This thesis explores the role of new Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) in political organisation. It explores the use of ICTs by singleissue groups - the emergence of which has become a salient feature of contemporary political activity. There has been considerable interest amongst politicians, activists, commentators and social scientists in the contribution of ICT (eg. social media) to democracy and the renewal of political life. Optimistic accounts are especially evident around 'the Arab Spring', though subsequent experiences have called into question the prevalent technological utopianism of the time. Despite this, we are now building a complete picture of how ICT can contribute to the political organisation. In particular, the significance of new media and technology for single issue groups has not yet been explored in developing countries context. This thesis, therefore, examines the characteristics of single issue groups and how social activists appropriated new media tools and its consequences for political organisation in a developing country: India. A qualitative study was undertaken to focus on two detailed case studies: India Against Corruption (IAC) and the Pink Chaddi campaign. IAC was the traditional activist organisation that used new media to its advantage whereas Pink Chaddi was the pioneering example of online social activism in the India. Forty-three semi-structured interviews were conducted with a range of actors involved to understand how single-issue groups appropriated technology and how new practices have emerge from this appropriation. Drawing upon the Social Shaping of Technology perspective (Williams & Edge, 1996) and its extension to Social Learning (Sørensen, 1996), the thesis refutes prevalent deterministic accounts (whether utopian or dystopian) of the impact of new technologies on political organisations. Instead, a detailed account is rendered of the adoption of various communication media and their utilisation in the particular practices and activities of the single-issue groups selected. The results demonstrate that the particular setting shapes the appropriation of new media and the development of new organisation practices: the skills resources and strategies of the local players involved as well as the availability and affordances of technology. The thesis introduces the concept of 'creative configuration' - to capture the innovative and adaptive process by which the actors involved explored the applicability of general purpose technology infrastructure and tools, assisted by forms of local expertise available to hand, to support organisational objectives. The research examines the applicability of the theory of temporary organisation (Lundin & Söderholm, 1995) to the activities of single-issue groups. It suggests an extension of this theory, highlighting how 'technology' acts as a catalyst to sustain temporary organisations such as single-issue groups. Further, a framework for sustainable local innovations is proposed to explore lessons for organisations in exploiting technologies sustainably and more efficiently.

"June 27, 2004" / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 180-195) / xiii, 195 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design, 2004

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Bielefeld, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 147-152).

No description available.

This thesis studies the operating characteristics of the boost type battery power modules (BPMs) with series and parallel configurations. Under different operating conditions, the BPMs can be operated at the continuous conduction mode (CCM), the discontinuous conduction mode (DCM), or the hybrid mode with a combination of CCM and DCM. The current distribution and balance discharging among BPMs with different configurations are analyzed in detail. Experiments are carried out to demonstrate the analysis results. Finally, a circuit configuration with arrayed BPMs is proposed for adaptable management and maintenance of a battery power system.

Thèse doctorat : Informatique : Rennes 1 : 2007. Thèse doctorat : Informatique : Universidad de la Republica, Montevideo (Uruguay) : 2007. / Thèse soutenue en cotutelle. Bibliogr. p. 153-159.

We study three different problems in non linear PDE. The first problem relates to finding equilibrium configurations in periodic media, more precisely, given an Area-Dirichlet functional J, which is periodic under integer translations and given three planes in R[superscript d], we proof there exists at least one minimizer such that it’s positive part, negative part and zero set remain at a uniform bounded distance of each plane. The second and third problem are related to non local diffusion, in the elliptic non symmetric case and parabolic case. In both cases we are interested in proving interior regularity for solutions of the aforementioned equations. / text

Many countries worldwide experience water shortages on a daily basis and this water crisis is expected to increase even more in the near future due to limited fresh water resources. Alternative sources of fresh water such as desalinated seawater are becoming an attractive option for many developing countries. Although various desalination technologies exist today, interest in multi-effect distillation (MED) is growing rapidly worldwide. Today various energy power sources are utilized in MED plants, but the use of nuclear power as a clean and effective heat source for the MED process seems to be gaining interest. Implementation of HTGR technology, such as the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor being developed in South Africa is ideal for MED desalination purposes. In these types of reactors high temperature water is available as waste heat as opposed to high temperature steam from conventional steam power plants. Currently conventional MED plants utilize steam as the process heat source, to drive the MED process. In this study a system simulation model was developed in the computer language C++. It evaluates different MED process flow configurations in order to identify an optimum MED plant configuration for both water and steam as process heat source. Simulation results indicate that a steam-heat-source (SHS) MED plant produces approximately 25-30% more product water than a water-heat-source (WHS) MED plant while utilizing less plant stages. Plant layout and economics are impacted by the available process heat source. Results also indicate that a parallel feed configuration (PFC), which incorporates preheating of feed water, seems to be the optimum process flow configuration type for both the SHS and WHS type plants. Product water costs for optimized SHS and WHS MED plants were also compared. Various system parameters influence plant performance, but the serie effect temperature difference seems to be the most influential parameter in terms of water production. Preheating of feed water increases production levels up to 30%. Results from the C++ model have been compared to results calculated with MEE-TVC, a desalination system design program and were generally in good agreement. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Nuclear Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Many countries worldwide experience water shortages on a daily basis and this water crisis is expected to increase even more in the near future due to limited fresh water resources. Alternative sources of fresh water such as desalinated seawater are becoming an attractive option for many developing countries. Although various desalination technologies exist today, interest in multi-effect distillation (MED) is growing rapidly worldwide. Today various energy power sources are utilized in MED plants, but the use of nuclear power as a clean and effective heat source for the MED process seems to be gaining interest. Implementation of HTGR technology, such as the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor being developed in South Africa is ideal for MED desalination purposes. In these types of reactors high temperature water is available as waste heat as opposed to high temperature steam from conventional steam power plants. Currently conventional MED plants utilize steam as the process heat source, to drive the MED process. In this study a system simulation model was developed in the computer language C++. It evaluates different MED process flow configurations in order to identify an optimum MED plant configuration for both water and steam as process heat source. Simulation results indicate that a steam-heat-source (SHS) MED plant produces approximately 25-30% more product water than a water-heat-source (WHS) MED plant while utilizing less plant stages. Plant layout and economics are impacted by the available process heat source. Results also indicate that a parallel feed configuration (PFC), which incorporates preheating of feed water, seems to be the optimum process flow configuration type for both the SHS and WHS type plants. Product water costs for optimized SHS and WHS MED plants were also compared. Various system parameters influence plant performance, but the serie effect temperature difference seems to be the most influential parameter in terms of water production. Preheating of feed water increases production levels up to 30%. Results from the C++ model have been compared to results calculated with MEE-TVC, a desalination system design program and were generally in good agreement. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Nuclear Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Bibliography: leaves 231-239. / x, 290 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Demonstrates the significance and usefulness of representation in geometry by generating various floor design layouts for a typical Australian house, a single fronted cottage and the building enclosures. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design, 2000?