The objective of this research was to investigate the behavioural, physiological and immunological effects of routine surgical procedures in neonatal swine in order to provide producers with science-based recommendations. In the first experiment, low- or average-birth-weight piglets that were tail docked and ear notched at 1 or 3 days of age showed subtle differences resulting from age at processing. However, low-birth-weight male piglets had the lowest attendance during nursing bouts and spent the greatest amount of time lying alone. Vocalization data suggests that ABW piglets may be less reactive to the procedures on d 1. Overall, the decreased vitality and reduced survivability of low-birth-weight piglets suggests that delaying processing until day 3 for these piglets may be preferable. In the second experiment, the effects of docked tail length and nursery stocking density on tail-biting behaviour, skin lesions and rectal prolapses were investigated. Long-tailed pigs (docked to 4.5 cm at birth) were most vulnerable to tail-biting, and housing at a moderate versus high nursery stocking density was not sufficient to reduce tail-biting. High nursery stocking density negatively impacted skin lesion scoring and growth performance for the majority of the grower-finisher period. Pigs from either nursery stocking density and docked tail length groups were equally likely to be affected by prolapsed rectal mucosa. Given the decreased survivability and significantly lighter weaning weight for low-birth-weight piglets compared to those of average-birth-weight, delaying processing of low-birth-weight piglets may be the most humane option. Further, until tail-biting is better understood and a more effective solution found, the routine docking of tails remains the optimal method for balancing a situation with enormous welfare-reducing potential. / Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1934. / Vita. "Literature cited": p. [33].

Proefschrift--Groningen.

Search engines have revolutionised the access to information to the general public. Today search engines are the most important promotional method on the Internet. Sponsored search dominates the revenue model behind this growth. The rise in popularity and the auction pricing mechanism of sponsored advertising have increased the average cost-per-click. Marketing managers need tools to enable them to increase return on investment in this medium. The application of Anderson’s (2004) long tail distribution holds great promise to solve this dilemma. The current study used causal research in a two by two factorial design. Here data from an online property portal in a developing market was collected in order to examine the effect of a long tail (LT) distribution in keyword selection on return on investment (ROI) with sponsored search. Sponsored search allows for individualised targeting of the users behaviour. The application of the long tail (LT) enables further matching the advert text to the users search query. The results provide strong support for the significant impact on cost-per-click and by implication the return on investment that keyword selection and targeted advert text have when used in conjunction with the principles of the long tail. The interaction of the independent variables of long tail and sponsored search is significant, contributing to a 430% increase in click-through (CTR) rates and 61% reduction in cost-per-click, translating into a 61% increase in return on investment. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

No description available.

No description available.

On may 1, 1996, Ulysses spacecraft crossed the ion tail of comet Hyakutake, revealing an ion tail length of more than 3 times the Sun-Earth distance. The signatures of an ion tail, especially the ion tail far from the nucleus, are not well explored and many question marks remain. This report summarizes previous observations of spacecraft - ion tail crossings and what signatures that can be expected, as well as signatures of other known solar wind structures. A data analysis is made of possible ion tail encounters from Rosetta spacecraft measurements, Ulysses spacecraft measurements and Earth-orbiting spacecraft measurements. A search from Venus Express data to detect ion tails of sungrazing comets is presented.

Αρκετές φορές σε προβλήματα αξιοπιστίας, το ενδιαφέρον μας εστιάζεται στην ουρά κατανομής του χρόνου ζωής. Συνήθως οι ουρές κατανομών ακόμη και των πλέον εύχρηστων κατανομών δεν υπολογίζονται με αναλυτικό τρόπο για αυτό χρησιμοποιούνται φράγματα. Υπολογιστικά εύχρηστα φράγματα είναι τα τύπου Lundberg. Απαραίτητο εργαλείο για τον προσδιορισμό φραγμάτων είναι ο ρυθμός ακαριαίου θανάτου. / -

<p>Internet and the digital channels for distribution have meant big changes for the musicindustry. The physical record that has been symbolising this market for a long time is slowlybeing replaced by digital based music. The technical progress during the last ten years has ledto a democratization of music production. The amateur musicians of today can produce highquality music on their laptops and later distribute it via free music sites. MySpace andYouTube are two of the biggest sites for this free distribution and is therefore my main choiseof study.</p><p>The purpose of this essay was to find out how and if these changes have made a difference formusicians without a record deal to reach an audience by themselves. In order to find this out Iconducted three qualitative personal interviews with both established and amateur musiciansworking in the music business.</p><p>To find out how many listeners a amateur musician can generate on their own within a shortamount of time I made a quantitative study during five weeks where I posed as an musicianstarting from scrach with an aim to become famous. During these five weeks I got my songplayed 164 times and got to collaborate with a podcast show from England.</p><p>My hypothesis has been that the future role of the record company will be reduced andpossibly disappear. The theories in this essay argues that this might indeed be the case whenmusicians have accsess to a world o free marketing.</p> / <p>Internet och de digitala distributionskanalerna har inneburit stora förändringar för musikindustrin. Den fysiska skivan som länge har symboliserat denna marknad försvinner bytssakta men säkert ut mot digitalt baserad musik. De tekniska framgångarna under de senastetio åren har lett till en demokratisering av musik produktion. Amatörmusiker kan idagproducera musik med hög kvalitet på en laptop och sprida den gratis med hjälp av sajter förgratis musik. MySpace och YouTube representerar två av de största kanalerna för dennaspridning av gratis musik och jag har därför valt att fokusera min undersökning till dessa tvåsajter.</p><p>Syftet med denna uppsats var att at reda på hur och om denna förändring inomdistributionsmöjligheterna har förändrat förutsättningarna för musiker utan skivkontrakt attsprida sin musik och hitta en publik på egen hand. För att studera detta utförde jag trekvalitativa intervjuer med etablerade musiker och amatörmusiker inom musikbranschen.</p><p>För att ta reda på hur många lyssnare en amatörmusiker kan generera på egen hand under enkortare tid utförde jag en kvantitativ studie under loppet av fem veckor. I denna undersökningsatte jag mig själv in i rollen som amatörmusiker med en målsättning att bli känd. Underdessa fem veckor fick jag min låt spelad 164 gånger och fick även medverka på en podcastfrån England.</p><p>Min hypotes var att skivbolagen kommer att spela en mindre roll i framtidens musikscen ochkanske rent utav att försvinna. Teorierna som behandlas i denna uppsats talar för detta. I envärld där musiker har tillång till gratis marknadsföring och spridning av musik, vem behöverdå skivbolagen?</p>

Internet and the digital channels for distribution have meant big changes for the musicindustry. The physical record that has been symbolising this market for a long time is slowlybeing replaced by digital based music. The technical progress during the last ten years has ledto a democratization of music production. The amateur musicians of today can produce highquality music on their laptops and later distribute it via free music sites. MySpace andYouTube are two of the biggest sites for this free distribution and is therefore my main choiseof study. The purpose of this essay was to find out how and if these changes have made a difference formusicians without a record deal to reach an audience by themselves. In order to find this out Iconducted three qualitative personal interviews with both established and amateur musiciansworking in the music business. To find out how many listeners a amateur musician can generate on their own within a shortamount of time I made a quantitative study during five weeks where I posed as an musicianstarting from scrach with an aim to become famous. During these five weeks I got my songplayed 164 times and got to collaborate with a podcast show from England. My hypothesis has been that the future role of the record company will be reduced andpossibly disappear. The theories in this essay argues that this might indeed be the case whenmusicians have accsess to a world o free marketing. / Internet och de digitala distributionskanalerna har inneburit stora förändringar för musikindustrin. Den fysiska skivan som länge har symboliserat denna marknad försvinner bytssakta men säkert ut mot digitalt baserad musik. De tekniska framgångarna under de senastetio åren har lett till en demokratisering av musik produktion. Amatörmusiker kan idagproducera musik med hög kvalitet på en laptop och sprida den gratis med hjälp av sajter förgratis musik. MySpace och YouTube representerar två av de största kanalerna för dennaspridning av gratis musik och jag har därför valt att fokusera min undersökning till dessa tvåsajter. Syftet med denna uppsats var att at reda på hur och om denna förändring inomdistributionsmöjligheterna har förändrat förutsättningarna för musiker utan skivkontrakt attsprida sin musik och hitta en publik på egen hand. För att studera detta utförde jag trekvalitativa intervjuer med etablerade musiker och amatörmusiker inom musikbranschen. För att ta reda på hur många lyssnare en amatörmusiker kan generera på egen hand under enkortare tid utförde jag en kvantitativ studie under loppet av fem veckor. I denna undersökningsatte jag mig själv in i rollen som amatörmusiker med en målsättning att bli känd. Underdessa fem veckor fick jag min låt spelad 164 gånger och fick även medverka på en podcastfrån England. Min hypotes var att skivbolagen kommer att spela en mindre roll i framtidens musikscen ochkanske rent utav att försvinna. Teorierna som behandlas i denna uppsats talar för detta. I envärld där musiker har tillång till gratis marknadsföring och spridning av musik, vem behöverdå skivbolagen?