The purpose of this study is to evaluate leveed floodplains along the La Grange segment (Peoria to La Grange, IL) of the Lower Illinois River (LIR) for their potential in creating both specific and diverse array of floodplain habitats if they were to be hydrologically reconnected. To better understand the potential habitat availability within the levee protect floodplain of the La Grange segment, the Land Capability Potential Index (LCPI) was used. The LCPI uses hydrological, hydrologic, land-surface elevation, and soil data to create an index of potential physical habitat patches which can be applied to assess the suitability of a particular floodplain area for a particular species of interest, such as the threatened Decurrent False Aster, Boltonia decurrens. In addition, we used spatial statistics software (FRAGSTATs) to assess reconnected floodplain areas physical-habitat (LPCI patch) heterogeneity and screened floodplain areas which may provide moist-soil habitats. Most of the B.decurrens habitat occurs (>50%) along the southern portion of the La Grange segment within Clear Lake and Beardstown levee districts. Clear Lake and Beardstown levee districts also contain the largest diversity in physical habitat patches. Moist-soil habitat is mostly located in the northern portion of the LaGrange segment with the majority of this habitat type found within the Spring Levee district (31.7 km2). The levee district with the most potential to enhance important habitat types and physical habitat diversity is the Clear Lake Levee District.

In the recent years, cloud services are dominating the internet world. Streaming video content is drastically increased. This trend created a way for the cloud gaming industry. Gaming Anywhere is one such an open source cloud gaming system designed specifically for gaming users to experience high-quality gaming while eliminating the burden of upgrading hardware or software whenever the gaming system becomes outdated. Gaming Anywhere client can stream the desired game from a remote server with high-quality resolution and fps. Gaming Anywhere launches almost all type of games as per the request of the client. In this paper, the performance of a Gaming Anywhere server is evaluated in a virtual windows environment. Performance is categorically divided into two types. One is server metrics and the other is power consumption. Server metrics deals with CPU utilization, GPU utilization and multi-player capability. Power consumption deals with the CPU power usage of a virtual machine. The main aim of this paper is to conduct measurement studies on Gaming Anywhere server in two virtual implementation kits, VMware and VirtualBox, using monitoring tools. The analysis of the outcome is evaluated against the Gaming Anywhere physical server.

abstract: This study examined poverty, material hardship, financial capability, and quality of life among residents of a subsidized housing complex for seniors and adults with disabilities in Phoenix, Arizona. Respondents (N-25) completed a 42-item questionnaire in March of 2017. Data analysis revealed reports of incomes as low as 200% of the poverty level, difficulty paying for food, medications, recreation, and transportation. The study found a positive correlation between the presence of a disability and obtaining sufficient food. In addition, the results indicated lowered financial literacy, reduced ability to keep up with monthly expenses, and a positive correlation between lower income and inability to come up with $2000 in the event of an unexpected expense. Respondents reported minimal use of non-mainstream financial services; most had checking accounts, while fewer reported savings accounts. Scores on financial literacy questions were low and respondents indicated interest in a financial literacy course. The study also revealed low perceived quality of life among the majority of respondents and a positive relationship with material hardship and lower quality of life scores. Implications include the need for further research within the population. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Social Work 2017

Muitas práticas organizacionais antes inexistentes estão sendo implementadas e, ainda, construídas pelas empresas a fim de garantir uma atuação marcada pela geração de resultados positivos para o meio ambiente, a sociedade e viáveis financeiramente. A sustentabilidade tem que estar integrada na estratégia de negócio da empresa e, por isso, há a necessidade de adotar práticas que visem o desenvolvimento de capacidades e competências sustentáveis de modo contínuo. Neste contexto, usa-se o conceito de resiliência que significa a capacidade de uma empresa em lidar com um ambiente complexo e dinâmico. A resiliência é uma capacidade dinâmica e sua principal característica é a geração de competências. Desse modo, a perspectiva da resiliência pode ajudar no desenvolvimento de práticas sustentáveis capazes de gerar novas capacidades para lidar com as demandas da sustentabilidade num ambiente de alta complexidade para sistemas dinâmicos. O presente estudo teve como questão de pesquisa: \"como a resiliência contribui para a sustentabilidade das organizações?\". Dois métodos de coleta foram utilizados para responder a esta pergunta: entrevistas semiestruturadas com gestores de empresas da área de meio ambiente ou sustentabilidade e grupo focal com especialistas das áreas de resiliência e sustentabilidade. Após a análise dos dados, encontrou-se os procedimentos para desenvolver a resiliência na sustentabilidade organizacional tanto na teoria como na prática - planos de longo prazo, reuniões periódicas, benchmarking, comunicação entre áreas e hierarquias distintas, parcerias e ações eco eficientes - e práticas de valorização dos aspectos humanos como o comportamento dos líderes e a cultura compartilhada entre os membros da organização. Os especialistas compreendem a resiliência como um conjunto de práticas que consideram os aspectos procedimentais e humanos para o alcance da sustentabilidade validando, assim, a teoria e os achados do primeiro método - entrevistas com gestores de empresas do setor industrial. / Many organizational practices did not exist before are being implemented, and also built by companies in order to ensure a performance marked by generating positive results for the environment, society and financially viable. Sustainability has to be integrated in the company\'s business strategy and therefore there is a need to adopt practices aimed at capacity building and sustainable skills continuously. In this context, we use the concept of resilience which means the ability of a company to deal with a complex and dynamic environment. Resilience is a dynamic capability and its main feature is the generation of skills. Thus, the perspective of resilience can help in the development of sustainable practices that generate new capabilities to cope with the demands of sustainability in a highly complex environment for dynamic systems. This study was the research question: \"how resilience contributes to the sustainability of organizations?\". Two collection methods were used to answer this question: semi-structured interviews with the environmental area of company managers or sustainability and focus groups with experts in the areas of resilience and sustainability. After analyzing the data, the procedures met to develop resilience in organizational sustainability both in theory and in practice - long-term plans, regular meetings, benchmarking, communication between areas and distinct hierarchies, partnerships and eco-efficient actions - and practices valuation of human aspects such as the behavior of leaders and shared culture among members of the organization. Experts understand resilience as a set of practices that consider the procedural and human aspects for achieving sustainability validating thus the theory and the findings of the first method - interviews with managers of industrial companies.

In the last three decades, states and societies have increasingly been connected to each other through Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) such as satellites and the Internet, thus expanding the sphere of influence of cyberspace. While offering numerous economic and security benefits, this increased global connectivity also poses various security challenges and threats at the national and international level. In particular, the threat of cyberwar has become one of the top national security issues in both the United States and China, as reflected in an increasing number of cyber disputes between the two nations recently. In the wake of this emerging threat, scholars have turned to the classical deterrence strategies of Cold War to counter these new challenges, inspiring the development of cyber deterrence theory. However, numerous pundits in the cyber deterrence literature doubt the efficacy of cyber deterrence in hindering cyberwar. What theory or approach can offer the best explanatory framework for understanding the efficacy of cyber deterrence in forestalling cyberwar, specifically between the U.S. and China, is a question that remains unanswered. This study explores the effectiveness of cyber deterrence outside the bounds of classical deterrence and technological vulnerabilities in cyber systems and networks, and, then, offers Power Transition Theory (PTT) as an alternative approach to understanding whether cyber deterrence in the context of cyberwar between the rival antagonists can be successful. It answers the question of how PTT can allow us to better understand the effectiveness of cyber deterrence in preventing cyberwar between the United States and China. A cyber application of PTT argues that cyber deterrence is largely an ineffective approach to preventing potential cyberwar between the U.S. and China, particularly if the latter achieves parity in offensive cyberwar capability with the former while concurrently remaining dissatisfied with the status quo in cyberspace.

The study investigates female empowerment through online entrepreneurship on Taobao in Chinese society, from female entrepreneurs’ individual perspectives. Thus, the study is positioned in the dynamic e-commerce landscape of China.   This small-scale case study has been conducted, which involves 14 female online storeowners on Taobao. Online female entrepreneurs constitute the base of this study, and share their accounts of the dramatic changes in their lives after they initiated their online businesses. The entire study departs from their actual experiences and opinions, which provide multiple perspectives, so as to garner further insights into the dominant research of female empowerment within the context of e-commerce. Their actual experiences and accounts are interpreted and examined, based primarily on Sen’s capability approach, while their actual capabilities and functionings are evaluated, based on the selected aspects of their situations.   This study claims that even though the female online storeowners believe they have a higher autonomy in managing their time and household duties, and an ability to act according to their will to achieve what they desire, the female online storeowners still do not regard themselves as entrepreneurs. The enhancements in the capabilities of the female online storeowners and their achieved functionings do not necessarily go beyond the online environment. This study aims to provide a solid departure for any further investigations into women’s empowerment through e-commerce on a societal level.

Os sistemas de medição são projetados para obter uma capabilidade de acordo com as exigências do cliente final ou especificações de engenharia. Esta capabilidade deve ser mantida através de manutenções preventivas e calibrações. Este estudo apresenta um procedimento, onde se determina a capabilidade do sistema de medição utilizando o MSA (Measurement System Analisys). Obtendo a capabilidade, a confiabilidade das medições obtidas do sistema de medição é estimada, considerando como falha a perda da capabilidade obtida. Os tempos estimados de falha são obtidos em testes de vida acelerados utilizando como sobrecarga o aumento da temperatura e extrapolando os tempos de falha para condição de uso através dos modelos de Arrhenius-exponencial, Arrenius-Weibull e Arrhenius-lognormal. O MTTF é calculado para estimação dos tempos de manutenção e calibração do sistema de medição. Uma aplicação do procedimento proposto é realizada em um equipamento protótipo de medição do número de Swirl desenvolvido com uma nova tecnologia de medição mais rápida e precisa em relação aos existentes no mercado. O estudo avalia a capabilidade do equipamento de medição de Swril e posteriormente estima tempos de falha para obter a confiabilidade das medições obtidas e o tempo necessário para sua manutenção. / The measuring systems are designed to achieve a capability according to the requirements from the end customer or engineering specifications. This capability must be maintained through preventive maintenance and calibration. This study presents a procedure, where the measurement system capability is determined using the MSA (Measurement System Analyzes). Obtaining the capability, the reliability of the measurements obtained from the measurement system is estimated, considering as failure the loss of the capability obtained. An estimated failure times are obtained in accelerated life tests using the temperature increase as an overloading and extrapolating the failure times to condition of use through the Arrhenius-exponential, Arrenius-Weibull and Arrhenius-lognormal models. The MTTF is calculated to estimate the maintenance and calibration times for the measurement system. An application of the proposed procedure is carried out on a prototype equipment to measure the Swirl number developed with a new measurement technology faster and more accurate than others available on the market. The study evaluates the capability of equipment to measure the Swirl number and then estimates failure times to obtain the reliability of measurements obtained and the time required for their maintenance.

Banking through insufficiently coordinated and non-integrated channels (Multi-Channel) is slowly being discarded. With Omni-Channel banking, where channels are integrated and data and information are shared across cross channels, customers are in control of the channels they wish to use. Factors influencing the organisational decision to transition from Multi-Channel to Omni-Channel hasn't been fully explored. Is this decision responding to internal factors like efficiency improvements, or is it driven by external factors like customer demands, trying to enhance customer experience, gaining competitive advantage over the competitors, expanding the business by introducing new business models, or trying to gain access to smart technologies for financial benefit? This dissertation presents research findings into the investigation of factors that influence the organisational decision to transition from Multi-Channel to Omni-Channel banking. A positivist case study with inductive reasoning was adopted. Qualitative data was collected from a single organisation through interviews together with observations of the strategy documents between January 2019 and April 2019. An initial conceptual model was derived from the literature review to guide data collection, after which thematic analysis was used to analyse the data and develop an emergent theory. The key findings from the research study are that a customer centric approach informs the decision to transition. The customer is at the centre of the omni-channel strategy: that is through an enhanced customer experience or timeously responding to customer demands. Other factors are either enabling this strategy, like technological innovations, and efficiency improvements or are the outcome of the strategy like customer satisfaction, revenue or cost optimisation, and competitive advantage. The key implications are that organisations must pay more attention to the customer journey and ensure that they advance in the Customer Experience Capability Maturity Model. Most successful business transitions to the Omni-Channel strategy require a transformation in organizational culture, operations and processes, and the underlying technologies.

This master’s thesis focuses on the analysis of statistical process control and measurement methods, used in the company stoba Precizní Technika s.r.o. On the basis of this analysis there will be proposed changes that should contribute to improving the production process. By using statistical methods for monitoring of process can identify specific causes operating on the process and thereby achieve an improvement in quality of process.

abstract: Firms compete for profitable positions in their technological environments by capitalizing on their design and other capabilities to conceive and realize marketplace strategies more effectively and more efficiently than rivals do. However, research on how technological environment characteristics change the payoff from these capabilities is minimal. Given that possessing superior firm capabilities is a primary source of competitive advantage for firms, this study seeks to fill these critical research gaps in the literature. This dissertation, which is composed of two essays, seeks to answer what capabilities pay off more in various technological conditions. It benefits from the most comprehensive sample to date that includes 2132 publicly traded firms in the United States (US) over 34 years. All the technological industry conditions are captured by using the entire data of utility patents in the US. The first essay shows that design is a firm capability that enhances sales growth. Its effect, however, is attenuated by technology intensity because, in markets with high technology intensity, design attributes become less salient. Moreover, technological competitive intensity and maturity amplify design capability’s positive effect because when technical attributes of products provide limited differentiation, design attributes receive more attention, and consumers overweight them in decision making. The second essay examines the effect of marketing and research and development (R&D) capabilities on return on assets (ROA) in three technological market conditions: Technological turbulence, uncertainty, and acceleration. It shows that all the technological environments amplify the positive ROA performance outcomes from marketing capability, with technological turbulence having the most potent effect. R&D capability, however, is most influential in technologically accelerating markets. Finally, the second essay unveils that marketing and R&D capabilities are complementary only in technologically turbulent markets. These studies thus provide valuable insights to researchers and managers on the payoff from these capabilities and offer new guidance on which capabilities firms should emphasize on under different technological market conditions. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Business Administration 2020