D.Litt. et Phil. (Anthropology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Thesis (M. Tech.) -- Central University of Technology, Free State, 2007 / The lack of a standardized lighting instrument to be used in conjunction with existing photographic methods to document rock art, is a problem experienced in archaeological circles. Through interviews with archaeologists and an investigation into existing photographic methods concerning the photographing of rock art, a demand for a portable and modular lighting instrument was confirmed. The aim of this study, then, was to develop a prototype lighting instrument to fill this void. The design and manufacture of the modular lighting instrument entailed the harnessing of the technological advances made in the field of rapid prototyping. A brief overview of the San/Bushmen of Southern Africa is given to stress the importance of this study and to emphasise the importance of the art of the Bushman in our collective art heritage. An overview of the documenting of rock art and therewith an investigation into documented works of rock art and rock engravings by the San/Bushmen serves as a point of departure for the present inquiry. Tests undertaken with the modular lighting instrument, and a comparison of the results so obtained with existing photographic methods, showed that with the use of the modular lighting instrument, an improvement in illumination, rock-face texture and colour contrast in the images was obtained. The modular lighting instrument helps to create and regulate a suitable lighting environment irrespective of natural lighting circumstances and environments. It produces better results when it comes to documenting rock art in comparison to existing methods of documentation. Continued study for the development of the modular lighting instrument is recommended in order to produce more constant results.

No one worked harder on his own image than Bernard Montgomery, but he is rightly ranked among the most notable British Second World War commanders. Less well-known is Richard O'Connor, largely because of his own disregard for publicity. They were two very different types of personality. Both, however, demonstrated command skills and operational strategic insights which enabled them to compensate for the British Army's shortcomings in armour in 1940. They were able to use what they had - simple motorization - and adapt it away from stereotyped concepts of logistical employment, which they replaced with beneficial operational strategic utilization; Montgomery during the Flanders Campaign (1940) and O'Connor in his Libyan Campaign (1940-41). The two cases indicate that advantage in warfare does not merely rely on numbers or on superior or inferior armaments. It may have to rely as much - if not more - on the personalities of the commanders. / Political Sciences / M.A. (International Politics)

Objetivo: Realizar a tradução, validação cultural para a língua portuguesa do Brasil e análise de concordância e confiabilidade entre avaliadores das escalas de mobilidade em unidade de terapia intensiva (UTI) Perme Intensive Care Unit Mobility Score - Perme Score e a Intensive Care Unit Mobility Scale - IMS. Métodos: O processo de tradução e adaptação seguiu as seguintes etapas: Preparação, tradução, reconciliação e síntese, tradução reversa, revisão, aprovação e pré-teste. Após estes processos, a versão em português das duas escalas foi utilizada por dois pesquisadores na avaliação de 103 pacientes críticos internados em UTI. O índice de Kappa e a análise de Bland-Altman foram utilizados para verificar a concordância entre as escalas. O coeficiente ? de Cronbach foi utilizado para verificar a confiabilidade entre os avaliadores no uso das escalas. A correlação entre as escalas foi verificada pelo teste de Spearman. Resultados: Ambas as escalas, Perme Escore e Escala de Mobilidade na UTI - EMU, foram devidamente traduzidas para o Português falado no Brasil. As características dos pacientes críticos avaliados neste estudo demonstrou uma predominância masculina 56 (54%) com idade média de 52±18 anos, apresentando SAPS 3 = 66 (24%). O principal motivo de internação nas UTIS foi descompensação clínica de origem respiratória (44%). Ambas as escalas apresentaram excelente concordância (k > 0,90) e confiabilidade (alfa > 0,90) para todos os domínios. Na análise de Bland-Altman, constatou-se um baixo viés entre os avaliadores tanto para o EMU (-0,048 ± 0,35) quanto para o Escore de Perme (-0,06 ± 0,73). Os limites superiores e inferiores de 95% de concordância foram de 0,64 a -0,73 para o EMU e de 1,36 a -1,5 para o Perme Escore. Além disso, verificou-se forte correlação positiva entre as duas escalas utilizadas para avaliar os pacientes ( =0,941). Conclusão: A versão em português do Escore Perme de mobilidade em UTI (Perme Escore) e da escala de mobilidade em unidade de terapia intensiva (EMU) apresentaram alta concordância e confiabilidade entre os avaliadores / Objectives: Translate, cross cultural validate to Brazilian Portuguese language and analyze the inter-rater reliability with both instruments Perme Score and IMS. Methods: The translation process and the cross cultural validation followed the following steps: preparation, translation, synthesis, back translation, review, approval and pre-test. After this process the Brazilian Portuguese version of the both scales were used by two researchers to evaluated 103 critical care patients. The weighted kappa and Bland Altman analysis were used to verify inter rater agreement. Cronbach-? test was used to evaluate inter rate reliability. The correlation between the scales was verified by the Spearman correlation test. Results: Both scales, Perme escore e EMU, were translated to the Brazilian Portuguese. Most of the patients were male 56 (54%), mean age 52±18, SAPS 3 = 66 (24%). Respiratory failure was the most prevalent reason for admission (44%). Both scales showed an excellent inter rater agreement (k > 0,90) and reliability (alpha > 0,90) for all domains. Bland-Altman analysis showed a low bias between raters either for EMU (-0,048 ± 0,35) and Perme Escore (-0,06 ± 0,73). Upper and lower 95% limits of agreement were 0.64 to -0.73 for the EMU and 1.36 - 1.5 for the Perme Escore. Moreover, it also presented a strong positive correlation between the two instruments ( = 0,941). Conclusion: The Brazilian Portuguese version of the Perme Escore and EMU showed a high agreement and reliability between the raters

by Ngan Chi-Cheung. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 124-125). / ABSTRACT --- p.i / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iii / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.viii / CHAPTER / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Initiation of the Project --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Objectives --- p.2 / Chapter 1.3 --- Arrangement of the Report --- p.3 / Chapter II. --- METHODOLOGY --- p.5 / Chapter 2.1 --- Scope --- p.5 / Chapter 2.2 --- Approaches --- p.5 / Chapter 2.3 --- Studying Steps --- p.7 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Market Research --- p.7 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Financial Analysis --- p.8 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- SWOT Analysis --- p.9 / Chapter 2.3.4 --- Problems and Difficulties Identification --- p.9 / Chapter 2.3.5 --- Strategic Plan Formulation --- p.9 / Chapter III. --- PLASTIC MOULD MAKING INDUSTRY IN HONG KONG / Chapter 3.1 --- Product Profile --- p.11 / Chapter 3.1.1 --- Product Range across the whole Mould Making Industry --- p.11 / Chapter 3.1.2 --- Manufacturing Process --- p.12 / Chapter 3.2 --- Market Profile --- p.13 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- The Mould Market as a Whole --- p.13 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Plastic Mould Market Profile --- p.15 / Chapter 3.3 --- Customer Profile --- p.16 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- End-User Group --- p.16 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Customer Group --- p.17 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Domestic Customer Needs --- p.19 / Chapter 3.4 --- Competitor Profile --- p.20 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Domestic Competition --- p.20 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Foreign Competition --- p.22 / Chapter 3.5 --- Distribution Profile --- p.25 / Chapter 3.5.1 --- Maintenance and Acquisition of Customers --- p.25 / Chapter 3.5.2 --- Order Taking --- p.26 / Chapter 3.6 --- Outlook of the Industry --- p.27 / Chapter 3.6.1 --- Plastics Industry --- p.27 / Chapter 3.6.2 --- Plastic Mould Making Industry --- p.29 / Chapter IV. --- THE SMALL PLASTIC MOULD MAKING SHOP --- p.32 / Chapter 4.1 --- Background of the Small Business --- p.32 / Chapter 4.2 --- Company Profile of CL --- p.33 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Organization Structure --- p.33 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Management --- p.34 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Assets --- p.36 / Chapter 4.2.4 --- Staffing --- p.37 / Chapter 4.3 --- Product Profile of CL --- p.40 / Chapter 4.4 --- Customer Profile of CL --- p.41 / Chapter 4.5 --- Competitor Profile of CL --- p.42 / Chapter V. --- PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION FOR CL --- p.44 / Chapter 5.1 --- Financial Analysis --- p.44 / Chapter 5.1.1 --- Simplifications and Assumptions --- p.44 / Chapter 5.1.2 --- Cash Flow Statements --- p.46 / Chapter 5.1.3 --- Income Statements --- p.49 / Chapter 5.1.4 --- Retained Earnings Statements and Balance Sheets --- p.50 / Chapter 5.1.5 --- Ratio Analysis --- p.51 / Chapter 5.1.6 --- Comparison with Industrial Financial Data --- p.54 / Chapter 5.2 --- SWOT Analysis --- p.56 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- Strengths --- p.56 / Chapter 5.2.2 --- Weaknesses --- p.59 / Chapter 5.2.3 --- Opportunities --- p.63 / Chapter 5.2.4 --- Threats --- p.67 / Chapter VI. --- STRATEGIC PLAN FOR CL --- p.71 / Chapter 6.1 --- An overview of CL --- p.71 / Chapter 6.2 --- Future Growth of CL --- p.73 / Chapter 6.3 --- Business Objectives --- p.74 / Chapter 6.4 --- Strategic Plan --- p.74 / Chapter 6.4.1 --- Financial Strategies --- p.76 / Chapter 6.4.2 --- Management Strategies --- p.79 / Chapter 6.4.3 --- Product Strategies --- p.85 / Chapter 6.4.4 --- Production Strategies --- p.86 / Chapter 6.4.5 --- Marketing Strategies --- p.88 / Chapter 6.4.6 --- Implementation Schedule --- p.90 / Chapter VII. --- LESSONS LEARNED --- p.91 / Chapter 7.1 --- Market Information and Industry Data --- p.91 / Chapter 7.2 --- Decision Making --- p.92 / Chapter 7.3 --- Management Practices --- p.92 / Chapter 7.4 --- Simple and easy to implement strategies --- p.93 / Chapter 7.5 --- Reliance on key Employees --- p.93 / Chapter 7.6 --- Leadership Style --- p.94 / Chapter 7.7 --- Importance of Cash Flows to Small Business --- p.95 / Chapter 7.8 --- Delegation of Duties --- p.96 / Chapter VIII. --- CONCLUSIONS --- p.98 / APPENDIX / Chapter 1. --- EXAMPLE OF ADVERTISEMENT FROM MOULD MAKING SHOP --- p.100 / Chapter 2. --- "MACHINERY, MOULD PRODUCTS AND WORKSHOP ENVIRONMENT OF CL" --- p.101 / Chapter 3. --- PRODUCTION SCHEDULE FOR PLASTIC MOULDS --- p.106 / Chapter 4. --- DISTRIBUTION OF CL'S SALES TO ITS CUSTOMERS … --- p.107 / Chapter 5. --- RECORDED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF CL --- p.110 / Chapter 6. --- ANTICIPATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF CL --- p.118 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.124

Made available in DSpace on 2016-01-26T12:51:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 margareteartico_dissert.pdf: 621420 bytes, checksum: d6484338aa944f835c788d5909f93257 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-05-17 / The reuse of health care products [medical and supply hospital products] is a practice carried out by several countries. The hemodynamic catheters, which are used for diagnosis examination and cardiac procedures, such as coronary angioplasty, are the most reutilized ones. The technical difficulties to reprocess the products and the adverse events are important issues for those who decide for the reutilization of these products. Objectives: To describe the adverse events presented by the patients during and after the coronary angioplasty possibly related to the reuse of health care products [medical and supply hospital products], and to quantify and identify the reasons to discard the products in relation to both the first use and to the reuse. Casuistic and Method: Of 60 patients who were submitted to coronary angioplasty, 33 (55%) were men. The age ranged from 42 to 88 years-old, 63 ± 10 years [mean ± SD]. According to the anamnesis, 22 patients (36.7%) presented hypertension, and 10 (16.7%) had diabetes. Of this group, 15 patients (25%) were smokers, and 8 (13.3%) were alcoholics. Of the 60 patients, 29 (48.3%) presented unstable angina, 27 (45%) had AMI (acute myocadial infarction), and 4 (6.6%) other diagnoses. During the procedure and the permanence in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) the occurrences of adverse events, such as fever, hypertension, hypotension, chills, sudoresis, bleeding, nausea, and vomit presented by the patients have been observed. Seven medical devices have been evaluated: introductor, guiding catheter, guidewire 0.35, guidewire 0.014, balloon catheter for angioplasty, a syringe with manometer to insufflate the balloon (indeflator), and a three-way (3) stopcock (manifold). Of these, 76 were first-use products and 410 reprocessed products. It was verified if the same products were discarded before or during the procedure, and which were the reasons that led these products to be discarded. The categorical variables have been analyzed with the chi-square test (χ2 test). The discrete quantitative variables have been analyzed with a nonparametric statistical test for ordinal data (Mann-Whitney test). A type I error of 5% was admitted. Results: The results have highlighted that 26 patients presented adverse events. Hypotension was the most clinically significant adverse event and occurred in 11 (18.3%) of the patients. There was not, however, a statistical significance between the hypotension adverse event and the reuse of the products. Four first-use products and 80 reused products have been discarded. Three first-use products and 55 reused products have been discarded because they were damaged. We want to emphasize that all the syringes used to insufflate the balloon, which have been discarded, have been so for this reason. Conclusions: The adverse events presented by the patients submitted to angioplasty are not related to the reuse of the health care products. The medical devices integrity and functionality have been the main reason of the discards. / O reuso dos produtos médico-hospitalares é uma prática realizada por vários países. Os cateteres de hemodinâmica que são empregados para os exames de diagnósticos e intervenções cardíacas como a angioplastia coronária, são os mais reutilizados. As dificuldades técnicas para o reprocessamento dos produtos e os eventos adversos são questões importantes para quem decide pela reutilização desses produtos. Objetivos: Descrever os eventos adversos apresentados pelos pacientes durante e após a angioplastia coronária, possivelmente relacionadas ao reuso dos produtos médico-hospitalares além de quantificar e identificar os motivos de descarte dos produtos em relação ao primeiro uso e ao reuso. Casuística e Método: Foram estudados 60 pacientes submetidos a angioplastia coronária. Deste grupo 33 (55%) eram homens. A idade variou de 42 a 88 anos, com média e desvio padrão de 63 ± 10 anos. De acordo a anamnese 22 (36,7%) apresentavam hipertensão arterial e 10 (16,7%) tinham diabetes. Deste grupo 15 (25%) eram fumantes e 8 (13,3%) eram etilistas. Dos 60 pacientes, 29 (48,3%) apresentavam angina instável, 27 (45%) IAM e 4 (6,6%) outros diagnósticos. Durante o procedimento e na permanência na Unidade Intensiva Coronariana (UCOR), foram observadas as ocorrências dos eventos adversos, febre, hipertensão, hipotensão, calafrios, sudorese, sangramento, náuseas e vômitos, apresentados pelos pacientes. Foram avaliados, sete produtos médico-hospitalares, introdutor, cateter guia, fio guia 0.35, fio guia 0.014, cateter balão para angioplastia, seringa com manômetro para insuflar balão (indeflator) e torneirinha de 3 vias descartável (manifold), sendo 76 de primeiro uso e 410 reprocessados. Verificou-se se os mesmos foram descartados antes ou durante o procedimento e quais os motivos que levaram a esses descartes. As variáveis categóricas foram analisadas com o auxilio do teste Qui Quadrado. As variáveis quantitativas discretas foram analisadas com o auxilio de teste não paramétrico (Mann-Whitney). Foi admitido erro alfa de 5%. Resultados: Os resultados evidenciaram que 26 (43,3%) dos pacientes apresentaram eventos adversos. A hipotensão foi o evento adverso mais relevante clinicamente e ocorreu em 11(18,3%) dos pacientes. Não houve, porém, significância estatística entre o evento adverso hipotensão e o reuso dos produtos médico-hospitalares. Foram descartados 4 produtos de primeiro uso e 80 dos reutilizados. Por não estarem íntegros, foram descartados 3 produtos de primeiro uso e 55 produtos dos reutilizados. Destaca-se que todas as seringas de insuflar balão, que foram descartadas, o foram por esse motivo. Conclusões: Os eventos adversos apresentados pelos pacientes submetidos à angioplastia não estão associados ao reuso dos produtos médico-hospitalares. A integridade e funcionalidade foram os motivos principais de descartes dos produtos médico-hospitalares.

A walkway tribometer measures the coefficient of friction between flooring material and a test foot. The value of the coefficient of friction is an indicator as to whether the flooring surface is slippery and has a propensity to cause slip and falls. This study determined that one style of tribometer, an XL Tribometer, mimics the heel-to-floor interaction of the human heel strike. High speed video footage revealed that the test foot strikes the surface and rotates so that full engagement occurs before sliding thus mimicking the affect of a human ankle. The test foot accelerates forward as would be expected during a human slip event. The manufacturer’s reported impact speed of 11 in/s, when set to the operating pressure of 25psi, was found to be much lower than measured speeds of three calibrated tribometers. Three XL tribometers were tested and provided a range of impact speeds from 17.4 to 22.7 in/s (n=540) when set to the operating pressure of 25 psi. The pressure setting was found to have a significant effect on the impact speed while the mast angle had an insignificant affect. A review of human walking studies revealed a range of pedestrian heel impact speeds on the order of 19.4 to 45.3 in/s during normal human ambulation activities. These tribometers fell on the low side of this speed range. A sensitivity study showed that the measured value of the coefficient of friction tends to decrease with a higher impact speed. This COF decrease was on the order of 0.02 and below the machine resolution and considered inconsequential within the walkway safety community.

This research address the problem of inferring, through Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) tracking data, the graph structures underlying social interactions in a group of rhesus macaques (a species of monkey). These social interactions are considered as independent affiliative and dominative components and are characterized by a variety of visual and auditory displays and gestures. Social structure in a group is an important indicator of its members’ relative level of access to resources and has interesting implications for an individual’s health. Automatic inference of the social structure in an animal group enables a number of important capabilities, including: 1. A verifiable measure of how the social structure is affected by an intervention such as a change in the environment, or the introduction of another animal, and 2. A potentially significant reduction in person hours normally used for assessing these changes. The behaviors of interest in the context of this research are those definable using the macaques’ spatial (x,y,z) position and motion inside an enclosure. Periods of time spent in close proximity with other group members are considered to be events of passive interaction and are used in the calculation of an Affiliation Matrix. This represents the strength of undirected interaction or tie-strength between individual animals. Dominance is a directed relation that is quantified using a heuristic for the detection of withdrawal and displacement behaviors. The results of an analysis based on these approaches for a group of 6 male monkeys that were tracked over a period of 60 days at the Yerkes Primate Research Center are presented in this Thesis.

Developing countries and the poor within them (i.e., the other) receive scant attention in management and organization studies (MOS). The field, thus, suffers from both ethnocentric and class biases. This research effort seeks to reduce these biases, particularly in the conversation on power taking place between MOS' critical management studies and interorganizational collaboration research streams. / Articulating a case study of the Sialkot soccer ball child labour project in Pakistan (1995-2003), the thesis explores the communication constraints that are faced by weak actors in interorganizational domains (a social problem and a set of organizations having a stake or interest in that problem) located in the developing world. Relying on both written documents (private and public) and field interviews, especially with women soccer ball stitchers at the village level, a typology of communication constraints is developed. These constraints are examined from the perspectives of those at the bottom of the international supply chain and the injuries these groups suffer from them are documented in the thesis. It is found that the ability of weak actors to use communication to influence a domain is highly contingent on how space and time are configured in a domain. Domains have temporal rhythms and spatial configurations. The thesis identifies two types of temporal rhythms (technocratic and subsistence clocks) and a spatial configuration (imperial space) that severely militate against weak actors exercising agency in a domain through communication. Strategies (e.g., emergent collective struggle) that can prevent weak actors from becoming subalternalized (voiceless) in a domain are also discussed. The case study permits an investigation of contemporary transnational activism that often sires interorganizational collaboration projects in developing countries. The thesis identifies two types of transnational activism (thick and thin), delineates the various elements constituting them, and shows how thin activism can lead to interorganizational projects hurting weak and powerless groups that are intended to be assisted.

With recent advancements in material science, industrial operations are being conducted at higher and higher temperatures. This is apparent in the nuclear industry where a division of the field is working to develop the High Temperature Gas Reactor and the Very High Temperature Gas Reactor concurrently. Both of these facilities will have outlet gas temperatures that are at significantly higher temperatures than the typical water cooled reactor. These increased temperatures provide improved efficiency for the production of hydrogen, provide direct heating for oil refineries, or more efficient electricity generation. As high temperature operations are being developed, instruments capable of measuring the operating parameters must be developed concurrently. Within the gas reactor community there is a need to measure the impurities within the primary coolant. Current devices will not survive the temperature and radiation environments of a nuclear reactor. An instrument is needed to measure the impurities within the coolant while living inside the reactor, where this instrument would measure the amount of the impurity within the coolant. There are many industrial applications that need to measure the ratio of two components, whether it be the amount of particulate in air that is typical to pneumatic pumping, or the liquid to gas ratio in natural gas as it flows through a pipeline. All of the measurements in these applications can be met using a capacitance sensor. Current capacitance sensors are built to operate at ambient temperatures with only one company producing a product that will handle a temperature of up to 400 °C. This maximum operating temperature is much too low to measure the gas characteristics in the High Temperature Gas Reactor. If this measurement technique were to be improved to operate at the expected temperatures, the coolant within the primary loop could be monitored for water leaks in the steam generator, carbon dust buildup entrained in the flow, or used to measure the purity of the coolant itself. This work details the efforts conducted to develop such an instrument. While the concept of designing a capacitance sensor to measure a gas mixture is not unique, the application of using a capacitance sensor within a nuclear reactor is a new application. This application requires the development of an instrument that will survive a high temperature nuclear reactor environment and operate at a sensitivity not found in current applications. To prove this technique, instrument prototypes were built and tested in confined environments and at high temperatures. This work discusses the proof of concept testing and outlines an application in the High Temperature Test Facility to increase the operational understanding of the instrument. This work is the first step toward the ultimate outcome of this work, which is to provide a new tool to the gas reactor community allowing real-time measurements of coolant properties within the core. / Graduation date: 2013