No / Pain is a complex and individual experience, and those involved in caring for patients in pain often need creative approaches to identify possible causes, meaning and management. This case study explores the unique pain experience of a patient with cancer being cared for in a hospice at the end of her life.

In this lecture we introduce a new transfinite dimension function for metric spaces which utilizes Henderson's topological D-dimension and ascribes to any metric space either an ordinal number or the symbol Ω. The construction of our function is motivated by that of Urbański's transfinite Hausdorff dimension, tHD. Henderson's dimension is a topological invariant, however, like Hausdorff dimension and tHD the function presented will be invariant under bi-Lipschitz continuous maps and generally not under homeomorphisms. We present some original results on D-dimension and build the general theory for the D-variant of transfinite Hausdorff dimension, \mathrm{t}_D\mathrm{HD}. In particular, we will show for any ordinal number α, existence of a metrizable space which has \mathrm{t}_D\mathrm{HD} greater than or equal to α and less than or equal to \omega_\tau, where τ is the least ordinal which satisfies α < \omega_\tau.

L'utilisation accrue de l'aluminium structural au cours des dernières décennies s'explique par ses nombreux avantages, tels que son excellente résistance par rapport à son poids, sa résistance à la corrosion et ses bénéfices environnementaux. Dû à son coup initial élevé, l'optimisation des méthodes de conception est essentielle pour exploiter pleinement ces propriétés. Cependant, les normes actuelles utilisent des approches simplifiées pour prédire la résistance des éléments en aluminium, qui ne sont pas optimisées pour tenir compte des effets de l'écrouissage, des instabilités, des propriétés réduites dans la zone affectée thermiquement et des formes extrudées souvent complexes. Ce mémoire présente le développement d'une méthode alternative de dimensionnement des sections ouvertes en aluminium, basée sur l'Overall Interaction Concept (O.I.C.). Cette approche de conception innovante est basée sur l'interaction entre résistance et stabilité, tout en considérant les imperfections géométriques et matérielles. De plus, elle permet d'obtenir des résultats précis et cohérents par l'utilisation de courbes de flambement continues. Un modèle numérique d'éléments finis a été développé pour prédire avec précision la résistance en section des éléments en aluminium. Son efficacité a été validée en comparant les résultats à ceux de tests expérimentaux. Des études paramétriques approfondies ont ensuite été menées, permettant d'étudier l'impact de diverses géométries, d'alliages et de cas de charge sur la résistance. Avec les résultats de plus de 4500 simulations numériques non linéaires, des propositions de calculs de type O.I.C. ont été formulées pour la résistance locale des sections d'aluminium extrudées et soudées en forme de "I". La performance des propositions a été évaluée en la comparant d'abord aux résultats numériques, puis aux prévisions de résistance des normes de conception d'aluminium canadienne, européenne et américaine. Les comparaisons ont prouvé que la méthode de conception de l'O.I.C. mène à des résultats beaucoup plus précis que les normes actuelles, tout en étant plus simple et plus efficace. / The increased use of structural aluminium in the last decades can be explained by the many advantages of this material, such as its great strength-to-weight ratio, resistance to corrosion, and environmental benefits. Due to its high initial cost, optimization of design methods is essential to fully benefit of these properties. However, current standards use simplified approaches to predict the resistance of aluminium elements, that are not optimized to account for the effects of strain hardening, instabilities, heat reduced properties and often complex extruded shapes. This thesis presents the investigations conducted for the development of an alternative design method for aluminium open cross-sections, based on the Overall Interaction Concept (O.I.C.). This innovative design approach relies on the interaction between resistance and stability, and also allows to consider geometrical and material imperfections. Moreover, it allows to obtain precise and consistent results by the use of continuous buckling curves. A numerical finite element model was developed to accurately predict the cross-sectional resistance of aluminium elements. Its efficiency was validated by comparing the results to available experimental test data. Extensive parametric studies were then conducted, allowing to study the impact of various geometries, alloys, and load cases on the resistance. Using the results from more than 4500 nonlinear numerical simulations, O.I.C.-type design proposals were formulated for the local resistance of extruded and welded aluminium sections of "I" shape. The performance of the proposals was evaluated by first comparing it to the numerical results, then to the resistance predictions from the Canadian, European, and American aluminium design standards. The comparisons showed that the O.I.C. design proposal leads to much more accurate results than the current standards, while still being simpler and more efficient.

La qualité de la certification des comptes rendue par les cabinets d’audit légal est un élément important à la transparence des activités économiques. Plusieurs acteurs contribuent à cette qualité : les auditeurs en tant que personnes physiques, les cabinets d’audit en tant que personnes morales et les organismes professionnels qui élaborent les normes professionnelles et contrôlent les procédures d’audit. Le cabinet d’audit se doit de concilier ses objectifs d’entreprise lucrative (commerciale) et les desiderata des différentes parties prenantes. Le cabinet doit donc être performant à plusieurs niveaux. La présente thèse étudie les dimensions de performance des cabinets d’audit dans leur mission d’audit légal des comptes. Les approches utilisées pour mesurer la performance sont : la théorie des stakeholders, les tableaux de bord stratégiques en versions anglo-saxonne (Kaplan and Norton, 1992, 1998, 2000) et scandinave (Edvinsson and Malone, 1997), l’approche par le capital immatériel (Roos et al., 1997, Johnson, 1999). De plus, la construction de l’échelle de mesure suit la démarche préconisée par Churchill (1979). Combinant une phase qualitative (un stage d’observation-participante, 10 entretiens ouverts et 20 entretiens semi-directifs) et une phase quantitative basée sur un questionnaire de recherche (114 réponses), la thèse met en évidence certaines dimensions de performance des cabinets d’audit selon la perception des auditeurs français, à travers les Analyses en Composantes Principales (ACP) et les Analyses Factorielles Confirmatoires (AFC). L’analyse typologique permet de classifier les cabinets en groupes selon leurs dimensions de performance. / The quality of certification of accounts rendered by the legal audit firms is an important element in the transparency of economic activities. Many actors contribute to the quality: auditors as individuals, audit firms as legal persons and professional organizations that develop professional standards and control audit procedures. The audit firm must reconcile its lucrative aim and the demands of different stakeholders. The firm must therefore be performing at several levels. This research studies the performance dimensions of the audit firms in their legal mission in France. To construct a measure of the dimensions of performance, we adopted the approach of Churchill (1979). The proposed tool to measure performance is in the form of a strategic scorecard, which is a combination of the Balanced Scorecard (Kaplan and Norton, 1992, 1998, 2000), the Skandia's Navigator (Edvinsson and Malone, 1997), as well as of the approach by immaterial capital (Roos et al., 1997, Johnson, 1999). Based on the data collected from qualitative and quantitative surveys, the principal component analysis (PCA) on each of the performance dimensions emerges axes among the performance items revealed by French auditors. After that, a confirmatory analysis (CFA) must help us to validate the proposed model, and a typology analysis will be realized in order to identify the strategic scoreboard corresponding to each type of firm.

The study aims to create a deeper understanding and gain more knowledge about the complex and dynamic management processes in gazelle companies, in relation to both social- and financial aspects. We argue that financial challenges, such as funding and cash flow controls, are closely connected to social dimensions as human resources and company-specific strategies. Thus, it is not sufficient to handle them separately, since both social- and financial processes are closely connected and influenced by different stakeholders. The research displayed that human resources management practices and finance practices were more important than the other three dimensions. The companies that participated in our study also seem to have different attitudes towards external investors/stakeholders, depending on if they were founded before or after the financial crisis in 2008.

This article looks at the effect of culture on female labor force participation. Proxies of culture used are Globe cultural social practice dimensions, and Hofstede cultural dimensions. This article finds that globe cultural dimensions have a stronger explantory value that Hofstede cultural dimensions. It confirms that gender eglaitarianism is a predictor of female labor force participation. It also suggests that assertiveness and uncertainty avoidance are also predictors of female labor force participation.

In this thesis, Hausdorff, packing and capacity dimensions are studied by evaluating sets in the Euclidean space R^. Also the lower entropy dimension is calculated for some Cantor sets. By incorporating technics of Munroe and of Saint Raymond and Tricot, outer measures are created. A Vitali covering theorem for packings is proved. Methods (by Taylor and Tricot, Kahane and Salem, and Schweiger) for determining the Hausdorff and capacity dimensions of sets using probability measures are discussed and extended. The packing pre-measure and measure are shown to be scaled after an affine transformation. A Cantor set constructed by L.D. Pitt is shown to be dimensionless using methods developed in this thesis. A Cantor set is constructed for which all four dimensions are different. Graph directed constructions (compositions of similitudes follow a path in a directed graph) used by Mauldin and Willjams are presented. Mauldin and Williams calculate the Hausdorff dimension, or, of the object of a graph directed construction and show that if the graph is strongly connected, then the a—Hausdorff measure is positive and finite. Similar results will be shown for the packing dimension and the packing measure. When the graph is strongly connected, there is a constant so that the constant times the Hausdorff measure is greater than or equal to the packing measure when a subset of the realization is evaluated. Self—affine Sierpinski carpets, which have been analyzed by McMullen with respect to their Hausdorff dimension and capacity dimension, are analyzed with respect to their packing dimension. Conditions under which the Hausdorff measure of the construction object is positive and finite are given.

Le processus de co-création de valeur est un sujet déjà bien étudié dans la littérature marketing. Pour autant, la co-création de valeur dans un contexte digital, reste un domaine peu abordé si l’on prend en compte le nombre des recherches empiriques sur ce sujet. La recherche menée par l’entreprise Forrester par exemple montre une corrélation entre l’expérience des clients et les gains de revenus liés à leur fidélisation, que cette dernière soit mesurée par des achats répétés, un taux de changement de marque moins élevé, ou une augmentation des recommandations par bouche-à-oreille. Cette étude a également révélé, sur l’ensemble des industries analysées, un revenu supplémentaire potentiel de deux milliards de dollars pour les compagnies aériennes et de un milliard pour le secteur de l’hôtellerie. Le but de cette étude est d’explorer le double aspect de co-création marketing et de mesure de la valeur client entre l’entreprise et ses clients, dans le cadre du marketing digital. Des études précédentes sur les communautés en ligne ont principalement abordé la création de valeur du point de vue du client (Cova, Pace, 2006; Cova et al., 2011; Pongsakornrungsilp, Schroeder, 2011) en positionnant celui-ci comme le principal acteur de la création de la valeur (Grönroos, 2008; Vargo, Lusch, 2004; Vargo, Lusch, 2008). / This thesis presents and analyses the findings that showcase value co-creation within an online community of a luxury hotel business: the Fairmont Resorts Hotels and International. The FRHI group consists of the Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Swiss Hotel, and Raffles Hotels & Resorts, but the focus for this case is specifically the online community of the Fairmont Hotel & Resorts brand website. In July 2016, FRHI was acquired by AccorHotels Group. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, the Canadian based hotel group manages over 74 hotel properties in 21 countries worldwide. The aim of this study is to analyse the value dimensions between the company and its customers from a digital marketing perspective. Previous studies relating to value co-creation in digital communities have for the most part focused on the consumer perspective in the creation of that value (Cova and Pace, 2006; Cova et al. 2011; Grönroos, 2008; Vargo & Lusch, 2004, 2008; Pongsakornrungsilp and Schroeder, 2011). This thesis adopts a holistic approach through a qualitative multi-method case study, and reveals significant insights into the relationship between brand communities and company strategies. With the proliferation of social media platforms and consumers dedicating ever-increasing time to online activities this research area is becoming increasingly important to companies and their marketing executives (Wang et al. 2016).

The subject of extra dimensions has experienced a renewed interest in recent years. Arkani-Hamed, Dimopoulos, and Dvali (ADD) have pointed out that it is possiblethat there exist extra dimensions that are as large as micrometer sized, if theStandard Model fields are restricted to a four-dimensional brane. In the ADD model, only the graviton is able to probe the extra dimensions. The main motivation for this model is that it could solve the hierarchy problem between the electroweak scale and the Planck scale by lowering the Planck scale to 1 TeV. However, in the ADD model, the radius of the extra dimensions is large, giving a new hierarchy problem between this radius and the electroweak scale. In addition, there are significant constraints on the model coming from astrophysics. To improve on the ADD model, it is possible to consider a model with curved extra dimensions. An interesting scenario is provided by extra dimensions of hyperbolic geometry. In this case, it is possible to bring the Planck scale down to 1 TeV without the need of a large radius. Also, the constraints that are important for the ADD model can be completely avoided. The most efficient probe of large extra dimensions is particle physics. In particular, it is possible to study their phenomenology in high-energy particle accelerators such as the Large Hadron Collider, which will be completed in 2008. The phenomenology of the ADD model has been extensively studied. In this thesis, we consider the phenomenology of a model where the internal space is a hyperbolic disc. We obtain the Kaluza-Klein spectrum approximately and study the Kaluza-Klein modes. The results are cross sections for production of a graviton together with a photon or a hadronic jet, which are the most important reactions for LHC physics.

The purpose of this study is to analyze student attitudes toward various law enforcement figures and to obtain a better understanding of public relations, police effectiveness, and media influences in Northeastern Tennessee. This literature review provided a preliminary analysis of related works to advance the accuracy in conducting and examining future studies. The fields that deserve the most analysis are the underlying dimensions associated with public attitudes about police effectiveness, the media’s impact on public attitudes toward police, and the individual, external, and contextual variables that influence public attitudes toward police.