The overall aim of this thesis is to compare different methods for calculation of Core-Level shifts in metallic alloys. The methods compared are the Initial State model, the Complete screening and the Transition state model. Core-level shifts can give information of chemical bonding and about the electronic structure in solids. The basic theory used is the so-called Density-Functional-Theory, in conjunction with the Local-Density Approximation and the Coherent-Potential- Approximation. The metallic alloys used are Silver-Palladium, Copper-Palladium, Copper-Gold and Copper-Platinum, all inface-centered-cubic configuration. The complete screening- and the transition-state model are found to be in better agreement with experimental results than those calculated with the initial state model. This is mainly due to the fact that the two former models includes final-state effects, whereas the last one do not. The screening parameters within the Coherent-Potential approximation are also investigated. It is found that the Screened-Impurity Model can extend the validity of the Coherent-Potential-Approximation and increase it's accuracy.

This thesis deals with random-size subset selection and ranking procedures• • • )|(derived through likelihood ratios, mainly in terms of the P -approach.Let IT , . .. , IT, be k(> 2) populations such that IR.(i = l, . . . , k) hasJ_ K. — 12the normal distribution with unknwon mean 0. and variance a.a , where a.i i i2 . . is known and a may be unknown; and that a random sample of size n^ istaken from . To begin with, we give procedure (with tables) whichselects IT. if sup L(0;x) >c SUD L(0;X), where SÎ is the parameter space1for 0 = (0-^, 0^) ; where (with c: ß) is the set of all 0 with0. = max 0.; where L(*;x) is the likelihood function based on the total1sample; and where c is the largest constant that makes the rule satisfy theP*-condition. Then, we consider other likelihood ratios, with intuitivelyreasonable subspaces of ß, and derive several new rules. Comparisons amongsome of these rules and rule R of Gupta (1956, 1965) are made using differentcriteria; numerical for k=3, and a Monte-Carlo study for k=10.For the case when the populations have the uniform (0,0^) distributions,and we have unequal sample sizes, we consider selection for the populationwith min 0.. Comparisons with Barr and Rizvi (1966) are made. Generalizai<j<k Jtions are given.Rule R^ is generalized to densities satisfying some reasonable assumptions(mainly unimodality of the likelihood, and monotonicity of the likelihoodratio). An exponential class is considered, and the results are exemplifiedby the gamma density and the Laplace density. Extensions and generalizationsto cover the selection of the t best populations (using various requirements)are given. Finally, a discussion oil the complete ranking problem,and on the relation between subset selection based on likelihood ratios andstatistical inference under order restrictions, is given. / digitalisering@umu

In this study, general geometric Levy market models are considered. Since these models are, in general, incomplete, that is, all contingent claims cannot be replicated by a self-financing portfolio consisting of investments in a risk-free bond and in the stock, it is suggested that the market should be enlarged by artificial assets based on the power-jump processes of the underlying Levy process. Then it is shown that the enlarged market is complete and the explicit hedging portfolios for claims whose payoff function depends on the prices of the stock and the artificial assets at maturity are derived. Furthermore, the portfolio optimization problem is considered in the enlarged market. The problem consists of choosing an optimal portfolio in such a way that the largest expected utility of the terminal wealth is obtained. It is shown that for particular choices of the equivalent martingale measure in the market, the optimal portfolio only consists of bonds and stocks. This corresponds to completing the market with additional assets in such a way that they are superfluous in the sense that the terminal expected utility is not improved by including these assets in the portfolio.

No description available.

A literature-survey indicated that there is a need for complete reading programmes that are integrated within the mainstream to meet the unique needs of learners who struggle to read in South African schools. Recent research suggests that the use of 'evidence-based', complete reading programmes are effective multi-purpose tools for reading intervention, cognitive enrichment, and identification of learners unresponsive to regular literacy instruction. The main conclusion of, this study was ,that the HlWAY READING & SPELLING PROGRAMME© is a complete reading programme, comprising of multiple components including phonemic awareness instruction, systematic phonics instruction, fluency training, vocabulary building and comprehension strategy training components. It is also a much-needed tool for in-service and pre-service teacher training and whole-school capacity building in the implementation of evidence-based reading instruction. A pre-test-post-test control group design was used. The weight of evidence obtained in this investigation indicates that the HRSP caused a statistically significant improvement in spelling and reading comprehension measures. The HRSP was successfully integrated within the mainstream, and the effect sizes obtained in this study were large Recommendations were offered with regard to the use of the complete reading programmes like the HRSP in school contexts to address the needs of learners unresponsive to literacy intervention. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

This thesis is divided into two parts. The first part is concerned with the commutative algebra of certain combinatorial structures arising from uniform hypergraphs. The main focus lies on two particular classes of hypergraphs called chordal hypergraphs and complete hypergraphs, respectively. Both these classes arise naturally as generalizations of the corresponding well known classes of simple graphs. The classes of chordal and complete hypergraphs are introduced and studied in Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 respectively. Chapter 4, that is the content of \cite{E5}, answers a question posed at the P.R.A.G.MAT.I.C. summer school held in Catania, Italy, in 2008. In Chapter 5 we study hypergraph analogues of line graphs and cycle graphs. Chapter 6 is concerned with a connectedness notion for hypergraphs and in Chapter 7 we study a weak version of shellability.The second part is concerned with affine monoids and their monoid rings. Chapter 8 provide a combinatorial study of a class of positive affine monoids that behaves in some sense like numerical monoids. Chapter 9 is devoted to the class of numerical monoids of maximal embedding dimension. A combinatorial description of the graded Betti numbers of the corresponding monoid rings in terms of the minimal generators of the monoids is provided. Chapter 10 is concerned with monomial subrings generated by edge sets of complete hypergraphs.

A literature-survey indicated that there is a need for complete reading programmes that are integrated within the mainstream to meet the unique needs of learners who struggle to read in South African schools. Recent research suggests that the use of 'evidence-based', complete reading programmes are effective multi-purpose tools for reading intervention, cognitive enrichment, and identification of learners unresponsive to regular literacy instruction. The main conclusion of, this study was ,that the HlWAY READING & SPELLING PROGRAMME© is a complete reading programme, comprising of multiple components including phonemic awareness instruction, systematic phonics instruction, fluency training, vocabulary building and comprehension strategy training components. It is also a much-needed tool for in-service and pre-service teacher training and whole-school capacity building in the implementation of evidence-based reading instruction. A pre-test-post-test control group design was used. The weight of evidence obtained in this investigation indicates that the HRSP caused a statistically significant improvement in spelling and reading comprehension measures. The HRSP was successfully integrated within the mainstream, and the effect sizes obtained in this study were large Recommendations were offered with regard to the use of the complete reading programmes like the HRSP in school contexts to address the needs of learners unresponsive to literacy intervention. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

In this study, Interpretivist epistemology and abductive research strategy were used to examine transcripts of sixteen two-hour focused interviews. The research sample was a group of technical experts who assumed managerial responsibilities within their organisations (transitional managers). The subjectively perceived experiences of the transition were examined as well as the respondents' intersubjective interpretations of the transition from the organisational perspective. The aim was to explore the perceived characteristics of the transitional experience. The main findings of this study could be summarised as follows: firstly, it was found that there were three main types of transitional managers: the unwilling, the pragmatic and the eager managers. Secondly, the key motivations to take the manager role for all three categories were higher remuneration, technical peer respect and the respondent's new role as an organisational decision-maker. The third finding of this study was that there were two types of transitions, the complete transition which the majority of the eager managers went through and the technical transition which was experienced by the unwilling and the pragmatic managers. Related to that finding was the link between the type of organisation, its culture and the leadership skills required in that organisation. The fourth finding was that, irrespective of the amount of time in the manager role (six months to eleven years) or the type of transition (complete or technical), all respondents in this study continued to identify themselves as technical experts with the respondents who underwent a complete transition also seeing themselves as managers. Related to this finding was the respondents' continued identification as technical experts being largely due to their need to identify with their peers (other technical experts). The fifth major finding of this study related to a lack of career planning by the respondents and little or no succession and management development planning by the respondents' organisations. In a contribution to the theory of leadership studies, this study examined leadership as a social process, building on the existing leadership concepts and theories and putting them in a social context of subjective efforts by the researcher to interpret the respondents' transitional experiences through typification of the leadership characteristics into seven themes. The need to apply an individual contextualisation was seen as essential to understanding the transitional managers' response to their own transition. In doing so, the study has contributed towards narrowing the existing empirical literature gap on the transition processes. The contributions of this study need to be seen in the context that explorative research such as the one carried out here is not considered generalisable, as its aim was to explore and describe particular phenomena. Nevertheless, insights from this study were eight

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science, Department of Computer Science, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Σκοπός της παρούσας διπλωματικής εργασίας είναι η μελέτη της θεωρίας της Near Complete Decomposability (NCD) και η εφαρμογή της στην ανάλυση της απόδοσης ενός υπολογιστικού συστήματος, του οποίου η μοντελοποίηση με παραδοσιακές τεχνικές οδηγεί σε απαγορευτικά μεγάλο χώρο κατάστασης. Αρχικά, παραθέτουμε τα βασικά σημεία της θεωρίας όπως αυτή θεμελιώνεται μαθηματικά από τον Courtois στην κλασική του μονογραφία (Courtois, 1977), ενώ στη συνέχεια προβαίνουμε στη μοντελοποίηση ενός υποθετικού σταθμού εργασίας κάποιου πολυεπεξεργαστικού συστήματος, στο οποίο εκτελούνται ανά πάσα στιγμή το πολύ Κ έργα. Ο σταθμός εργασίας που μελετάμε διαθέτει buffer πεπερασμένου μεγέθους και είναι επιφορτισμένος με τη συγκέντρωση και το συνδυασμό των επιμέρους υποέργων κάθε έργου και την αποθήκευση του στη μνήμη. Οι κλασικές τεχνικές μοντελοποίησης του buffer οδηγούν σε ένα μοντέλο με πολύ μεγάλο χώρο κατάστασης. Ωστόσο εμείς μοντελοποιούμε μία συναθροιστική εκδοχή του αρχικού μοντέλου, η οποία υπό αρκετά ρεαλιστικές συνθήκες χαίρει της NCD ιδιότητας. Την ιδιότητα αυτή του μοντέλου μας τη δικαιολογούμε τόσο διαισθητικά, όσο και μαθηματικά. Επίσης, επιβεβαιώνουμε πως το NCD μοντέλο πετυχαίνει υψηλής ποιότητας εκτίμηση των πιθανοτήτων μόνιμης κατάστασης και μίας σειράς άλλων χρήσιμων μετρικών, με σημαντικά μικρότερο υπολογιστικό κόστος σε σχέση με το αρχικό μοντέλο, εκτελώντας μία σειρά μετρήσεων στο περιβάλλον Matlab. Παράλληλα, η αξιοποίηση του NCD μοντέλου αυξάνει σημαντικά την ικανότητά μας να ερμηνεύσουμε τη δυναμική συμπεριφορά του συστήματος καθώς αυτό οδεύει προς μια κατάσταση στατιστικής ισορροπίας. Τέλος, επιχειρούμε μία σειρά από “educated guesses” για πιθανές κλάσεις συστημάτων τα οποία θα μπορούσαν να αναλυθούν με μεθοδολογία αντίστοιχη με αυτήν που ακολουθήσαμε εμείς στο παρόν κείμενο. / The purpose of this diploma dissertation is, on one hand the brief study of the theory of Near Complete Decomposability (NCD), and on the other hand the application of NCD in the analysis of a system, the modeling of which leads to a prohibitively large state space. First, we point out the fundamental mathematical principles of NCD as established by Courtois in his classic monograph (Courtois, 1977). Then, we proceed to the modeling of a hypothetical service station (R) of a multiprocessing computer system, which executes at most K jobs simultaneously. R has a finite buffer and its duty is to combine the arriving tasks into a single job and store it to memory. The usual modeling techniques applied to this “task buffer”, lead to a model with extremely large state space. So, we construct a lumped model instead, which enjoys the property of NCD. We prove this, using intuitive arguments as well as mathematical ones. Then, we confirm that the NCD model achieves a reliable estimation of the steady state probability vector and other important metrics, with significantly reduced computational complexity in comparison with the initial model. Furthermore, the exploitation of the NCD model increases significantly our ability to understand the dynamics of our system and to interpret aspects of its transient behavior towards statistical equilibrium. Finally, we make a number of “educated guesses” about possible classes of systems that could be analyzed using the same kind of techniques we used in this dissertation.