The purpose of this study, which primarily focuses on spiritual values, was to develop a measurement for nine spiritual anchors – perfection, compassion, passion, inspiration, investigation, dedication, appreciation, determination and cooperation – as proposed by Karakas (2010). Through the development of such a measurement, the concept and construct of spiritual anchors was investigated and definitions were refined.After reviewing the literature on workplace spirituality and personal values, a Spiritual Value Compass Inventory was developed. The 350 responses received after distributing the inventory to a sample of South African MBA students was analysed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The findings from these analyses yielded a spiritual value compass model.The spiritual value compass model outlines the spiritual anchors held by this diverse group of businesspeople, which was shaped as “passion”, “compassion”, “investigation” and “determination”. These anchors bear relevance to Karakas’ (2010) original framework for spiritual anchors, however, they have been refined through empirical evidence.The Spiritual Value Compass Inventory and the Spiritual Value Compass model provide professionals and managers with tools to understanding their spirituality and value compasses, and could form part of an important step towards preparing these business leaders to manage and create a workforce that is motivated to perform optimally. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

This study investigates the monotonic and cyclic response of light-frame wood shear walls with and without openings. Effects of overturning restraint in the form of tie-down anchors and corner segments on light-frame shear walls with and without door and window openings were quantified. While the results are useful to refine a design methodology for shear walls containing openings, they also provide important knowledge that is needed to accurately quantify anchorage requirements for shear wall design, and assess remaining load and ductility capacity of wood frame buildings after earthquakes or hurricanes. Sixteen full-scale wall specimens were tested using monotonic and sequential phased displacement (SPD) patterns. A total of five different wall configurations, five anchorage, and two loading conditions were used. All walls were eight feet (2.4m) high. Straight wall specimens were forty feet (12.2m) long, whereas corner walls measured twelve feet (3.7m) in length. The analysis includes data from a previous investigation in order to further expand the scope of this study. Results reveal that ultimate capacity and stiffness increase with increasing overturning restraint. A shift in failure mode was observed when overturning restraints were omitted. Accumulated damage experienced by the wall specimens tested cyclically was fairly uniform, regardless of the amount of overturning restraint or size of openings present. / Master of Science

Topic modeling is an effective tool for analyzing the thematic content of large collections of text. However, traditional probabilistic topic modeling is limited to a small number of topics (typically no more than hundreds). We introduce fine-grained topic models, which have large numbers of nuanced and specific topics. We demonstrate that fine-grained topic models enable use cases not currently possible with current topic modeling techniques, including an automatic cross-referencing task in which short passages of text are linked to other topically related passages. We do so by leveraging anchor methods, a recent class of topic model based on non-negative matrix factorization in which each topic is anchored by a single word. We explore extensions of the anchor algorithm, including tandem anchors, which relaxes the restriction that anchors be formed of single words. By doing so, we are able to produce anchor-based topic models with thousands of fine-grained topics. We also develop metrics for evaluating token level topic assignments and use those metrics to improve the accuracy of fine-grained topic models.

The Casimiro Ulloa Hospital is a confined masonry structure more than 60 years old that does not satisfy the requirements of the Peruvian seismic code E.030 and it is located at high seismic zone. Therefore, this hospital is susceptible to collapse and becomes an essential deficient structure. Therefore, the present study is based on a comparative analysis between reinforced concrete wall and CFRP sheets through the nonlinear Push Over method in order to obtain which is the best reinforcement in structural capacity. The reinforcement with eight L-shaped concrete walls of 15 cm thick located at the corners of the structure, increased the strength of the hospital by 115% in longitudinal direction (Axis X) and 108% in transversal direction (Axis Y), and also increased the ductility by 3% and 117% in the directions respectively. The other reinforcement was carried out with CFRP sheets and anchors. The sheets were designed with a width of 9 inches and were placed in an X-shape in the masonry load-bearing walls and the anchors were implemented in the corners of the laminate walls in order to ensure adequate load transfer between the sheets and the surface. This reinforcement increased the strength of the structure by 345% in axis X and 150% in axis Y and increased the ductility by 59% in longitudinal direction and 331% in transversal direction.

This dissertation explores the history of postsecondary education institutions in Mamelodi, a black township in Pretoria East, with a view to discerning why Mamelodi, having had postsecondary education institutions for more than 70 years in its back yard, is perceived as not being one of the pre-eminent producers of intellectual capital and technical competencies among black South African townships across the country. The study also seeks to explore the notion that education is one of the most certain ways to break the cycle of poverty in communities like Mamelodi and how this characteristic manifested itself in the life of the community given its extraordinary past experience with postsecondary education institutions in its midst. Finally, this dissertation is a case study of postsecondary education in Mamelodi with a particular concern for the interplay between these institutions and the community to understand, from a historical point of view, contemporary views and attitudes of the community to the local postsecondary education institutions. Through the case study, the unique and common features of organisations and the community are identified with the view to discerning the interactions at work that shape the town-gown relations in Mamelodi. Consequently, the study considers the historical record of the establishment and the life of the various postsecondary education institutions in Mamelodi as anchor institutions with a view to understanding the reasons for their establishment, their mandates, and how these impacted on the community in light of the generally agreed upon view that education is a real means of breaking the cycle of poverty and improving the lot of the community. The study traces the postsecondary education institutions’ relationship with the community over a period of seven decades and the community’s responses to these institutions in its midst with the view to understanding contemporary concerns and attitudes from a historical perspective. Finally, the study corrects the under-acknowledged recognition of Mamelodi’s relationship, appreciation, contribution, and support of postsecondary education in the community and the country in general. Key terms: Social history, public scholarship, urban history, postsecondary education, community development, anchor strategy, anchor institutions, Mamelodi. / Dissertation (MSocSci (History))--University of Pretria, 2021. / Historical and Heritage Studies / MSocSci (History) / Unrestricted

The career anchors concept is an approach to understanding career orientation and motivation. The original career anchor model was introduced by Schein in 1974. Several investigators have created revisions of the model to make it more useful. This dissertation is a continuation of the quest to evaluate the original model and the revised models with respect to empirical support. This study is the first of two studies in which measurement methods are devised to solve the psychometric problems of previous measures. In this study we create and test an "economic exchange" model to correct the problem of acquiescent bias. We test five career anchor models and this new scaling method against two sets of data. The first consists of data from 330 participants we collect in the present study, and the other is a set of correlation matrices from Barclay's dissertation meta-analysis of six previous studies from the literature. We find that the economic exchange method creates greater variances in the ratings (both within each person and across persons) as predicted, but the hypothesis of predicted increase in the range of correlation coefficients for this method is not supported. In its present form the economic exchange method is not found to be superior to the standard Likert scale method. In addition, the oppositionality of career anchor choices does not increase for older respondents as expected. From a confirmatory factor analysis test of goodness of fit of the five models against the six datasets of this dissertation and the six studies from Barclay's meta-analysis, we find no evidence for one best career anchors model. That is, the five competing theoretical models seem to each be "best" in some situations or populations.

Prostasin is expressed in normal prostate epithelial cells but down-regulated in prostate cancers, while prostasin re-expression in invasive prostate cancer cells reduced invasion. We examined prostasin expression and function in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). We evaluated prostasin expression in 12 BPH specimens by immunohistochemistry, and evaluated the impact of prostasin silencing by siRNA on the expression of the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and cyclin D1, as well as on cell proliferation and invasion, using the BPH-1 human prostate epithelial cell line model. Prostasin expression was localized in the glands of BPH tissues by immunohistochemistry, in either the tall columnar-shaped or the flattened epithelial cells. We silenced prostasin expression by >50% at both the mRNA and protein levels using siRNA in the BPH-1 human prostate epithelial cell line, and this silencing of prostasin expression was associated with an induction of iNOS and ICAM-1 expression and a down-regulation of cyclin D1 expression. The protein expression of EGFR, a putative prostasin substrate, was not affected by prostasin silencing in this cell line. The prostasin-silenced cells displayed a reduced cell proliferation rate and reduced invasiveness, cell behaviors regulated by cyclin D1, iNOS, and ICAM-1 in the BPH-1 cells. We believe that this down-regulation of cyclin D1 is due to prostasin's augmentative effect on iNOS. We also believe that the decrease in cell motility is due to an increase in iNOS and ICAM-1 as well as a decrease in cyclin D1, since all of these molecules can play a role in cell motility. In conclusion, Prostasin is somehow involved in the regulation of inflammatory gene expression (iNOS and ICAM-1) in prostate epithelial cells, as well as cyclin D1 expression, cell proliferation and invasion, involving molecular mechanisms different than those in the prostate cancer cells. These studies suggest that prostasin is a player in the glandular components of benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Externally bonded FRP U-wraps are a common shear strengthening configuration for RC beams, however premature debonding of the wraps is a major problem, which limits the effectiveness and efficiency of the FRP strengthening. In this investigation a new π-shape carbon anchor was used to fasten the FRP U-wraps to the concrete in an attempt to prevent/delay debonding of the wraps and increase their effectiveness. Fourteen large scale rectangular beams with a 1900 mm span, 400 mm height, and 170 mm width were tested in three-point bending with various configurations of FRP shear strengthening. Shear pre-cracks were introduced in the beams at angles of 30 and 45 degrees in an attempt to control the inclination angle of the shear crack and determine its effect on the FRP shear resistance. The FRP shear strengthening configurations included un-anchored U-wraps, U-wraps with anchors, U-wraps with horizontal strips, and full wraps. The results showed that the use of a variable shear crack inclination angle in the CSA S806-12 (2012) standard led to overestimated shear resistance predictions for beams with a single shear crack, therefore a conservative 45 degree shear crack inclination is recommended for design. The use of the proposed carbon anchors resulted in a 74% increase in shear strength over the un-anchored U-wrapped beams, while only using half the amount of FRP. The use of the anchors also resulted in a 286% increase in the ultimate FRP strain over the un-anchored U-wraps, and allowed the FRP wraps to achieve 58% of their rupture strain. The use of horizontal strips provided similar results to the anchors and may be used as a less labour intensive alternative, but this issue needs further investigation. / Dissertation / Master of Applied Science (MASc) / Damaged or older reinforced concrete structures can be rehabilitated by using externally bonded fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) sheets, which are bonded to the concrete surface using an epoxy adhesive. For the case of shear strengthening of beams, it is common for FRP sheets to be wrapped around the sides and bottom of the beam, resembling a U-shape. The problem with this configuration is that under high levels of load the FRP sheets tend to peel off the concrete surface (debonding). This limits the effectiveness of the rehabilitation and results in the inefficient use of the FRP. A new method for anchoring the FRP sheets to the concrete surface is investigated in this research study. The use of a new in-situ π-shape anchor shows promising results, as it delays debonding and provides a large increase in strength with less FRP needed.

No description available.

The offshore oilfield industry is continuously developing unique and break-through technologies and systems to extract hydrocarbons from ever increasing ocean depths. Due to the extreme depths being explored presently, large anchors are being utilized to secure temporary and permanent facilities over their respective drilling/production site. A vertically loaded, torpedo-style, deepwater mooring anchor developed by Delmar Systems, Inc. is one of these anchors. The OMNI-Max anchor is an efficient, cost-effective alternative for use as a mooring system anchor intended for floating facilities. The OMNI-Max is designed to free-fall towards the ocean bottom and uses its kinetic energy for self-embedment into the soil, providing a mooring system anchor point. Values such as drag coefficient and terminal velocity are vital in predicting embedment depth to obtain the mooring capacity required by the floating facility. Two scaled models of the Mark I OMNI-Max anchor were subjected to a series of tests in the Haynes Coastal Engineering Laboratory at Texas A & M University to evaluate the overall drag coefficient and penetration depth. The 1/24 scale model was tested by measuring the amount of penetration into an artificial mud mixture. The 1/15 scale model was attached to a tow carriage and towed through a water-filled tank to measure the drag forces and evaluate the drag coefficient. The anchor terminal velocity was measured using underwater cameras to track the free fall of the model anchor through 15 ft of water inside the tow tank. The 1/24 scale model penetrated the mud an average of 22 inches from the leading tip of the anchor to the mud surface, approximately 1.5 anchor lengths. The penetration depth increased as impact velocity increased, while the penetration depth decreased as the fins were retracted. The 1/15 scale anchor was towed at 6 different velocities producing a varied total drag coefficient between 0.70 and 1.12 for Reynolds number flows between 3.08E 05 and 1.17E 06. The drag coefficient increased as the fins were retracted and when the mooring rope was attached. The 1/15 scale anchor was allowed to free-fall in the tow tank and obtained an average terminal velocity of and 14.6 feet per second. The drag coefficients ranged from 0.46 to 0.83, which increased as the fins were retracted. When using the results to estimate prototype sized anchor drag coefficient, the average value was estimated to be 0.75.