Interference is a key limiting factor in modern communication systems. In a wireless cellular network, the performance of cell-edge users is severely limited by the intercell interference. This thesis studies the use of interference-channel and relay-channel techniques to mitigate intercell interference and to improve the throughput and coverage of cellular networks. The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate the benefit of the proposed interference mitigation schemes through both information theoretical studies and applications in the cellular network. There are three mains results in this thesis: First, it is shown that for the $K$-user cyclic Gaussian interference channel, where the $k$th user interferes with only the ($k -1$)th user (mod $K$) in the network, the Etkin-Tse Wang power splitting strategy achieves the capacity region to within 2 bits in the weak interference regime. For the special 3-user case, this gap can be sharpened to $1\frac{1}{2}$ bits by the time-sharing technique. Second, it is shown that for a two-user Gaussian interference channel with an in-band-reception and out-of-band transmission relay, generalized hash-and-forward together with Han-Kobayashi information splitting can achieve the capacity region of this channel to within a constant number of bits in a certain weak-relay regime. A generalized-degrees-of-freedom analysis in the high signal-to-noise ratio regime reveals that in the symmetric channel setting, each common relay bit improves the sum rate up to two bits. The third part of this thesis studies an uplink multicell joint processing model in which the base stations are connected to a centralized processing server via rate-limited digital backhaul links. This thesis proposes a suboptimal achievability scheme employing the Wyner-Ziv compress-and-forward relaying technique and successive-interference-cancellation decoding. The main advantage of the proposed approach is that it results in achievable rate regions that are easily computable, in contrast to previous schemes in which the rate regions can only be characterized by exponential number of rate constraints.

Bridges are structures that have both engineering and architectural value. The importance bridges have in society is not only due to their function but their form and posture. Bridges are structures that pass longer spans among all other structures. This passageway includes not only the quantitative values, but the quality also. The perfect harmony between its form and function is reflected in its overall structure. Footbridges are the most intimate type of bridges for people. Usually of smaller dimensions and lighter weight, the design for these types is done with more aesthetic care. In this study, bridges are briefly analyzed from both architectural and engineering points of view. The differences and importance of footbridges in daily life are studied. Some of the existing footbridges in Ankara are observed and models, inspired by them, are made. With necessary adaptations, new cases are obtained and comparisons in their dimensions and structural system are realized.

Increasing efforts have been put into research about thermoelectric materials for the last few decades, especially recently, faced with the crucial demand for new energy and energy savings. Among the potential candidates for new generation thermoelectric materials are the intermetallic clathrates. Clathrates are cage-structured materials with guest atoms enclosed. Previous studies have shown lower thermal conductivities compared with many other bulk compounds, and it is believed that guest atom vibration modes are the reason for such thermal behaviors. Several models, including the Einstein oscillator and soft potential models, have been used to explain the guest motion. However the characterization of the anharmonic oscillating motion can be a challenge. In this work, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), heat capacity and transport measurements have been used to study several clathrate systems, especially the well- known type-I Ba8Ga16Sn30, which has been reported to have one of the lowest thermal conductivities for bulk compounds. In this material the strong anharmonic rattling behavior was investigated and analyzed according to a double well potential model, yielding good agreement with the experimental results. Furthermore, the resistivity and heat capacity results were studied and analyzed according to the influence of the anharmonic contribution. This offered a way to connect the NMR, transport and heat capacity properties, providing an advantageous way to study strongly anharmonic systems. In further work, several related intermetallic materials were examined for their structure, motion and NMR properties. Dynamical and electrical behaviors were investigated by studying the magnetic and quadrupole NMR spin-lattice relaxation. Type-VIII Ba8Ga16Sn30 exhibits an enhanced dynamics-related term at low temperature, but no rattling response as observed for the type-I structure. Type-I Ba8In16Ge30 was compared with the type-I Ba8Ga16Sn30 because their cage structures are similar. No strong anharmonic contribution was found in the NMR T1 behavior of Ba8In16Ge30, however the T2 showed behavior characteristic of atomic motion. In all cases, the magnetic relaxation was used to characterize the electron structures, and n- type Ba8Ga16Ge30 exhibited a spin-lattice relaxation behavior which is characteristic of impurity band structures near the Fermi surface. Also, a series of Ba8CuxGe46-x clathrates were investigated and showed much more insulating like behavior. In related work, the layered BaGa4 and BaGa3Sn have shown interesting NMR spin-spin relaxation behavior that indicates atomic fluctuations. This is similar to the situation found in type-I Ba8In16Ge30. The influence of atomic motion on the NMR and also the atomic structures of these alloys is further discussed in this work.

Namibia’s community based natural resource management program (CBNRM) integrates local participation in rural development and biodiversity conservation. This effort was launched through key legislation that devolved the right to manage wildlife and other renewable resources on communal lands from the state to community level conservancies. Local participation is dependent upon the capacity of the locals to self mobilize and establish conservancies, plan and implement their programs, and monitor and evaluate their progresses and impacts. Accordingly, this study examines the role of capacity development (CD) in CBNRM, particularly its processes, products, performance, and permanence at the individual, organizational (conservancy), and community levels. The research was carried out using interviews and participatory self-assessment exercises with various conservancy stakeholders. This study uncovers why and how capacity development has to be based on local realities and aspirations where capacity users need to have ownership of the process through partnerships with service providers in order to enhance endogenous capacity. However, such notion of “partnership” between CD stakeholders is challenging to translate into reality in the face of power imbalances, where government and NGOs are continuously influenced and coerced by donor interests, where NGOs are considered stronger than the government because they control more financial and human resources, and where conservancies tend to report upwards to NGOs and government instead of their constituents. Moreover, this research reiterates that CD has to be holistic enough to incorporate individual, organizational, and community level changes in order to create sustainable capacities and prevent problems of elitism, manipulation, and dependency on few individuals. With respect to CBNRM, the research argues that its basic premise of diversifying rural livelihoods using incentives to bring about sustainable resource management can only be achieved when conservancies have the capacity to create representative and participatory democratic processes, and when they are able to generate equitable and reliable tangible benefits with manageable costs to their constituents. As seen in this study, when such governance and benefit sharing structures are in place, they enhance local participation by promoting political empowerment, trust, ownership, and positive attitude towards living with wildlife. However, if such conditions are not met, local participation is reduced, while intra-community conflicts from marginalization to nepotism and members’ dissatisfaction and disinterest are inevitable.

With the advent of telecommunication technology, the need to transport multimedia content is increasing day by day. Successful video transmission over the wireless network faces a lot of challenges because of the limited resource and error prone nature of the wireless environment. To deal with these two challenges, not only the video needs to be compressed very efficiently but also the compression scheme needs to provide some error resilient features to deal with the high packet loss probability. In this thesis, we have worked with the H.264/ Advanced Video Coding (AVC) video compression standard since this is the most recent and most efficient video compression scheme. Also H.264 provides novel error resilient features e.g. slicing of the frame, Flexible Macroblock Ordering (FMO), data partitioning etc. In this thesis, we investigate how to utilize the error resilient schemes of H.264 to ensure a good quality picture at the receiving end. In the first part of the thesis, we find the optimum slice size that will enhance the quality of video transmission in a 3G environment. In the second part, we jointly optimize the data partitioning property and partial reliability extension property of the new transport layer protocol, Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP). In the third and last part, we focus more on the network layer issues. We obtain the optimum point of application layer Forward Error Correction (FEC) and Medium Access Control (MAC) layer retransmission in a capacity constrained network. We assume that the bit rate assigned for the video application is more than the video bit rate so that the extra capacity available can be used for error correction.

This study examines the changing context and implications for evaluation practice of social program and service delivery devolved to small nonprofit and grassroots organizations. The setting is explored through a critical reflection-on-practice of over twenty years experience conducting evaluation. Using a multiple case study approach, the dissertation examines nine broad themes through two broad composite scenarios and twenty-five detailed vignettes that portray the challenges of working as a consultant with and for small nonprofit and grassroots organizations as they grapple with growing demands for accountability through evaluation. The multiple case study analysis is complemented by an analysis of case studies in two broad areas of literature; one on the impacts of devolution in the nonprofit sector, and the other examining recent trends in evaluation conducted in challenging settings, including community-based and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The five broad themes addressed through the case studies and literature on devolution are: 1) accountability, 2) capacity, 3) mandate drift, 4) competition, and 5) complexity. The four broad themes addressed through case studies and literature on evaluation are: 1) theory-based evaluation, 2) inclusiveness (participatory approaches), 3) the changing and multiple roles of evaluators, and 4) the use of dialogue, deliberative and democratic approaches in evaluation practice. The study contends that the ‘rough ground’ of nonprofit settings provides a useful lens for understanding broader challenges and trends in evaluation practice; that evaluators provide more than just technical skills and knowledge, but undertake important roles in linking communities, mediating among stakeholders, fostering dialogue and deliberation about programming, and mitigating some of the more egregious impacts of devolution experienced by nonprofit and grassroots organizations. By acknowledging and supporting the development of such roles and responsibilities, the profession and evaluators working in these settings can provide meaningful contributions to public discourse about the nature of accountability, the broad context of social programming, the complex capacity challenges being faced by nonprofit organizations, and the role of evaluation in exacerbating or potentially mitigating such effects.

Footings are often founded on multi-layered soil profiles. Real soil profiles are often multi-layered with material constantly varying with depth, which affects the footing response significantly. Furthermore, the properties of the soil are known to vary with location. The spatial variability of soil can be described by random field theory and geostatistics. The research presented in this thesis focuses on quantifying the effect of soil variability on the bearing capacity of rough strip footings on single and two layered, purely-cohesive, spatially variable soil profiles. This has been achieved by using Monte Carlo analysis, where the rough strip footings are founded on simulated soil profiles are analysed using finite element limit analysis. The simulations of virtual soil profiles are carried out using Local Average Subdivision (LAS), a numerical model based on the random field theory. An extensive parametric study has been carried out and the results of the analyses are presented as normalized means and coefficients of variation of bearing capacity factor, and comparisons between different cases are presented. The results indicate that, in general, the mean of the bearing capacity reduces as soil variability increases and the worst case scenario occurs when the correlation length is in the range of 0.5 to 1.0 times the footing width. The problem of estimating the bearing capacity of shallow strip footings founded on multi-layered soil profiles is very complex, due to the incomplete knowledge of interactions and relationships between parameters. Much research has been carried out on single- and two-layered homogeneous soil profiles. At present, the inaccurate weighted average method is the only technique available for estimating the bearing capacity of footing on soils with three or more layers. In this research, artificial neural networks (ANNs) are used to develop meta-models for bearing capacity estimation. ANNs are numerical modelling techniques that imitate the human brain capability to learn from experience. This research is limited to shallow strip footing founded on soil mass consisting of ten layers, which are weightless, purely cohesive and cohesive-frictional. A large number of data has been obtained by using finite element limit analysis. These data are used to train and verify the ANN models. The shear strength (cohesion and friction angle), soil thickness, and footing width are used as model inputs, as they are influencing factors of bearing capacity of footings. The model outputs are the bearing capacities of the footings. The developed ANN-based models are then compared with the weighted average method. Hand-calculation design formulae for estimation of bearing capacity of footings on ten-layered soil profiles, based on the ANN models, are presented. It is shown that the ANN-based models have the ability to predict the bearing capacity of footings on ten-layered soil profiles with a high degree of accuracy, and outperform traditional methods. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1368281 / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Adelaide, School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering, 2009

Dietary habits which seriously erode health and quality of life are widespread. Effective clinical strategies for overweight, obese and eating disordered individuals are needed. Such treatment options are usually based on constructs generated by theoretical models of causation and maintenance. Underpinning the current enquiry, the Hypno-socio-cultural model hypothesises links between the aetiology of dysfunctional eating behaviours and higher levels of hypnotic susceptibility, fantasy ability and dissociative capacity, as well as acknowledging the social genesis of the self-defeating approach to diet. Empirical evidence has supported the socio-cognitive theory of causation and remediation, on which this research is based. The literature has suggested that hypnotic, imaginative and dissociative strategies have contributed to clinical efficacy, and that aetiology and maintenance of such self-defeating eating might be linked to higher than average hypnotic susceptibility, imaginative ability and dissociative capacity. Generalization of research findings across studies is limited by the uncertainty introduced by the variety of measuring instruments utilized, and gender and age differences which have emerged. As well, possible individual preferences for specificity of hypnotic suggestions, which may affect responsivity levels, could dictate a need for reinterpretation of the results of relevant research. As an initial step in exploration of these issues, a group of University students responded to a number of assessment instruments, designed to tap self-perceptions in relation to weight, shape and size concerns, eating behaviours, and use of imaginative, dissociative and hypnotic capacities, as well as responding to hypnotic suggestions embedded in a formal assessment thereof. In this current research, expected relationships between elements of the Hypno-socio-cultural model were probably affected by a complex array of factors, which are difficult to measure using current instruments. Case studies drawn from the participants in this study have further elucidated the possible connections underlying the proposed Hypno-Socio-Cultural model, as well as highlighting the complexity of the relationships of all the factors involved. The Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory, which was used to access the subjective experience of the individual’s responsivity to hypnotic suggestion, and which also tapped imaginative and dissociative experiences in relation to same, appears to have unique potential for further exploration of issues related to the connections highlighted in this study Findings in the current study suggested that some widely used assessments were not measuring the same constructs. Because of such factors, results which suggested links between weight, shape and eating measures, and those assessing hypnotic susceptibility, fantasy-proneness and dissociative capacity, although in the expected direction, were not as strong as was expected. In light of the anecdotal evidence of effective clinical use of imaginative, dissociative and hypnotic techniques with self-defeating eaters, the results were reassessed. It seemed feasible to interpret these results as suggesting that higher reliance on self-protective and defensive modes of using imaginative and dissociative capacities may mark the self-defeating eater. A modified Hypno-Socio-Cultural model, incorporating such a possibility, has been proposed as the basis for further study. It is recommended that such research be undertaken, employing a variety of relevant measures, with a larger group of participants of both genders with DSM-IV criterion diagnosed self-defeating eating. The importance to clincial work of investigating the proposed model as a basis for treatment remains paramount in this field of self-defeating eating.

[Abstract]The bearing capacity of foundations is a fundamental problem in geotechnical engineering. For all structures placed on a soil foundation, geotechnical engineers must ensure that the soil has sufficient load carrying capacity so that the foundation does not collapse or become unstable under any conceivable loading. The ultimate bearing capacity is the magnitude of bearing pressure at which the supporting ground is expected to fail in shear, i.e. a collapse will take place.During the last fifty years various researchers have proposed approximate techniques to estimate the short term undrained bearing capacity of foundations. The majority of existing theories are not entirely rigorous and contain many underlying assumptions. As a consequence, current design practices include a great deal of empiricism. Throughout recent decades, there has also been a dramatic expansion in numerical techniques and analyses, however, very few rigorous numerical analyses have been performed todetermine the ultimate bearing capacity of undrained soils.In this study, finite element analysis has been used to analyse a range of bearing capacity problems in undrained soil. The numerical models account for a range of variablesincluding footing size, shape, embedment depth, soil layering and undrained bearing capacity of footings on slopes.By using the powerful ability of computers a comprehensive set of solutions have been obtained therefore reducing the uncertainties apparent in previous solutions.

Bibliography: leaves 211-234. / xiv, 234 p. : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / The general problem of scheduling is investigated, with focus on jobs consisting of both independent and dependent programs. Using the constraint of restricted placement of programs, presents a scheduling system that produces heuristically good execution schedules in the absence of complete global system state information. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Computer Science, 1999