The objectives of the present investigation are to determine the nature of the flow field around bluff parachute canopies, considering the effects of canopy shape parameters on this flow field and hence on the resulting aerodynamic forces and moments which are developed on the canopy surface. In order to relate the flow field developed around bluff parachute canopies to their aerodynamic characteristics, a series of experiments in the Leicester University wind tunnel has been conducted on a family of particularly significant canopy shapes. These cross-shaped canopies have excellent drag and stability characteristics if arm ratios of about 4:1 are selected. Flow visualisation, using both helium bubbles and wool tufts, was used to determine the flow field around the canopy. The most probable description of the wake flow is chains of irregularly-shaped vortex loops which move at about 0.7 times the undisturbed free stream velocity. Aerodynamic forces and moments measured on the various canopies correspond with the observed flow characteristics. Statistical correlation analyses made with hot wire anemometers in their wake indicate the periodic structure of the wakes formed behind these bluff bodies and reveal their basic similarities. Strouhal numbers of about 0.15 were obtained in the wake formed behind an imporous rigid hemispherical canopy. These are increased as canopy porosity is made larger. A useful comparison between a semi-theoretical blockage correction applied to aerodynamic forces and test results was obtained from an ancillary test programme conducted under water in a large cross-sectional area ship tank.

There are a variety of guidelines and methods available to measure and assess survey quality. Most of these are based on qualitative descriptions. In practice, they are not easy to implement and it is very difficult to make comparisons between surveys. Hence there is a theoretical and pragmatic demand to develop a mainly quantitative based survey assessment tool. This research aimed to meet this need and make contributions to the evaluation and improvement of survey quality. Acknowledging the critical importance of measurement issues in survey research, this thesis starts with a comprehensive introduction to measurement theory and identifies the types of measurement errors associated with measurement procedures through three experiments. Then it moves on to describe concepts, guidelines and methods available for measuring and assessing survey quality. Combining these with measurement principles leads to the development of a quantitative based statistical holistic tool to measure and assess survey quality. The criteria, weights and subweights for the assessment tool are determined using Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) and a survey questionnaire based on the Delphi method. Finally the model is applied to a database of surveys which was constructed to develop methods of classification, assessment and improvement of survey quality. The model developed in this thesis enables survey researchers and/or commissioners to make a holistic assessment of the value of the particular survey(s). This model is an Excel based audit which takes a holistic approach, following all stages of the survey from inception, to design, construction, execution, analysis and dissemination. At each stage a set of criteria are applied to assess quality. Scores attained against these assessments are weighted by the importance of the criteria and summed to give an overall assessment of the stage. The total score for a survey can be obtained by a combination of the scores for every stage weighted again by the importance of each stage. The advantage of this is to construct a means of survey assessment which can be used in a diagnostic manner to assess and improve survey quality.

Inducement prize contests, where a monetary prize is offered for a specified technological achievement, are increasingly popular means of incentivising research and innovation. Such prizes are often modelled by the rent-seeking Tullock contest, or an all-pay auction. However, the direct application of such models can overlook some particular features of technological competition. This thesis addresses three such features. The first model notes that preliminary prizes are often part of contest designs. A two-round Tullock model is used to investigate a potential motivation for offering such prizes when contestants have different productivities. A designer can identify and purchase the rights to the more productive technology where the award of the preliminary prize is conditional on the winner licensing his technology to other contestants. In this way, endowing a preliminary round results in the potential for increased second round productivity, but at the cost of a reduced second round prize. Such a structure is optimal when the productivities are sufficiently different. In the second model, it is noted that expenditures in inducement prize contests are often too large to be explained by the cash prize alone. There usually exists a final consumer application of the research. This chapter examines how different types of prizes arise by considering the informational content of winning and the effect this has on quality differentiation in when there is an established quality leader. A purely informational 2 prize influences investment decisions and also the qualities offered in the market. The main result is that some prizes may aim to select the highest quality firm as often as possible, whereas other prizes may aim to reward the entrant only if a significant improvement in quality is made. In the third model, prizes are not the only instruments available to contest designers. In particular, subsidy of spending may be possible. This chapter uses an intuitive interpretation of the Tullock contest to offer a matching-funds instrument to a budget constrained principal. It is shown that symmetric prize/subsidy contest designs may be optimal even in the context of contestant asymmetry, in contrast to most existing contest design models. It is also shown that if only one subsidy is offered, it is always to the weaker contestant. The role of contest accuracy in these findings is also considered.

Experience sampling methodology (ESM) is a real-time data capture method that can be used to monitor symptoms and behaviours as they occur during everyday life. With measures completed multiple times a day, over several days, this intensive longitudinal data collection method results in multilevel data with observations nested within days, nested within subjects. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the optimal use of multilevel models for ESM in the design, reporting and analysis of ESM data, and apply these models to a study in people with psychosis. A methodological systematic review was conducted to identify design, analysis and statistical reporting practices in current ESM studies. Seventy four studies from 2012 were reviewed, and together with the analysis of a motivating example, four significant areas of interest were identified: power and sample size, missing data, momentary variation and predicting momentary change. Appropriate multilevel methods were sought for each of these areas, and were evaluated in the three-level context of ESM.Missing data was found to be both underreported and rarely considered when choosing analysis methods in practice. This work has introduced a more detailed understanding of nonresponse in ESM studies and has discussed appropriate statistical methods in the presence of missing data. This thesis has extended two-level statistical methodology for data analysis to accommodate the three-level structure of ESM. Novel applications of time trends have been developed, were time can be measured at two separate levels. The suitability of predicting momentary change in ESM data has been questioned; it is argued that the first-difference and joint modelling methods that are claimed in the literature to remove bias possibly induce more in this context. Finally, Monte Carlo simulations were shown to be a flexible option for estimating empirical power under varying sample sizes at levels 3, 2 and 1, with recommendations made for conservative power estimates when a priori parameter estimates are unknown. In summary, this work demonstrates how multilevel models can be used to examine the rich data structure of ESM and fully utilize the variation in measures captured at all levels.

Saxony has developed into an outstanding national and international science location. Excellent scientific knowledge in fields, such as cancer research, material sciences, biotech-nology, or microelectronics, have their origin in institutions in Saxony. Our universities and research institutes are closely networked, and with their outstanding personel and technical equipment, they are attractive to experts from all over the world, whom we very much welcome in Saxony. Redaktionsschluss: 31.07.2017 / Die Broschüre gibt einen Überblick über die reiche Forschungslandschaft in Sachsen.

Die Broschüre gibt einen Überblick über die reiche Forschungslandschaft in Sachsen. Redaktionsschluss: 31.07.2017 / Saxony has developed into an outstanding national and international science location. Excellent scientific knowledge in fields, such as cancer research, material sciences, biotech-nology, or microelectronics, have their origin in institutions in Saxony. Our universities and research institutes are closely networked, and with their outstanding personel and technical equipment, they are attractive to experts from all over the world, whom we very much welcome in Saxony.

Die Broschüre bietet einen kompakten Überblick über die sächsische Wissenschaftslandschaft mit ihren Hochschulen und Forschungseinrichtungen. Redaktionsschluss: 01.10.2023 / The brochure provides a compact overview of the Saxon research landscape with its universities and research institutions. Redaktionsschluss: 01.10.2023

Während Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler an verschiedensten Themen forschen wie Nanotechnologien, Leichtbaumaterialien, Krebstherapien und andere komplexe Zusammenhänge untersuchen, ist die wissenschaftliche Qualitätssicherung noch weitgehend unerforscht. Vor diesem Hintergrund hat Staatsministerin Dr. Eva-Maria Stange mit Hochschulrektoren, Institutsleitern, Sprecherinnen und Sprechern von Exzellenzclustern, Wissenschaftsmanagern und anderen Beteiligten bei einer Fachtagung am 19.5. 2016 im Wissenschaftsministerium über das Thema der Qualitätssicherung diskutiert. Zum Nachlesen wurden alle Wortbeiträge der Tagung, die in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Landesbüro Sachsen der Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung organisiert wurde, in dieser Broschüre dokumentiert. Redaktionsschluss: 01.08.2016

Am 12. November 2018 diskutierten etwa 80 Vertreterinnen und Vertreter sächsischer Hochschulen, Forschungseinrichtungen, Gewerkschaften und der Landespolitik darüber, wie die Chancen für Frauen in Wissenschaft und Forschung verbessert werden können. Die Tagung wurde in der vorliegenden Broschüre dokumentiert. Redaktionsschluss: 08.02.2019

Our brochure is designed to give you an initial overview of “Saxony – the Science State”. We called on our universities and research institutes in the various science regions to present short profiles of themselves. Redaktionsschluss: 15.11.2014 / Sachsen hat eine der dichtesten Forschungslandschaften deutschlandweit. In der reich bebilderten Broschüre stellen sich Hochschulen und Forschungseinrichtungen vor.