The organization I work in has 13 subsidiary businesses operating in the branded footwear and apparel industry. The industry currently faces significant macroeconomic and industry challenges. One of our biggest challenges is how to avoid excessive and wasteful new product development whilst still building an attractive range of products for the customer. So the focus of my research is on the management control and governance of the New Product Development (NPD) process to solve a pressing business problem. However, there is a gap in the literature. Many authors have claimed that our knowledge of the governance of NPD processes is incomplete and there is a dearth of actual studies in this area. My literature review looked at management control and in particular at the enduring problem of the need to generate control without stifling creativity. The literature led me to focus on the use of feedforward controls to influence NPD management teams to improve portfolio value and strategic alignment whilst simultaneously encouraging NPD experimentation. During this research I developed the concept of Feedforward Anticipatory Control (FAC), which encompasses the combination of feedforward control and double-loop learning. From this start my research question became “How does the use of FAC influence NPD management teams to improve portfolio value and strategic alignment?” From theory and my initial case study research I developed, tested and refined a tool for ascertaining the level of FAC sophistication in use by NPD teams in their development process. The tool was then used in action research interventions to help the teams develop their sophistication in the use of FAC. The tool was found to be useable, useful and have value. The action research case studies were embedded in a case study protocol to ensure the rigour of my research. This involved developing a framework to investigate the consequences of my interventions, in terms of both hard performance metrics and softer team perceptions. The contribution is in the use of management controls in NPD. The findings show that different levels of FAC sophistication can be applied in NPD and that the use of higher levels of FAC influences NPD teams to improve portfolio value and strategic alignment. The contribution to practice is an intervention “toolkit” that can influence NPD teams to develop higher levels of FAC sophistication and generate improvements in NPD portfolio performance.

A primary aim of Synthetic Biology is the design and implementation of biological systems that perform engineered functions. However, the assembly of double-stranded DNA molecules is a major barrier to this progress, as it remains time consuming and laborious. Here I present three improved methods for DNA assembly. The first is based on, and makes use of, BioBricks. The second method relies on overlap-extension PCR to assemble non-standard parts. The third method improves upon overlap extension PCR by reducing the number of steps and the time it takes to assemble DNA. Finally, I show how the PCR-based assembly methods presented here can be used, in concert, with in vivo homologous recombination in yeast to assemble as many as 19 individual DNA parts in one step. These methods will also be used to assemble an incoherent feedforward loop, gene regulatory network.

A hybrid operational amplifier compensation technique using Miller and multipath compensation is presented for multi-stage amplifier designs. Unconditional stability is achieved by the means of pole-zero cancellation where left-half zeros cancel out the non-dominant poles of the operational amplifier. The compensation technique is stable over process, temperature, and voltage variations. Compared to conventional Miller-compensation, the proposed compensation technique exhibits improved settling response for operational amplifiers with the same gain, bandwidth, power, and area. For the same settling time, the proposed compensation technique will require less area and consume less power than conventional Miller-compensation. Furthermore, the proposed technique exhibits improved output slew rate and lower noise over the conventional Miller-compensation technique. Two-stage operational amplifiers were designed in a 0.18µm CMOS process using the proposed technique and conventional Miller-compensated technique. The design procedure for the two-stage amplifier is applicable for higher-order amplifier designs. The amplifiers were incorporated into a switched-capacitor oscillator where the oscillation harmonics are dependent on the settling behaviour of the op amps. The superior settling response of the proposed compensation technique results in a improved output waveform from the oscillator.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1993. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-71). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--Miami University, Dept. of Physical Education, Health, and Sport Studies, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF document. Document formatted into pages; contains [1], iv, 44 p. : ill. Includes bibliographical references (p. 23-27).

Thesis (M. S.)--Industrial Design, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007. / Randy Bernard, Committee Member ; Abir Mullick, Committee Member ; Wayne Chung, Committee Chair.

Universiẗat, Diss., 2005--Münster (Westfalen).

abstract: This study explores the impact of feedback and feedforward and personality on computer-mediated behavior change. The impact of the effects were studied using subjects who entered information relevant to their diet and exercise into an online tool. Subjects were divided into four experimental groups: those receiving only feedback, those receiving only feedforward, those receiving both, and those receiving none. Results were analyzed using regression analysis. Results indicate that both feedforward and feedback impact behavior change and that individuals with individuals ranking low in conscientiousness experienced behavior change equivalent to that of individuals with high conscientiousness in the presence of feedforward and/or feedback. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Business Administration 2012

A primary aim of Synthetic Biology is the design and implementation of biological systems that perform engineered functions. However, the assembly of double-stranded DNA molecules is a major barrier to this progress, as it remains time consuming and laborious. Here I present three improved methods for DNA assembly. The first is based on, and makes use of, BioBricks. The second method relies on overlap-extension PCR to assemble non-standard parts. The third method improves upon overlap extension PCR by reducing the number of steps and the time it takes to assemble DNA. Finally, I show how the PCR-based assembly methods presented here can be used, in concert, with in vivo homologous recombination in yeast to assemble as many as 19 individual DNA parts in one step. These methods will also be used to assemble an incoherent feedforward loop, gene regulatory network.

I denna kunskapsöversikt strävar vi efter att förstå formativ bedömnings påverkan i matematikundervisning med fokus på lågstadiet. Med andra ord samband mellan applicering av formativ bedömning i undervisning och vad det ger för resultat. Vad finns det för forskning på ämnet och hur ser lärare respektive elever på formativ bedömning? Syfte med denna kunskapsöversikt är att synliggöra vilka effekter den formativa bedömningen har i matematikundervisningen för elever i låg- och mellanstadiet. För att undersöka vår forskningsfråga har vi kartlagt åtta vetenskapliga artiklar med fokus på formativ bedömning i matematikundervisning. Utifrån vår forskningsfråga formulerades tre frågor i en frågeställning: Vilka positiva och negativa effekter har formativ bedömning i matematikutvecklingen? Hur påverkar formativ bedömning motivationen för elevers lärande? Vilka problem och möjligheter finns i implementeringen av formativ bedömning? Utifrån dessa frågor vill vi fördjupa oss inom ämnet och använda den kunskapen vid jämförelse och analys av artiklarna. För att undersöka sina syfte har artiklar använt olika metoder i sina studier. De metoder som framgick i artiklar var observationer, intervjuer, enkäter och dokumentanalys av styrdokument och olika nationella prov. Många olika likheter och skillnader visades i resultatet. Likheter i form utav lärares syn på formativ bedömning men även inslag av skillnader beroende av vart studierna utfördes. Det blir klart att läroplaner i olika länder står i konflikt med formativ bedömning i ett tidsperspektiv. Detta sagt en diskussion om lärarrollen blir aktuell med frågan vad lärare bör ägna sin tid åt i arbetet. Överlag är de flesta lärare medvetna om vad formativ bedömning är och ungefär vad det innebär, men brist på kunskap hur de applicerar det i sitt yrkesutövande är mer påtagligt. Sammanfattningsvis kan den formativa bedömningen utifrån kunskapsöversikten av artiklarna förklaras som en metod för att få eleverna i rätt riktning i sitt lärande, samt engagera dem i det. Formativ bedömning i form av återkoppling, vägledning och målsättning kom att underlätta för elever i matematikundervisningen.