attachment to the city does not necessarily lead to a negative opinion about the EU, it does impact students' exit strategies and often leads to temporary migration plans. Other elements such as local patriotism, family and friends' networks, equally shape this form of place attachment.

Predição de Links é uma área de pesquisa importante no contexto de Análise de Redes Sociais tendo em vista que predizer sua evolução é um mecanismo útil para melhorar e propiciar a comunicação entre usuários. Nas redes de coautoria isso pode ser utilizado para recomendação de usuários com interesses de pesquisa comuns. Este trabalho propõe um processo sistemático baseado em métricas não-dicotômicas para avaliação de predição de links em redes de coautoria, sendo considerada a definição de métodos para as seguintes tarefas identificadas: seleção de dados, determinação de novos links e avaliação dos resultados. Para seleção de dados definiu-se um sensor fuzzy baseado em atributos dos nós. O uso de composições fuzzy foi considerado para determinação de novos links _ponderados_ entre dois autores, adotando-se não apenas atributos dos nós, mas também a combinação de atributos de outros links observados. O link ponderado é denominado _qualidade da relação_ e é obtido pelo uso de propriedades estruturais da rede. Para avaliação dos resultados foi proposta a curva ROC fuzzy, que permite explorar os pesos dos links não apenas para ordenação dos exemplos. / Link prediction is an important research line in the Social Network Analysis context, as predicting the evolution of such nets is a useful mechanism to improve and encourage communication among users. In co-authorship networks, it can be used for recommending users with common research interests. This work proposes a systematic process based on non-dichotomic metrics for evaluation of link prediction in co-authorship networks considering the definition of methods for the following tasks: data selection, new link determination and result evaluation. Fuzzy sensor based on node attributes is adopted for data selection. Fuzzy compositions are used to predict new link weights between two authors, adopting not only attributes nodes, but also the combination of attributes of other observed links. The link weight called _relation quality_ is obtained by using structural features of the social network. The fuzzy roc curve is used for results evaluation, allowing us to consider the weights of the links and not only the ordering of examples.

This thesis describes the outcome of study to investigate methods of broadband matching to photonic devices such as lasers and high speed detectors. The thesis is divided into two areas of interest relating to the design of broadband fiber optic links. The first area is the application of numerical methods and commensurate line methods to the design of compact equalisers which allow an improved transducer power gain over a wide band. It is shown that physically small equalisers can yield an improvement of 4 dB over a 2 GHz bandwidth. The second area considered is the distortion inherent in a laser diode. Detailed measurements of the second order and intermodulation products are given. A small signal perturbation analysis is presented which helps to explain the observed distortion products. The results of numerical simulation of the distortion using a state variable implementation of the full rate equations and related first, second and intermodulation equations is presented and possible methods of reducing the distortion are explored. It is shown that in principle the distortion could be reduced by pre-generating the distortion and adding an inverted form of the distortion to the transmitted signal. The distortion can then be corrected in the fiber and simulation studies suggest that an improvement of 13 dB optical or 26 dB electrical may be possible.

We establish several new results about the ( n )-solvable filtration, [Special characters omitted.] , of the string link concordance group [Special characters omitted.] . We first establish a relationship between ( n )-solvability of a link and its Milnor's μ-invariants. We study the effects of the Bing doubling operator on ( n )-solvability. Using this results, we show that the "other half" of the filtration, namely [Special characters omitted.] , is nontrivial and contains an infinite cyclic subgroup for links with sufficiently many components. We will also show that links modulo (1)-solvability is a nonabelian group. Lastly, we prove that the Grope filtration, [Special characters omitted.] of [Special characters omitted.] is not the same as the ( n )-solvable filtration.

- Rückblick Simulation-News in Creo 1.0 & Creo 2.0 - Ausblick Simulation-News in Creo 3.0 - Gewichtete Verbindungen: „Tips & Tricks“ mit konkreten Beispielen: o Lagersteifigkeiten (z.B. Wälzlager) o Mechanismus Verbindungen (Dreh-, Schub-, Zylinder, .... Gelenke) o Vorgespannte Schrauben (mit Schalen-/Balken-Elementen) o Aufbringung einer momentfreien Zwangsverschiebung o „Gesamtlast auf Punkt“: Messen der Punktverschiebung o Verbinden von Massen-Elementen o Verhindern von Singularitäten - Live-Präsentation in Creo 2.0 o Lagersteifigkeiten (z.B. Wälzlager) o Mechanismus Verbindungen (Dreh-, Schub-, Zylinder, .... Gelenke)

The objective of the proposed research is to realize a 10-Gb/sec serial data link over band-limited channels, such as backplanes, multi-mode fiber, and copper-based cables that were originally designed for data rates less than 1Gb/sec. This is achieved using electrical equalization implemented in an integrated circuit (IC). To successfully compensate for various band-limited channels at the targeted data rate with a single equalizer IC, a reconfigurable equalizer topology is proposed. In order to realize the proposed goal, various channels are characterized of their forward transmission frequency response. Based on the measured channel data, system simulations are performed to identify the required specifications for IC implementation. This provides information such as optimal number of taps, fractionally-spaced tap delay, and tap coefficients for the proposed IC. With the obtained system requirements, IC building blocks are designed and fabricated in a 0.18- and #956;m CMOS technology. The fully-integrated reconfigurable CMOS equalizer provides a single-chip solution for compensating various band-limited channels. This enables 10-Gb/sec serial data transmission achieving signal integrity beyond their designed specifications.

On Sept. 11, 2001, three planes crashed into the upper floors of Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. It was an apparent terrorist¡¦s attack on U.S.A. The terrorist¡¦s attacks have caused thousands of people¡¦s death. The world-wide aftermath of this catastrophe has also brought about massive changes in the way of life. Many countries have further acknowledgement of the importance of society¡¦ security and country¡¦s border control. This is especially true in the perception of social security and people¡¦s privacy. Customs is a symbol of sovereignty and a country¡¦s border control. It not only takes charge of duty collection and smuggling interdiction, but also protects national security and social stability. Furthermore, Customs executes trade policies, curbs counterfeit goods, and enforces environmental protection policies. At the beginning of the new millennium, the global village has gradually formulated a mainstream concept that international interactions will be more and more pervasive. In the future, Customs will play an even greater role in national financial administration. ¡§International Regime¡¨theory is a very important point at international relation issue, ¡§International Regime¡¨can be defined as a set of implicit or explicit principles¡Bnorms¡Brules¡Band decision-making procedures in which actor¡¦s expectations converge in a given area of international relations. ¡§World Customs Organization¡¨is the best symbol to reveal International Regime theory and the function of Customs. The missions of World Customs Organization (WCO) are as follows: 1. WCO establishes, maintains, supports and promotes international instruments for the harmonization and uniforms application of simplified and effective Customs systems and procedures governing the movement of commodities, people and conveyances across Customs frontiers. 2. WCO reinforces its¡¦ members¡¦ efforts to secure compliance with their legislation, by endeavoring to maximize the level of effectiveness of members¡¦ co-operation with one another and with international organizations in order to combat Customs violations and other transnational offences. 3. WCO assists its¡¦ members in their efforts of meeting the challenges of the modern business environment and efforts of adapting to the changing circumstances. WCO also promotes communication and co-operation among members or with other international organizations. It can effectively foster integrity, human resource development, Customs transparency, management improvements and working methods. This thesis is to conduct a comparative analysis on Taiwan Strait, both sides¡¦ Customs legal base, organization level, clearance & revenue collection, anti-smuggling, anti-terrorism, and other subjects. The analysis is based from 1949, the year of dividing sovereignty across the Taiwan Strait. For years, the two Customs administrations across the Taiwan Strait have enforced their own different systems under the authority of their respective government. Although reciprocal contacts and communications have been slow and symbolical in the past, both sides still have the same language and same race. Most of all, both Customs authorities have the sameness: the major and concurrent missions of duty collection, anti-smuggling and anti-terrorism etc. Therefore, by utilizing international regime¡¦s cooperation institute system, Customs between Mainland China and Taiwan can construct pragmatic and existing institutes for mutual benefits. In order to meet the rules after both sides¡¦ entering WTO in 2002, both sides Customs will review their organization with new administration. Under norms of international Customs practice, we will progressively reform Customs operation, enhance administrative efficiency and upgrade the quality of service to achieve our goals of barrier-free clearance, and to facilitate our national economic growth. Depending on international trade, economy norms and Customs function- co-operations, both sides shall be establishing systematized rules and bilateral mechanism in the near future. Moreover, both sides will be able to reach a consensus so that a win-win situation can be created. This thesis is written to be expected for the contributions as below: 1. We will acknowledge that Customs is a symbol of sovereignty and an organization of a country¡¦s border control. After USA 911 disaster, anti-terrorism and anti-smuggling of illegal articles on border have become the focus of Customs missions. 2. World Customs Organization (WCO) is an essential institution at international trade and economy relation issue. It could frame a norm basis to facilitate two sides¡¦ Customs cooperation. 3. Across the Taiwan Strait, two sides¡¦ Customs should shoulder the bridge role of economy cooperation and provide mutual smuggle information to each other so as to combat drug smuggling and illegal activities. 4. Customs could be a frontier of country diplomacy. When Mainland China & Taiwan¡¦s diplomacy relations can¡¦t make a breakthrough in difficult situations and positions, Customs may assist government in playing a role of negotiator on trade and economy matters. 5. As the work of ¡§Three Links¡¨ is related as closely as to the Customs business, constructing Interactive Mechanism of Customs between Mainland China and Taiwan is an absolute necessity.

Thesis--Universität Dresden, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

In this dissertation, we study two areas of interest in knot theory: Random knots in the unit cube, and the Yang-Baxter solutions constructed from Frobenius algebras. The study of random knots can be thought of as a model of DNA strings situated in confinement. A random knot with n vertices is a polygonal loop formed by selecting n distinct points in the unit cube, for a positive integer n, and connecting these points by straight line segments successively, such that the last point selected is joined with the first one. We present a step by step description of our algorithm and Maple codes for generating random knots in the unit cube, with a given vertex number n. To detect non-trivial knots, we use a knot invariant called the determinant. We present an algorithm and its Maple code for computing the determinant for random knots. For each vertex number n, we generate large number of random knots and form data sets of values of the determinant. Then we analyze our data sets in various ways. For instance, for each vertex number n, we form data sets of the number of p-colorable random knots by finding the set of prime divisors of each determinant output. We define the stick number for p-colorability to be the minimum number of line segments required to form a p-colorable knot. We use our data sets to find upper bounds for stick numbers for p-colorability, for primes p _ 191. We also find distributions of p-colorable knots and small determinant values. The second topic on random knots is the linking number of random links. A random link is a collection of disjoint random knots produced simultaneously. We present descriptions of our algorithm and its Maple code for constructing random links of two components, and calculating their linking numbers in detail. By running the code for 1000 times, for the vertex number n less than or equal to 30, we obtain data sets of linking numbers for two-component random links such that each component is a random knot with n vertices. Then we find the distribution of linking numbers and calculate upper bounds for the stick number for the linking numbers ` _ 15. The second area we investigate is applications of Fobenius algebras to knot theory. Chain complexes and Yang-Baxter solutions (R-matrices) are constructed by the skein theoretic approach using Frobenius algebras, and deformed R-matrices are constructed by using 2-cocyles. We compute cohomology groups, Yang-Baxter solutions and their cocycle deformations for group algebras, polynomial algebras and complex numbers. We construct knot and link invariants using these R-matrices from Frobenius algebras via Turaev’s criteria. Then a series of skein relations of the invariant are introduced for oriented knot or link diagrams. We also present calculations of the Frobenius skein invariant for various knots and links.

In this paper, we examine Fox colorings of virtual knots, and moves called k-swap moves defined for virtual knot diagrams. The k-swap moves induce a one-to-one correspondence between colorings before and after the move, and can be used to reduce the number of virtual crossings. For the study of colorings, we characterize families of alternating virtual knots to generalize (2, n)-torus knots, alternating pretzel knots, and alternating 2-bridge knots. The k-swap moves are then applied to prove a "virtualization" of the Kauffman-Harary conjecture, originally stated for classical knot diagrams, for the above families of virtual pretzel knot diagrams.