Generic use of articles in French This Diploma thesis deals with the generic use of articles in the French language. It is divided into the theoretical and the experimental part. After the broader introduction into the issue of determinants, the most important part of the work treats genericity expressed in French by the definite article in singular and plural as well as by the indefinite article in singular. Firstly, the existing research on the subject of generic articles is studied, including the presentation of various approaches and principal theories, then is formulated proper syntactic and semantic interpretation of genericity which is finally verified in the experimental part of the thesis based on the analysis of model sentences. Keywords determinant, article, genericity, reference, nominal syntagm

The aim of this thesis is to provide an overview of the rights and obligations of mobile virtual network operators in the Czech Republic and the corresponding rights and obligations of mobile network operators. The first part of the paper looks at electronic communications in general. It begins with a description of the development of European Union electronic communications legislation, the currently valid Electronic Communications Act and its relation to the Code of Administrative Procedure. The paper then presents the legal regulation of administrative supervision, competition law, public consultation procedure, notification procedure and the procedural regulation of adopting a measure of general nature. The authority and the organization of the Czech Telecommunication Office (CTO) and a classification of the business models used by mobile virtual network operators is then detailed. The second part of the text addresses legal rules directly governing mobile virtual operators, commencing with the legal prerequisites for the provision of electronic communications services and a notification of intention to commence the provision of these services. A thorough exploration of the legal regulation of the access and interconnection and reference offers based upon this regulation is then included. The paper...

Master of Science / Department of Computing and Information Sciences / Mitchell Neilsen / The Biosecurity Research Institute (BRI) facility at Kansas State University is a huge biocontainment facility to conduct research on infectious diseases that pose a threat to plant, animal and human health. The BRI Training and Education Program is currently offline; i.e., classroom sessions are taken to provide this training and education. The objective behind taking up this project was to move the entire training and education module of Biosecurity Research Institute online, instead of having a classroom session for each training course, with an subject matter expert (SME) to come and take the training session. The aim is to develop an online training system which is synchronized with the information in the BRI Research Project Database. The employees will only have to login to the website, scroll through the list of courses they are enrolled in, take the courses, write the assignments/quizzes assigned to the course and then submit the quizzes. They can also self-enroll themselves into courses, if they are given the permission to do so. The SME’s of the courses can create new courses, upload the course materials, enroll users into the courses, and assign deadlines to course completion. Once the student submits the course quiz or assignments, the SME’s can grade the quiz, assign a final grade to the students, and give feedback on their performance. They can even reassign the course in case of poor performance by the student. The administrators of the website can assign roles to different personnel, give permissions according to need and requirement, add/delete courses, and change the appearance of the website. The project is to be done using a Learning Management System called Moodle. Moodle (Modular Object Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) is an online learning management system designed to allow interaction between teachers and students. The back-end database used is SQL Server 2008 R2 and additional tools used are Adobe Presenter (with Microsoft Power Point 2010) to create the courses in SCORM format.

Master of Science / Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering / William B. Kuhn / RF frequency synthesizer systems are prevalent in today’s electronics. In a synthesizer there is a sensitive analog oscillator that may be affected by two different types of noise. The first is random noise injection from active devices. This results in phase noise in the synthesizer’s spectrum. The second noise source is deterministic. A digital frequency divider with high-amplitude switching is an example of such a deterministic source. This noise enters the system through various forms of electric or magnetic field coupling and manifests itself as spurs or pulling. Both forms of noise can adversely affect system performance. We will first summarize methods for reducing noise. These already known steps have to do with layout techniques, device geometry, and general synthesizer topologies. Then we will show ways to isolate noisy interfering circuits from the sensitive analog systems. Finally, we present some considerations for reducing the effects of random noise. A power supply filter can improve the effects of deterministic noise such as undesired signals on the supply line. We show several ways to improve the rejection of high frequency supply noise (characterized by the power supply rejection ratio or PSRR) through the design of a voltage regulator. The emphasis is on new techniques for obtaining good PSRR at S-band frequencies and above. To validate the techniques, we designed a regulator in Peregrine Semiconductor’s .25µm ULTRA CMOS Silicon on Sapphire process. It produces a 2.5V output with an input ranging from 2.6V to 5V and has a maximum current sourcing of 70mA. The regulator’s low drop out performance is 60mV with no load and it achieves a power supply ripple reduction of 29.8 dB at 500 MHz. To address random noise in synthesizers, the thesis provides preliminary investigation of an oscillator topology change that has been proposed in the literature. This proposed change reduces the phase noise of the oscillator within the overall system. A differential cross-coupled design is the usual topology of choice, but it is not optimal for noise performance. We investigate current noise injection in the traditional design and present an updated design that uses a differential Colpitts oscillator as an alternative to classic cross-coupled designs.

A critical overreliance on the technical dimension of information security has recently shifted toward more robust, organizationally focused information security methods to countermand $54 billion lost from computer security incidents. Developing a more balanced approach is required since protecting information is not an all or nothing proposition. Inaccurate tradeoffs resulting from misidentified risk severity based on organizational group perceptions related to information risk form information security gaps. This dissertation applies dialogical action research to study the information security gap created by incongruent perceptions of organizational members related to information risk among different stakeholder communities. A new model, the Information Security Improvement model, based on Technological Frames of Reference (TFR), is proposed and tested to improve information security through reduced member incongruity. The model proved useful in realigning incongruent perceptions related to information risk within the studied organization. A process for identifying disparate information characteristics and potential influencing factors is also presented. The research suggested that the model is flexible and extensible, within the organizational context, and may be used to study incongruent individual perceptions (micro) or larger groups such as departments or divisions.

The aim of the present study is to investigate how men and women in three Iranian Balochi dialects, Coastal Balochi, Koroshi Balochi and Sistani Balochi, refer to 3rd person participants in oral narratives of two genres: folktales and biographical tales. The stories that are analysed were recorded during several field trips to Iran and the approach used is that of Levinsohn (1994, 2015). The first part of the dissertation begins with an overview of the Balochi language and its dialects, including a brief presentation of its phonology, and then reviews previous studies of Balochi, before introducing the case system and types of alignment in the three dialects. Chapter 2 introduces the reader to the status of orality in the three dialects, before giving details about the corpus of texts that were analysed. Of particular note is the fact that each story in the corpus was told by both a man and a woman. Chapter 3 examines different approaches to the analysis of participant reference, before comparing those of Gundel et al. and Levinsohn in greater detail. The second part of the dissertation applies Levinsohn’s approach to texts in each of the three dialects in turn. Chapters 4–6 identify and analyse the different ways in which the participants in the stories are referred to when the subject remains the same and in three specific situations when the subject changes. This enables default encoding values to be established for each of the four situations. Motivations for over-encoding and, in some situations, under-encoding, are then identified. Chapters 7–9 investigate whether the gender of the storyteller (male versus female) and/or the genre of the story (folktale versus biographical tale) influence the way that the participants are referred to. This leads in chapter 10 to a gender- and genre-based comparison of participant reference across the present dialects. Conclusions are presented in chapter 11. In general, the participant reference strategy used was the same in all three dialects, regardless of the gender or the genre. The main exception involved reported conversations in Koroshi Balochi, where the additive enclitic ham was attached to the reference to a subject who responded in line with the contents of the speech reported in the previous sentence. Other variations appeared to depend on the degree to which the storyteller was proficient in his or her art. The dissertation concludes with four Appendices. Appendix A presents six texts that were interlinearised using the FLEx programme, while Appendix B consists of participant reference charts of the same texts following Levinsohn’s approach. Appendix C presents details of the case system and alignment for each of the three dialects. Finally, the chart in Appendix D compares the approaches of Levinsohn and of Gundel et al. to participant reference in a specific text. A CD with audio files of the six texts and some photos taken during fieldwork is also available.

This master thesis elaborates the construction of an integrated framework for the simultaneous initiation of quality management and information security management within micro and small enterprises. Called QISMO, the model collection consists of three parts: (1) a holistic framework as structure dedicated to achieving a shared understanding among key stakeholders concerned about relations and dependencies, (2) a reference process model for visualising the entire process with the activities related, and (3) a lifecycle model for illustrating the process loop and for clarifying specific phases therein. This study offers an analysis of alternative approaches that results in premises and requirements adapted to micro and small enterprises. Furthermore, major barriers to the improvement of quality and information security management of micro and small enterprises are identified in this study. These include miscalculation of risks, lack of competence, and absence of structured processes. Aside from valuable insights for further development of enhanced training programs, the study contributes a comprehensive analysis of standards and good practices within the field of IT governance. Moreover, the study shares a concrete reference process model that is adapted to the preconditions of micro and small enterprises. These preconditions are acquired throughout the study. The proposition is to provide a basis for the further improvement of business processes and the models related to them, both in practice and in research.

Methods used in the thesis include online polling and personal interviews with experts. The goal was to theoretically cover the area of internet marketing and analyze own conducted research. Research has revealed that the internet had the biggest influence on the phases of assessing the options, buying and searching for information of the last purchases of the respondents. The categories which were mostly affected by the internet were electronics and tourism services. With the increasing price of goods the influence of the internet was also growing. The most important internet marketing tools were web sites, search engines and search tools to compare prices. Concerning the social networks, their influence on consumer decision-making was only marginal. The work includes a comparison of theoretical knowledge with research and expert opinions as well.

[pt] Este trabalho tem como objetivo realizar um estudo de modelagem dos processos e identificação das melhores práticas utilizadas nas refinarias da empresa Sigma sugerindo adaptações e melhorias nos processos da Transferência e Estocagem. A pesquisa apresenta a construção do Modelo de Referência de alto desempenho para a Transferência e Estocagem bem como sua implementação para a empresa em estudo, focando um modelo padronizado que contenha as boas práticas defendidas pela organização e aprovadas por todas as partes interessadas. / [en] This dissertation aims to develop a study of processes modelling and the identification of the best practices held by the oil refineries of Sigma Co. in order to analyze the performance of their activities and suggesting adaptations and improvements in Oil Transfer and Stockpiling processes. This work presents the high performance reference model construction for Oil Transfer and Stockpiling and its implementation for use in the case studied company, focusing a standard model which contains the whole practices supported by the organization and the sponsors departments.

[pt] Esta dissertação tem como objetivo principal responder ao seguinte questionamento: existe um modelo teórico para o Projeto de Serviços que possa ser aplicado por uma empresa prestadora de serviços de compras coletivas? Para esta análise foi feita uma ampla revisão sobre os modelos existentes, bem como sobre a unidade de investigação, o objeto desse estudo, os Sites de Compras Coletivas. Partindo de uma pesquisa descritiva, este estudo propõe em última análise um modelo esquemático para o projeto de serviço de um site de compras coletivas, o qual representa o mundo atual globalizado e interligado através dos meios de comunicação, via internet. Como resultado do trabalho cabe destacar que a elaboração do projeto para os Sites de Compras Coletivas permitiu que este englobasse três fatores que aumentam as suas chances de sucesso. Primeiro, o serviço se torna orientado para o mercado, no caso para os consumidores virtuais. Segundo, a realização de minuciosos estudos de viabilidade e especificação que consideram as características do público alvo, o mercado consumidor, de cada oferta e da concorrência. E, por fim, o projeto dá maior atenção para a qualidade do desenvolvimento do serviço, através das informações que permitam corrigir ou melhorar seu desempenho. / [en] This dissertation has as main purpose to answer the following question: is there an existing theoretical model for Project Services that can be applied by a service provider of collective purchasing? For this analysis a comprehensive review of the existing models was conducted, as well as of the research unit, the object of this study, the Collective Purchasing Sites. Starting from a descriptive research, this study ultimately proposes a schematic model for the project service of a collective purchasing site, which represents the current globalized and interconnected world through the media, via internet. As a result of the work, it is worth noting that the project design for Collective Purchasing Sites enables to encompass three factors that increase its chances of success. First, the service becomes oriented to the market, in this case to the virtual consumers. Second, it conducts feasibility studies and detailed specification that consider the characteristics of the target audience, the consumer market, of each offer and the competition. And, at last, the project gives much attention to the quality of service development through the information to correct or improve its performance.