Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Rhode Island, 2009. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 157-168).

Thesis (D.S.)--Harvard University, 1989.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--RAND Graduate School, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-99).

Thesis (D.S.)--Harvard University, 1989.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Queensland, 2005. / Includes bibliography.

Numerous theories have been developed in explanation of object perception, such as Feature Integration Theory, which posits that an object is perceived after two stages: a pre-attentive stage and a focused attention stage. It is during the focused attention stage that a representation of the perceived object is formed. Theories such as object file theory account for the maintenance of these object representations following their creation. Evidence for object file theory has been provided by studies of the object specific preview benefit. This thesis seeks to examine the effect that dividing attention has on the maintenance of object representations. Using the tenets of object file theory and the cortical field hypothesis for dual task interference, it is hypothesized that by presenting participants with two simultaneous tasks which make use of overlapping cortical areas the object representation initially formed will be lost resulting in the loss of the object specific preview benefit. Whereas presenting participants with two simultaneous tasks which are associated with spatially separate, or non-overlapping, cortical regions will not result in the loss of the object specific preview benefit.

The treatment of impacted third molars that have neither symptoms nor disease is controversial. One school of thought is that these teeth should be extracted before they do become symptomatic and/or diseased. A second school of thought advocates retaining these teeth until such time when they show evidence of developing symptoms or disease. The purpose of this review is to present the reasoning behind the two opposing schools of thought. Studies involving both the risks and the benefits of extracting and retaining asymptomatic, disease-free third molars were examined. There are studies to support the proponents of each school of thought. Proponents of removal are of the belief that many asymptomatic and disease-free impacted third molars eventually do become symptomatic and/or diseased, and do so when the patient is older. The morbidity and incidence of complications common to the procedure increase with age, and therefore proponents of removal prefer that surgery be performed at a younger age when the complications are less likely to be as severe or permanent. Those in support of retaining and monitoring these teeth are of the opinion that the status of these asymptomatic and disease-free impacted third molars may never change and therefore never require surgical intervention. They believe the increased complication rate and morbidity experience by some of the older surgical patients do not justify the routine removal of all asymptomatic, disease-free impacted third molars at an early age. Both groups recognize that when surgical intervention is employed, complications such as pain, swelling, alveolar osteitis, periodontal problems, temporomandibular joint disorders, nerve involvement, sinus communication, and financial stress are not uncommon. Ultimately, the clinician must consider the information presented in this review, and combine it with his/her academic knowledge and personal clinical experience to inform the patient of the risks and benefits of both treatment options. That way, the clinician and the patient together can decide the strategy for management of an asymptomatic, disease-free third molar.

Thesis prepares the project aimed on building the base in municipality Boskovštejn. Implementer of the project is non-government organization Neptun Znojmo. Main aim of the thesis is proposal of the most efficient form of the project funding. The financial analysis of the implementer, together with the analysis of national and European funding was used to achieve the objective. The cost benefit analysis of all proposed variants of funding was used to determine the ideal form of project funding. On the basis of previous findings was determined, that the implementer should use the subsidies form Znojmo together with the commercial loan to achieve efficient form of project funding. The results of the thesis can help Neptun determine if they want to implement the project or not.

A ergonomia pode ser aplicada de diversas formas, tais como na fase inicial de um projeto, quando se aplica a ergonomia de concepção; como uma intervenção, procurando corrigir algum problema existente ou aproveitando outras mudanças para atribuir aspectos ergonômicos; ou na forma de melhoria contínua, em que entram a ergonomia participativa e de conscientização. Entretanto uma das principais barreiras encontradas pela ergonomia, ao introduzir-se no ambiente industrial, é a dificuldade em contabilizar, em termos financeiros, os benefícios que podem ser gerados pela sua aplicação. A partir da metodologia proposta pela SAABEPE, foi possível determinarem-se as condições que uma empresa apresenta para avaliar economicamente projetos de ergonomia por meio da verificação da presença de um conjunto de indicadores, bem como pela investigação de sua origem e lógica de uso na gestão da empresa. O objetivo deste trabalho é evidenciar as condições que as empresas possuem para executar esse tipo de avaliação de acordo com as informações existentes em seu sistema de gestão. O diferencial deste trabalho está na aplicação da metodologia que focalizou médias e pequenas empresas, assim, realizando estudo de casos em duas empresas. Percebeu-se que a empresa de médio porte conta com um volume de informações maior que a outra, apesar de as duas possuírem informações que possibilitam a avaliação de projetos de ergonomia. Com base no levantamento das informações, foram indicadas melhorias com a intenção de que as empresas obtenham um banco de dados mais completo para avaliar projetos de ergonomia. / The ergonomics may exist in different ways, such as in the early stage of a project, while the ergonomic design is applied; as an intervention, trying to correct some existing problem or taking advantage of other changes to assign ergonomics; or even in the form of continuous improvement, they enter awareness and participatory ergonomics. However one of the main barriers faced by ergonomics to be introduced in the industrial environment is the difficulty in accounting, in financial terms, the benefits that may be generated by the application. From the methodology proposed by SAABEPE, it was possible to determine whether the conditions that a company has to economically evaluate ergonomic designs by verifying the presence of a set of indicators, as well as the investigation of their origin and use in the management logic company. The objective of this work is to show the conditions that companies have to perform this type of evaluation in accordance with existing information management system. The differential of this work is the application of the methodology which focused on small-sized and medium-sized firms conducting case studies in two companies. It was noticed that the medium-sized company has a greater volume of information than the other, although both have information that could support the financial evaluation of ergonomics. Based on survey information, it was suggested improvements with the intention of companies to obtain a database of more complete data to evaluate ergonomics.

abstract: This thesis provides a cost to benefit analysis of the proposed next generation of distribution systems- the Future Renewable Electric Energy Distribution Management (FREEDM) system. With the increasing penetration of renewable energy sources onto the grid, it becomes necessary to have an infrastructure that allows for easy integration of these resources coupled with features like enhanced reliability of the system and fast pro-tection from faults. The Solid State Transformer (SST) and the Fault Isolation Device (FID) make for the core of the FREEDM system and have huge investment costs. Some key features of the FREEDM system include improved power flow control, compact design and unity power factor operation. Customers may observe a reduction in the electricity bill by a certain fraction for using renewable sources of generation. There is also a possibility of huge subsidies given to encourage use of renewable energy. This thesis is an attempt to quantify the benefits offered by the FREEDM system in monetary terms and to calculate the time in years required to gain a return on investments made. The elevated cost of FIDs needs to be justified by the advantages they offer. The result of different rates of interest and how they influence the payback period is also studied. The payback periods calculated are observed for viability. A comparison is made between the active power losses on a certain distribution feeder that makes use of distribution level magnetic transformers versus one that makes use of SSTs. The reduction in the annual active power losses in the case of the feeder using SSTs is translated onto annual savings in terms of cost when compared to the conventional case with magnetic transformers. Since the FREEDM system encourages operation at unity power factor, the need for installing capacitor banks for improving the power factor is eliminated and this re-flects in savings in terms of cost. The FREEDM system offers enhanced reliability when compared to a conventional system. The payback periods observed support the concept of introducing the FREEDM system. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Electrical Engineering 2015