Advances in microelectronics and nanotechnology have generated tremendous interest in the non-Fourier regimes of heat conduction, where the conventional theories based on local equilibrium no longer apply. The non-Fourier regimes include small length scales, where the medium can no longer be treated using bulk properties due to ballistic transport, and short time scales, on the order of the relaxation time of heat carriers, such as in short pulse laser heating. One of the objectives of this thesis is to clarify some misunderstandings in hyperbolic heat equation (HHE), commonly thought as a remedy of Fourier's law at small time scales. The HHE is analyzed from the stand point of statistical mechanics with an emphasis on the consequences of assumptions applied to the Boltzmann transport equation (BTE) when deriving the HHE. In addition, some misperceptions of the HHE, caused by a few experiments and confusion with other physical phenomena, are clarified. It is concluded that HHE should not be interpreted as a more general equation governing heat transport because of several fundamental limitations. The other objective of this thesis is to introduce radiation entropy to the equation of phonon radiative transport (EPRT) for understanding the heat transfer mechanism on a fundamental level which can be applied to both diffusion and ballistic heat conduction in dielectric solids. The entropy generation due to phonon transport is examined along with the definition of a phonon brightness temperature, which is direction and frequency dependent. A better understanding of non-Fourier heat conduction will help researchers and engineers to choose appropriate theories or models in analyzing thermal transport in nanodevices.

To investigate cochlear implant (CI) performance, geometric computational models of the cochlea have been used to assess and optimise electrode insertion strategies and to investigate current flow through the cochlear volume as a result of intra-cochlear stimulation. Most of these models are derived low-resolution computed tomography (CT) and radiographic scans of humans or high-resolution histological sections of cochleae that are not viable for in vivo studies. Often these models lack a significant set of detail, still use a generic shape of the inner structures of the cochlea or obscured structures and are not clinically translatable. A method for the predication of obscured landmarks from reference landmarks is needed to generate user-specific computational models of the cochlea if the data source is of low quality. A standard set of prediction polynomial functions derived from high-resolution μCT scans needs to be developed and applied to clinically available CT images of the cochlea. Although histological sections of the human cochlea provide the best resolution of the cochlear structures, midmodialar sequential sectioning of the cochlea is not possible. μCT scans provide a solution, as the images are still of high quality and allow for detailed measurement of cochlear parameters on midmodiolar sections. Secondly, the more recent construction of a knowledge-based automated landmark computational model needs to be refined. The search fields that the automated models template uses to place a landmark need to be standardised and should have the ability to morph the cochlear shape together with the inner bony structures. Such models are of great clinical importance, as they can be generated much more quickly to inform CI surgeons on the individual cochlear anatomy of a CI patient and maintenance of CI. Lastly, the effect that taxonomic class has on the functional implications of an implanted electrode array has yet to be determined. The cochlear geometry that best predicts the location of the electrode array is important, as it has a significant implication for hearing outcomes. This thesis assesses the anatomical geometric factors that affect inter-person variations at the peripheral-electrode interface by developing a pre-operative approach to person-specific model design for implant candidates. This approach aims to increase the accuracy and details of geometric parameters that are available for model construction and integrate the image data into three-dimensional (3D) computational volume conduction models. The study used a landmark-based approach to measure the cochlear parameters that contribute to cochlear variation, as well as the development of algorithms to derive obscured landmarks from consistently available cochlear landmarks. A workflow in the form of a custom script UPCochlea.m that describes the technical aspects of landmark analysis was created to describe each cochlea algorithmically and to extract spiral trajectories that describe cochlear anatomy. Polynomial algorithms for the description of each spiral were created for use as standard for determining each cochlear class and the prediction of obscured spirals on clinically available data. This is the first study of its kind to describe all eight spirals that constitute the cochlea and spiral lamina. Automatic generation of user-specific landmark-based 3D computational models is a rapid process that can easily be translated into a clinical tool that may inform surgeons, manufacturers of CI’s and bio-engineers on the maintenance of such models. By refining the search fields for the template that landmark-based automated cochlear computational models search for a landmark to be placed, more accurate automated computational models could be generated. Psychometric data from CI users are correlated with the anatomical dimensions, their taxonomic classification and electrode locations derived from postoperative patient scans to determine the factors, if any, that may affect electrode array locations and thus the functional outcomes of CI users. The factors that contribute to speech and hearing outcomes may be used to optimise the parameter settings for CI user device programming / Thesis (PhD (Biosystems))--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering / PhD (Biosystems) / Restricted

As Aristotle wrote, rhetoric is an art or faculty of finding the available means of persuasion in a given circumstance, and the late nineteenth century was a time in American history when many authors used utopian fiction as the best available means of persuasion. For a few years, the utopian novel became a widespread, versatile and common rhetorical trope. Edward Bellamy was the most popular of these writers. Bellamy’s utopian novel Looking Backward was not only the third best-selling book of nineteenth century America, it inspired over a hundred other utopian novels and helped create a mass movement of “Bellamy clubs” along with a political party (Nationalism). During the latter part of the nineteenth century, American public discourse underwent a general shift from a focus on communal values to a focus on individuals as the source of truth. Utopian fiction of the era helps illuminate why and how this shift occurred. In nineteenth century America, literature was generally not considered to be rhetorical. At most, critics treated fiction as a form of epideictic rhetoric, aiming only to delight, educate, or create discussion. When fiction was used to promote legislative agendas and thus entered into the realm of deliberative rhetoric, critics argued that its transgression of rhetorical boundaries supposedly ruined its appeal. Utopian literature came the closest to breaking down the barriers between literature and rhetoric, as hundreds of utopian novels were published, most of them in response to Edward Bellamy. A close rhetorical reading of Looking Backward details its rhetorical nature and helps account for its rhetorical success. I treat each of the novels as participants in the larger cultural conversation, and detail the ways in which they address Bellamy, each other, and issues such as the temperance movement and the decline of classical languages in higher education. In modern times, though Bellamy has faded from the public memory, he has proven useful in a variety of contexts, from a political punching bag to a way to lend an air of erudition to various types of popular fiction. / text