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Please read the abstract in the section, 00front of this document / Dissertation (MEng (Electronic Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering / MEng / unrestricted

The aim of pharmaceutical development is to design a quality product and the manufacturing process to deliver the product in a reproducible manner. The development of a new and generic formulation is based on a large number of experiments. Statistics provides many tools for studying the conditions of formulations and processes and enables us to optimize the same while being able to minimize our experimentation. The purpose of this study was to apply experimental design methodology (DOE) and multivariate analysis to the development and optimization of tablet formulations containing 150 mg lamivudine manufactured by direct compression.

The independent influence of maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max) and running economy (RE) on thermoregulatory responses during treadmill exercise have not been isolated due to the complex interactions between VO2max, RE, body mass, body surface area (BSA), and metabolic heat production (Hprod). The purpose of the thesis is to determine whether large differences in VO2max and/or running economy independently alter thermoregulatory responses during running in a neutral environment. Seven aerobically unfit (LO-FIT: ~ 40 mlO2·kg-1·min-1) and sevn aerobically fit (HI-FIT: ~ 60 mlO2·kg-1·min-1) males, matched for body mass and BSA ran at 1) a fixed metabolic heat production of 640 W (FHP trial) and 2) 60%VO2max (REL trial). Also, seven high RE (HI-ECO: ~ 185 mlO2·kg-1·km-1) and seven low RE (LO-ECO: ~ 220 mlO2·kg-1·km-1) males, matched for body mass, BSA and VO2max (~ 60 mlO2·kg-1·min-1) ran at a 1) fixed Hprod of 640 W (FHP trial) and 2) fixed running speed of 10.5 km·h-1 (FRS trial). All trials were performed in a thermoneutral environment. The data was analyzed using a two-way mixed ANOVA, with the significance level set at an alpha of 0.05 for all comparisons. It was hypothesized that thermoregulatory responses (i.e., core temperature and sweating), during exercise will not be independently altered by VO2max, but will be altered by any differences in heat production and running economy. The FHP trial resulted in similar changes in esophageal temperature (∆Tes), changes in rectal temperature (∆Tre), and WBSL between the HI-FIT and LO-FIT groups, despite vastly different %VO2max. Whereas the REL trial resulted in greater ΔTeso, ΔTre, and WBSL in the HI-FIT group, in parallel with their greater Hprod. In groups greatly differing in RE, the FHP trial elicited similar ∆Tes, ∆Tre, and WBSL; however the HI-ECO group had to run faster to achieve the same heat production as their LO-ECO counterparts. Moreover, a FRS of 10.5 kmh-1 produced a greater Hprod, ∆Tes, ∆Tre, and WBSL in the LO-ECO group. In conclusion, thermoregulatory responses are determined by Hprod and RE, not VO2max, when differences in mass and BSA are eliminated between groups. Thus, these findings support the initially stated hypotheses.

This dissertation examines the welfare state and social pacts and determines both the causes for their decline and the political effects of their erosion in a series of three papers. Though each of these papers stands alone, together they speak to the growing influence of the European Union, which I find has been a catalyst for retrenchment and diminished social pacts in the aftermath of the Eurozone Crisis. Furthermore, it has been an underestimated factor in the contemporary spike in support for radical right parties. In an era where unpopular policies are imposed by governments under pressure from supranational entities, this volume answers the question of how the public responds to and perceives these changes. Importantly, this dissertation finds that there are two distinct national models for how the public responds to unpopular policies and ultimately the distinction between these two models is whether or not the public rewards parties for past performance or simply punishes them for unpopular policies. This volume sheds light on a political world where austerity is the consensus policy and national governments are constrained by supranational politics. The first paper presents an experimental design testing how the policy evaluations of people in Sweden and the U.K. are influenced by partisan cues. I develop the concept of issue deficits, building and expanding upon the issue ownership literature and behavioral economics. The results show two distinct models, with Sweden acting according to the issue ownership model and the U.K. acting according to my issue deficit theory. My second paper combines a large-N analysis of a cross-national survey with a qualitative analysis, which demonstrates that Euroskepticism is a major independent driver of support for radical right parties. My third paper shows that the European Union has been a significant factor in the decline of social pacts in Europe using a nested analysis. Pressure from the EU can either produce negotiations or stifle them, depending on if the pressure is visible in the public sphere.

Over the last decade, Gamification has been identified as one of the most prominent marketing initiatives to engage customers in the creation of more desirable and unique offerings. Adding Gamification into offerings allows customers to socially interact, share information and co-create experiences. Previous literature have focused on examining existing customers in the post first experience phase, thus leaving non-customers' willingness to engage in Gamification initiatives as an unexplored phenomena. As the ability to attract non-customers is identified to be a major source of business growth, the insights of what drives engagement of non-customers to eventually become new customers through the application of Gamification is vital for furthering the understanding in the research field.  Drawing on three types of gamified settings, (Personal, Competitive and Collaborative) this thesis aims to contribute with a better understanding on the relationship between Customer Engagement and Gamification. A quantitative research approach with a quasi-experimental design was applied, generating data from 379 respondents on a fictitious gamified app. The empirical findings contribute to existing literature by providing guidance on how to engage non-customers through Gamification offerings. Results indicated that non-customers are more likely to engage in Competitive and Collaborative Gamifications rather than Personal Gamification. Therefore, this thesis implies that engagement of non-customers differs based on what kind of Gamification is being offered.

Thesis advisor: Hans de Wit / Do employers prioritize the signal associated with the name of the university someone graduated from above an applicant’s skills in the employment process? Using a field experiment of the labor market, 2,400 fictitious applications were submitted to job openings in three countries: United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. The resumes belonged to fictitious citizens with full working rights, both female and male, that have attended universities of varying prestige in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia respectively. Two skill-intensive sectors of the labor market were chosen: information and communication technology and accounting.  For each sector of the labor market, two resumes were designed. One resume had a high skills match with the generic requirements of entry level jobs in each sector. A second resume had a low skills match with the same requirements. For each country, one high-ranked university and one non-high-ranked university were selected to signal prestige. The name of the university the applicant graduated from and the sex of the applicant were randomly assigned on otherwise identical resumes. This study distinguished between the effects of human capital (Becker, 1975; Mincer, 1974; Schultz, 1959; 1961) and the signaling effect of university prestige in the labor market (Spence, 1973), while controlling for networking effects (Bayer, Ross, & Topa, 2005; Petersen, Saporta, & Seidel, 2000). The results suggest that human capital—as measured through the high and low skills match resumes—was statistically significant in predicting callbacks. Applications in the high skills match condition were 79% more likely to receive a callback than applications in the low skills match condition. The prestige condition and the interaction between university prestige and match were not statistically significant. This experiment detected no statistically significant differences in callback rates based on the sex of the applicant. These findings suggest that human capital, and not university prestige, predicts recruitment outcomes for applicants with a bachelor’s degree only. These results support a call for skill building and human capital consolidation at higher education institutions. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

In recent years, kindness-based meditation practices, including loving-kindness meditation (LKM), have gained empirical support for decreasing depression and anxiety symptoms. LKM is defined as the intentional transmission of unselfish kindness toward all beings. It is practiced by contemplating an object of meditation (e.g., self, difficult person) and offering goodwill by silently repeating phrases (e.g., “May you be happy”). Given LKM’s focus on cultivating positive emotional states, researchers have hypothesized that LKM may work by increasing positive affect (PA), promoting cognitive and behavioral flexibility, and reducing negative affect (NA). This study was the first to employ a multiple baseline, single-case design to evaluate the acceptability and clinical efficacy of a brief, individual LKM intervention for individuals (N = 9) with unipolar depressive disorders, social anxiety disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder and low PA. Participants were randomized to a 2-, 4-, or 6-week baseline and completed weekly assessments during baseline, 7 weeks of treatment, and at 1-, 2- and 4-week follow-up. LKM was hypothesized to be acceptable and effective for reducing depression and anxiety symptoms and increasing PA. Secondary hypotheses were that (1) improvements in PA would precede disorder symptom improvement and (2) LKM would lead to improvements in other treatment variables (e.g., NA, anger, mindfulness, affective regulation styles, quality of life, etc.) Results revealed that the study intervention had good feasibility and acceptability. Per visual inspection, LKM led to improvements in principal disorder symptoms for four participants during treatment and five participants at follow-up (three of whom showed clinically reliable change). Contrary to study hypotheses, only one participant demonstrated reliable improvements in PA during treatment. For this participant, increases in PA occurred simultaneously with reductions in depression. Across participants, LKM exerted moderate to large effects on disorder severity, depression and anxiety symptoms, quality of life, mindful nonreactivity, and tolerating affective style. Overall, individuals with principal unipolar depressive disorders showed the strongest response to the study intervention. In summary, this study provided preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of brief, individual LKM for reducing depression and anxiety in a transdiagnostic outpatient sample with low positive affect.

Two computer programs were developed using a CDC 3100. They were written in FORTRAN IV. One program uses four tape drives, one card reader, and one printer. It will calculate factorial analysis of variance with or without covariance and/or multivariate analysis for one to eight factors and up to twenty-five variables. The other program is used for completely randomized designs, randomized block designs, and latin square designs. It will handle twenty-five treatments, rows (blocks), and columns. The program can handle fifteen variables using any number of these variables for covariates.