The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate the value of proper attention to ‘story structure’ in the study of Acts. The thesis works towards this aim in three stages. First, in chapters 1 and 2, the thesis develops the methodological framework of story structure which is proposed to consist of two interacting components: (top down) macro-structure which places an individual episode within the governing context of the story layers to which it contributes, and (bottom up) the way the meaning of an individual episode is shaped from and by its narrative clauses. Second, chapters 3-5 use the methodology of chapters 1-2 to support and guide a close reading of the narrative arc of the twelve apostles as Luke narrates their evolving story in Acts 1–12. This reading is focused by a question, appropriate to the narrative properties of Luke-Acts, about the goals of the Twelve (disclosed primarily in Luke 22:14-30 and Acts 1:1-12) and the steps taken by the Twelve to actualise those goals. Attention to the story structure of Acts 1–12 reveals that the narrative arc of the Twelve complies with Aristotle’s preferred ‘tragic’ shape, pivoting from initial rising success to ultimate failure around the turning point of 6:1-7, which discloses that the downfall of the Twelve is caused by their over-emphasis of the mission to Jerusalem and their ‘tragic flaw’ of hubris. Third, chapter 6 considers the implications of the methodology and application stages of chapters 1-5 for the contested debate over the restoration of the kingdom to Israel (Acts 1:6) and concludes against those like Jervell who see a completed restoration of Israel in Acts. The thesis then ends by considering implications of the research for wider exegetical issues such as the genre, plot and purpose of Acts.

The genesis of this thesis was the observation that water played a role in many Murdoch novels as did accounts of the wanton destruction of valuable possessions. Study of the works of AS Byatt revealed a similar interest in the human impulse to destroy and in the Byatt tetralogy published over a period of more than two decades fire is often the means of destruction. My academic training to date has taught me to attempt to account for such observations. I concluded that Murdoch's obsession with the imagery and activity of water and Byatt's with that of fire reflect their awareness that, despite the wide acceptance of the death of the idea of God, humans as individuals and in community still need a religious life - ritual, ceremony, nurture, blessing and a moral order to control the human impulse to destruction.

Separation of 225Ra (t1/2 = 15 d) from its daughter isotope 225Ac (t1/2 = 10 d) is necessary to obtain pure 225Ac for cancer alpha-therapy. In this study, microscale separation of 225Ra from its daughter 225Ac using BioRad AG50X4 cation exchange resin was achieved with good reproducibility across microdevices, and ≥90% purity was achieved for 225Ac, which is comparable to conventional chromatography. These results indicate the potential for greater use of microfluidics for biomedical radiochemistry. The modularity of the system and its compatibility with different resins allows for quick and easy adaptation to the various needs of a separation campaign.

J.R. Eshbach [and] M.W.P. Strandberg. / "February 4, 1952." / Bibliography: p. 12. / Army Signal Corps Contract No. DA36-039 sc-100 Project No. 8-102B-0. Dept. of the Army Project No. 3-99-10-022.

Con la doble intención de, por una parte, ofrecer a las empresas del Pirineu Lleidatá que operan en el segmento turístico recreativo de alta montaña una completa información estratética que las permita elegir las líneas de acción más adecuadas para ganar ventajas que mejoren su posición competitiva en el sector, y como complemento a lo anterior, de dotar a las instituciones que ejercen su influencia en el Pirineu de un marco de referencia que las ayude a realizar una correcta elección de las políticas públicas que influyan positivamente en los atributos locales que actúan como fuente de ventaja competitiva, el objetivo general de este trabajo de investigación consiste en mostrar cómo se puede detectar, crear y sostener ventajas competitivas en dicho segmento sectorial, y cómo tales ventajas pueden ser aprovechadas para obtener resultados superiores.Dada la naturaleza de los objetivos planteados, la metodología para lograrlos se toma de los instrumentos desarrollados por la Organización y Administración de Empresas para la conducción de las organizaciones en los entornos actuales. Esta es la de la Dirección Estratégica de la Empresa y, más concretamente, de la Empresa Turística, según el modelo propuesto por Chon y Olsen 1990. En particular, es la superación de su segunda fase, el Análisis Estratégico, lo que satisface los objetivos establecidos.Después de una descripción de los modelos generlamente aceptados para el Análisis Estratégico, enla segunda parte del trabajo se aplican al caso del turismo recreativo de alta montaña, a través de la obtención y tratamiento de la información necesaria para analizar cuantitativa y cualitativamente;I.- Los distintos valores que toman los elementos estructurales del segmento sectorial en cuestión, e identificar sus mejores ubicaciones y organizaciones.II,- Los distintos valores que toman los determinantes de la ventaja competitiva internacional de las mejores ubicaciones y del Pirineu. También mediante el método comparado, determinar la posición competitiva de éste respecto a aquellas.III,- Las magnitudes que toman las distintas variables del análisis interno de las mejores organizaciones del segmento sectorial y de las que ejercen su actividad en el Pirineu Lleidatá. Además, a la luz de los principios de "benchmarking", poner de manifiesto las diferencias de posición que determinan ventajas comparativas de las primeras sobre las segundas.

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Magíster en derecho con mención en derecho de familia(s) / Autor no autoriza el acceso a texto completo de su documento / Esta investigación se enfoca en el cuidado personal de los hijos, tanto en su evolución, como en la actual legislación chilena que lo regula, a partir de la entrada en vigencia de la Ley N° 20.680. Se entrega una mirada general de la legislación en la materia, el tratamiento dado por los autores, la discusión doctrinaria en lo referido a la atribución legal de antaño y los principios de la nueva ley. Se recoge lo pertinente al interés superior del niño, en relación al cuidado personal, y si éste se resguarda bajo el artículo 225-2 del Código Civil; junto a ello se analizará la incorporación de otros factores inspirados en el resguardo de dicho interés. Finalmente, se analizan los criterios y circunstancias señalados en el artículo 225-2 del Código Civil, tanto desde lo dispuesto por la doctrina, como la aplicación dada por los tribunales chilenos

Prediction of financial time series is described as one of the most challenging tasks of time series prediction, due to its characteristics and dynamic nature. In any investment activity, having an accurate prediction system will significantly benefit investors by guiding decision making, especially in trading, asset management and risk management. Thus, the attempts to build such systems have attracted the attention of practitioners in the market and also researchers for many decades. Furthermore, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate and develop a new approach to predicting financial time series with consideration given to their dynamic nature. In this thesis, the prediction procedures will be carried out in three phases. The first phase proposes a new hybrid dynamic model based on Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD), Back Propagation Neural Network (BPNN), Recurrent Neural Network (RNN), Support Vector Regression (SVR) and EEMD-Genetic Algorithm (GA)-Weighted Average (WA) to predict stock index closing price. EEMD in this phase is introduced as a preprocessing step to historical observation for the first time in the literature. The experimental results show that the EEMDD-GA-WA model performance is a notch above the other methods utilised in this phase. The second phase proposes a new hybrid static model based on Wavelet Transform (WT), RNN, Support Vector Machine (SVM), Nave Bayes and WT-GA-WA to predict the exact change of the stock index closing price. In this phase, the experimental results showed that the proposed WT-GA-WA model outperformed the rest of the models utilised in this phase. Moreover, the input data that are fed into the hybrid model in this phase are technical indicators. The third phase in this research introduces a new Hybrid Heuristic-Rules-based System (HHRS) for stock price prediction. This phase intends to combine the output of the hybrid models in phase one and two in order to enhance the final prediction results. Thus,to the best of our knowledge, this study is the only one to have carried out and tested this approach with a real data set. The results show that the HHRS outperformed all suggested models over all the data sets. Thus, this indicates that combining di↵erent techniques with diverse types of information could enhance prediction accuracy.

Due to the conditions peculiar to underwater, distinctive approaches are required to solve the navigation and path planning problem of an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV). In this study, first of all, a detailed 6 degrees-of-freedom (DOF) mathematical model is formed, including the coupled non-linear forces and moments acting on an underwater vehicle. The hydrodynamic coefficients which correspond to the geometry of the vehicle which the model is based on are calculated using the strip theory. After the mathematical model is obtained, by applying appropriate linearization on the model, &ldquo / Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR)&rdquo / control method is implemented to govern the surge, heave, pitch and yaw motions of the underwater vehicle. Path planning algorithm of the vehicle is based on tracking the waypoints. Permutation of the waypoints is obtained by solving the &ldquo / Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP)&rdquo / via genetic algorithm. Linked with that, &ldquo / Rapidly-Exploring Random Trees (RRT)&rdquo / algorithm is introduced into the path planning algorithm to avoid collisions in environments with obstacles. Underwater navigation solution is based on the &ldquo / Inertial Navigation System (INS)&rdquo / outputs, located on the vehicle. To correct the long-term drift of the inertial solution, &ldquo / Kalman Filter&rdquo / based integration algorithm is used and external aids such as &ldquo / Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)&rdquo / , &ldquo / Ultra-Short Baseline (USBL)&rdquo / acoustic navigation system and attitude sensors have been utilized. The control method, path planning and navigation algorithms used in this study are verified by simulation results.

A fuzzy logic control algorithm for self parking of a model car has been developed and an embedded controller hardware has been designed, manufactured and programmed to control parking maneuvers of a model car within the scope of this thesis study. The model car chassis consists of a DC motor actuated traction system and a servomotor actuated steering mechanism. Position data and parking place data is obtained by a sensory system. A stepper motor driven rotary table is designed and assembled to the model car chassis for positioning of the sensory system. The controller hardware includes all the required peripherals for interfacing to the motors and sensory system. A visual computer program running in PC environment is developed in order to simulate the control characteristics of the fuzzy logic algorithm. The program allows the user to generate fuzzy sets and fuzzy set members and allows the user to define membership functions and fuzzy rules. Once an appropriate control characteristic is obtained, all the parameters can be exported to a file in order to be downloaded to the controller.