The use of Response to Intervention, more commonly referred to as RTI has become more prevalent as school systems look to find ways of bridging the opportunity gap and provide support those students who are not successful in their attempts to access the general education curriculum. More research is needed in order to have a better understanding of not only how schools implement RTI, but also how they utilize data, monitor student progress and help to ensure fidelity of implementation. The purpose of this study was to examine and explain how one elementary school with a high quality RTI program implemented Response to Intervention while keeping all three essential components in consideration. The findings demonstrate that the subject elementary school combined several elements of Response to Intervention and in turn, created their own version of a hybrid RTI model that utilized components from both the standard protocol model and the problem-solving model. In order to monitor student progress, universal screeners were utilized several times throughout the year for both reading and math. Reading was also monitored through running records, PALS Quick Checks, Orton Gillingham assessments, and exit tickets, whereas Math utilized formative assessments, anecdotal notes, and exit tickets to track student progress. Each math and reading CLT met weekly to engage in dialogue around student data. An important finding is that the subject elementary school made RTI implementation decisions around what was best for their students, which allowed for a more flexible and adaptable approach. The system utilized targeted individual student needs and helped to ensure that ALL students had access to the necessary supports that would help to ensure student success. / Doctor of Education / As schools continue to face increasing demands, including how to meet the needs of students with diverse academic backgrounds, they have been charged with exploring new ways and methods of ensuring that students are successful in their attempts to access the general education curriculum. Response to Intervention, more commonly referred to as RTI, has become more widely used in school systems as they continue to work to ensure student success for all. RTI is seen as a tool to help accurately identify students who have a learning disability (Ciolfi and Ryan, 2011), however more research is needed in order to have a better understanding of how schools implement RTI, as well as how they utilize the data collected and monitor student progress. This qualitative case study analyzes how one subject elementary school implemented RTI, how they utilized data, as well as how they monitored the progress of their students.

Gleich einem Etikett dient die N-Glykokosylierung vom Ribosom neu synthetisierter Proteine durch die Oligosaccharyltransferase (OST) bei der kotranslationalen Translokation in das Endoplasmatische Retikulum (ER) als Startpunkt vielschichtiger Prozessierungen. Bisher fehlte der strukturelle Nachweis, dass die OST als mit dem Ribosom assoziierten Membranprotein (RAMP) Bestandteil des auf dem proteinleitenden Kanal, dem Sec61-Komplex, basierenden Translokons ist. In dieser Arbeit berichten wir von der kryoelektronenmikroskopischen 3D-Struktur eines definierten OST-Sec61-Ribosom-Komplexes aus Saccharomyces cerevisiae bei 15,4 Å Auflösung. Dazu wurden die Komponenten (OST, Sec61 und Ribosomen mit naszierender Proteinkette) affinitätschromatographisch gereinigt und das Bindungsverhalten mit 80S-Ribosomen in vitro untersucht. Die OST band mit einer KD von 12,8 nM hochaffin und spezifisch an den bekannten Sec61-Ribosomen-Komplex. Dieser in vitro rekonstituierte trimere Komplex zeigte eine neuartige eng an das Ribosom anschließende Translokonstruktur mit zwei bisher unbekannten ribosomalen Verbindungen, einer einzigen dezentralen porenförmigen Vertiefung und zusätzlichen luminalen Bereichen. Durch das Docken eines Sec61-Homologs in einer alternativen Bindeposition sowie das Docken eines Stt3p-Homologs (der katalytischen Untereinheit der OST) und mit Hilfe der mittels (Kryo-)Negativkontrastierung gewonnenen 3D-Struktur der OST konnten Hybridmodelle erstellt werden. Daraus wurde unter Einbeziehung von bekannten molekularbiologisch gewonnenen Interaktionsdaten das 3D-Modell eines aktiven Ribosomen-gebundenen OST-Sec61-Translokons entwickelt. / Like a label, N-glycosylation by the oligosaccharyltransferase (OST) of newly synthesized proteins emerging from the ribosome while being cotranslationally translocated into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) provides a starting point for a multitude of processes. Hitherto no structural proof has been presented, that the OST as a ribosome associated membrane protein (RAMP) is a constituent of the translocon, based at its core on the protein conducting channel (Sec61-complex). In this work we report on the 3D-structure of a defined OST-Sec61-ribosome complex from Saccharomyces cerevisiae by cryo-electron microscopy at 15.4 Å resolution. Thereto, the components (OST, Sec61, ribosome nascent chain complexes) have been purified by affinity chromatography and the binding of 80S-ribosomes has been checked in vitro. The OST bound with high affinity by a KD of 12.8 nM specifically to the established Sec61-ribosome complex. This trimeric complex reconstituted in vitro exhibits a new kind of tightly bound ribosomal translocon showing two hitherto unknown connections to the ribosome, a single off-center pore-like indentation and an additional luminal domain. By docking of a Sec61 homologue at an alternative binding position plus the docking of a Stt3p homologue (the catalytic subunit of the OST) and by means of the 3D-structure of the OST using the (cryo-)negative staining technique, hybrid models could be created. Consequently, integrating known interaction data from molecular biology experiments has been used to develop a 3D-model of an active ribosome-bound OST-Sec61-translocon.

Cette thèse porte sur le développement d'un traducteur ultrasonore multi-élément capacitif à couplage air (MEACUT) et son utilisation dans le domaine du contrôle non destructif (CND) de matériaux. Un modèle est employé pour simuler numériquement ce traducteur, et pour optimiser sa conception. Un prototype est ensuite fabriqué, puis caractérisé expérimentalement pour quantifier ses performances. Son originalité réside dans le fait qu'il possède une large bande passante en fréquence, tout en offrant la possibilité d'une focalisation variable. Ce prototype est alors employé pour la détection d'un endommagement causé par impact, dans une plaque composite. Il est clairement constaté que la résolution spatiale du procédé d'inspection employé (C-scan) est fortement améliorée grâce aux performances techniques du MEACUT. Enfin, un modèle hybride 3D est développé pour simuler, rapidement et intégralement, ce procédé de CND. Le très bon accord obtenu entre prédictions numériques et mesures expérimentales laisse présager que cet outil de simulation pourra servir à mettre au point d'autres expérimentations de CND, qui pourront à leur tour exploiter les performances du MEACUT. / This thesis focuses on the development of a Multi-Element Air-coupled Capacitive Ultrasonic Transducer (MEACUT) and its use in the field of non-destructive testing (NDT) of materials. A numerical model is used to simulate the translator, and to optimize its design. A prototype is then built and experimentally characterized to quantify its performance. Its originality lies in the fact that it has a broad frequency bandwidth while offering the possibility of a dynamic focusing. This prototype is then used for the detection of damage caused by impact, in a composite plate. It is clearly found that the spatial resolution of the inspection process employed (C-scan) is greatly improved thanks to the technical performance MEACUT. Finally, a 3D hybrid model is developed to simulate quickly and fully, the process of NDT. The good agreement obtained between numerical predictions and experimental measurements suggests that this simulation tool can be used to develop other NDT experiments, which may in turn exploit the performance of MEACUT.

Real-world large-scale complex networks such as the Internet, social networks and biological networks have increasingly attracted the interest of researchers from many areas. Accurate modelling of the statistical regularities of these large-scale networks is critical to understand their global evolving structures and local dynamical patterns. Traditionally, the Erdos and Renyi random graph model has helped the investigation of various homogeneous networks. During the past decade, a special computational methodology has emerged to study complex networks, the outcome of which is identified by two models: the Watts and Strogatz small-world model and the Barabasi-Albert scale-free model. At the core of the complex network modelling process is the extraction of characteristics of real-world networks. I have developed computer simulation algorithms for study of the properties of current theoretical models as well as for the measurement of two real-world complex networks, which lead to the isolation of three complex network modelling essentials. The main contribution of the thesis is the introduction and study of a new General Two-Stage growth model (GTS Model), which aims to describe and analyze many common-featured real-world complex networks. The tools we use to create the model and later perform many measurements on it consist of computer simulations, numerical analysis and mathematical derivations. In particular, two major cases of this GTS model have been studied. One is named the U-P model, which employs a new functional form of the network growth rule: a linear combination of preferential attachment and uniform attachment. The degree distribution of the model is first studied by computer simulation, while the exact solution is also obtained analytically. Two other important properties of complex networks: the characteristic path length and the clustering coefficient are also extensively investigated, obtaining either analytically derived solutions or numerical results by computer simulations. Furthermore, I demonstrate that the hub-hub interaction behaves in effect as the link between a network's topology and resilience property. The other is called the Hybrid model, which incorporates two stages of growth and studies the transition behaviour between the Erdos and Renyi random graph model and the Barabasi-Albert scale-free model. The Hybrid model is measured by extensive numerical simulations focusing on its degree distribution, characteristic path length and clustering coefficient. Although either of the two cases serves as a new approach to modelling real-world large-scale complex networks, perhaps more importantly, the general two-stage model provides a new theoretical framework for complex network modelling, which can be extended in many ways besides the two studied in this thesis.

本研究主要是希望針對採市場資訊的Merton Model、利用財務比率為變數的Logistic Model及混合用市場資訊及財務比率資訊的Hybrid Model做區別力的比較；且觀察出考慮提前違約是否能增加區別效力。進而將模型細分為: （一）以Merton Model為基礎所估出的風險中立下違約機率及客觀違約機率，及尚有為了修正Merton Model公司只會在負債到期日時才發生違約的基本假設的首次通過模型。 （二）採用Altman Z-Score所採用的五個判定公司的財務比率作為Logistic Model的基本變數。 （三）模型五、六、七除了利用Altman Z-Score所採用的五個判定公司的財務比率作為Logistic Model的基本變數。尚將風險中立下違約機率、客觀違約機率及首次通過模型違約機率分別當作的另一個解釋因子，形成同時結合市場資訊及財務資訊的Hybrid Model。 同時，採用了判別隨機性的Chi-Square Test、解釋力的Pesudo R2、區別力的S-K Test及ROC曲線、正確性的Brier Scores，此五個指標作為做為樣本內及樣本外模型的驗證方法。 經由驗證，得到的結論是同時包含市場資訊及財務資訊的模型較佳，且有考慮公司於負債到期日前就發生違約的因素對預警模型的判別效力有提高的正向作用。

Thesis (MScFor)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Site Index is used extensively in modern commercial forestry both as an indicator of current and future site potential, but also as a means of site comparison. The concept is deeply embedded into current forest planning processes, and without it empirical growth and yield modelling would not function in its present form. Most commercial forestry companies in South Africa currently spend hundreds of thousands of Rand annually collecting growth stock data via inventory, but spend little or no money on the default compartment data (specifically Site Index) which is used to estimate over 90% of the product volumes in their long term plans. A need exists to construct reliable methods to determine Site Index for sites which have not been physically measured (the socalled "default", or indirect Site Index). Most previous attempts to model Site Index have used multiple linear regression as the model, alternative methods have been explored in this thesis: Regression tree analysis, random forest analysis, hybrid or model trees, multiple linear regression, and multiple linear regression using regression trees to identify the variables. Regression tree analysis proves to be ideally suited to this type of data, and a generic model with only three site variables was able to capture 49.44 % of the variation in Site Index. Further localisation of the model could prove to be commercially useful. One of the key assumptions associated with Site Index, that it is unaffected by initial planting density, was tested using linear mixed effects modelling. The results show that there may well be role played by initial stocking in some species (notably E. dunnii and E. nitens), and that further work may be warranted. It was also shown that early measurement of dominant height results in poor estimates of Site Index, which will have a direct impact on inventory policies and on data to be included in Site Index modelling studies. This thesis is divided into six chapters: Chapter 1 contains a description of the concept of Site Index and it's origins, as well as, how the concept is used within the current forest planning processes. Chapter 2 contains an analysis on the influence of initial planted density on the estimate of Site Index. Chapter 3 explores the question of whether the age at which dominant height is measured has any effect on the quality of Site Index estimates. Chapter 4 looks at various modelling methodologies and compares the resultant models. Chapter 5 contains conclusions and recommendations for further study, and finally Chapter 6 discusses how any new Site Index model will effect the current planning protocol. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hedendaagse kommersiële bosbou gebruik groeiplek indeks (Site Index) as 'n aanduiding van huidige en toekomstige groeiplek moontlikhede, asook 'n metode om groeiplekke te vergelyk. Hierdie beginsel is diep gewortel in bestaande beplanningsprosesse en daarsonder kan empiriese groeien opbrengsmodelle nie in hul huidige vorm funksioneer nie. SuidAfrikaanse bosboumaatskappye bestee jaarliks groot bedrae geld aan die versameling van groeivoorraad data deur middel van opnames, maar weinig of geen geld word aangewend vir die insameling van ongemete vak data (veral groeiplek indeks) nie. Ongemete vak data word gebuik om meer as 90% van die produksie volume te beraam in langtermyn beplaning. 'n Behoefte bestaan om betroubare metodes te ontwikkel om groeiplek indeks te bereken vir groeiplekke wat nog nie opgemeet is nie. Die meeste vorige pogings om groeiplek indeks te beraam het meervoudige linêre regressie as model gebruik. Alternatiewe metodes is ondersoek; naamlik regressieboom analise, ewekansige woud analise, hibriedeof modelbome, meervoudige linêre regressie en meervoudige linêre regressie waarin die veranderlike faktore bepaal is deur regressiebome. Regressieboom analise blyk geskik te wees vir hierdie tipe data en 'n veralgemeende model met slegs drie groeiplek veranderlikes dek 49.44 % van die variasie in groeiplek indeks. Verdere lokalisering van die model kan dus van kommersiële waarde wees. 'n Sleutel aanname is gemaak dat aanvanklike plantdigtheid nie 'n invloed op groeiplek indeks het nie. Hierdie aanname is getoets deur linêre gemengde uitwerkings modelle. Die toetsuitslag dui op 'n moontlikheid dat plantdigtheid wel 'n invloed het op sommige spesies (vernaamlik E. dunnii en E. nitens) en verdere navorsing kan daarom geregverdig word. Dit is ook bewys dat metings van jonger bome vir dominante hoogtes gee aanleiding tot swak beramings van groeiplek indekse. Gevolglik sal hierdie toestsuitslag groeivoorraad opname beleid, asook die data wat vir groeiplek indeks modellering gebruik word, beïnvloed. Hierdie tesis word in ses hoofstukke onderverdeel. Hoofstuk een bevat 'n beskrywing van die beginsel van groeiplek indeks, die oorsprong daarvan, asook hoe die beginsel tans in huidige bosbou beplannings prosesse toegepas word. Hoofstuk twee bestaan uit ń ontleding van die invloed van aanvanklike plantdigtheid op die beraming van groeplek indeks. In hoofstuk drie word ondersoek wat die moontlike invloed is van die ouderdom waarop metings vir dominante hoogte geneem word, op die kwaliteit van groeplek indeks beramings het. Hoofstuk vier verken verskeie modelle metodologieë en vergelyk die uitslaggewende modelle. Hoofstuk vyf bevat gevolgtrekkings en voorstelle vir verdere studies. Afsluitend, is hoofstuk ses ń bespreking van hoe enige nuwe groeiplek indeks modelle die huidige beplannings protokol kan beïnvloed.

Ce travail de thèse concerne la modélisation du canal de propagation dans les milieux industriels. Dans ce contexte, le canal de propagation a un comportement différent de celui classiquement rencontré en indoor. Cela est dû à l'aménagement des bâtiments qui sont plus grand et ouverts ainsi qu'à la présence de machines, d'objets mobiles et d'autres matériaux métalliques rencontrés dans ces environnements. Ainsi, les modèles de canaux indoor existants ne sont plus valides. L'utilisation de modèles déterministes comme alternative est possible mais limitée en raison du temps de calcul qui en découle.Pour répondre à cette problématique, nous proposons un modèle hybride de canal s'inspirant d'une méthode à tracer de rayons 3D et du modèle WINNER. L'originalité de ce modèle repose sur son caractère hybride consistant, en prétraitement, à partitionner l'environnement en zones de visibilité ou de non-visibilité «faible» et «forte» sur des critères déterministes liés à la propagation des ondes. Un modèle statistique, type WINNER, reprenant le concept de cluster est ensuite "joué" au sein de chacune des ces zones reproduisant ainsi fidèlement l'évolution des paramètres caractéristiques des clusters identifiés. Nous avons validé notre modèle en le comparant d'abord à un modèle déterministe et ensuite à la mesure. Sa robustesse ainsi que celle de WINNER sont testées en les simulant dans trois environnements différents et en les comparant au modèle déterministe à tracer de rayons. / This thesis focuses on the modeling of the propagation channel in industrial environments. In this context, the propagation channel has a different behavior than typically encountered in indoor. This is due to the construction of buildings that are larger and open and the presence of machines, moving objects and metal materials encountered in these environments. Thus, the existing indoor channel models are not valid. Using deterministic models as an alternative is possible, but limited by the computing time.To address this problem, we propose a hybrid channel model for communications in industrial environments inspired by a ray tracing method and Winner model. The originality of this model is its hybrid nature consisting, in preprocessing, in partitionning the environment in areas of visibility or non-visibility «weak» and «strong» based on deterministic criteria related to the wave propagation. A statistical model, as WINNER , using the concept of cluster is then played in each of these areas and faithfully reproducing the evolution of the characteristic parameters of the identified clusters. We have validated our model by comparing it firstly to a deterministic model and then to measurement. Its robustness as well that of WINNER are tested by simulating them in three different environments and by comparing them with the deterministic model.

Abstract in English / Mathematical modeling of the spread of infectious diseases in a population has always been recognized as a powerful tool that can help decision-makers understand how a disease evolves over time. With the evolution of science and humanity, it has become evident that Mathematical models are too simplistic and have some limitations in modeling environmental phenomena, such as the spread of epidemics in a population, when they are applied without combining them with other sciences. In understanding the dynamics of epidemics in a population, the weakness of these models is their difficulty in grasping the complexity inherent in the spread of diseases in real life because, life is supported by human interactions and behaviors that are understood through networks of social and spatial interactions. Modeling the spread of epidemics which takes this reality into account requires the implementation of new tools to refine the results already obtained by mathematical models. The aim of this thesis is to explore and attempt to extend new developments in mathematical modeling of the spread of infectious diseases by proposing new tools based on mathematical models from differential equations and agent-based models from intelligent agents derived from artificial intelligence. To achieve this objective, the study starts from a comparative study of two ways of modeling and simulation of the spread of infectious diseases in the population, namely mathematical modeling and agent-based modeling with a concrete case study of the spread of tuberculosis based on data from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Then comes a coupling study of these two approaches in a single model and its implementation in a multi-scale environment. The results show that the coupled model is more realistic compared to mathematical models generally implemented in the literature. Four case studies are presented in this thesis. Mathematical modeling based on differential equations is used in the first and second cases. The third case is based on intelligent agents model while the last one is based on the coupling of mathematical models and agent-based models. Application of implemented models to the spread of tuberculosis reveals that detection of people with latent tuberculosis and their treatment are among the actions to be taken into account in addition to those currently carried out by the Congolese health system. The models assert that the current TB situation in DRC remains endemic and that the necessary measures need to be taken to reduce the burden of TB, especially to control it, through the tuberculosis elimination strategy and its elimination in the future in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals. Our hybrid model benefiting from the advantages of EBM and ABM confirms that taking the individual into account as a fully-fledged entity and managing their behavior gives the microscopic aspect of the model set up and brings it closer as much as possible to reality. Mathematical management of the spread of the disease in cities gives a macroscopic aspect to the model. Numerical simulations of this last model on a multi-scale virtual environment affirm that the mobility of individuals from city to city has a significant impact on the spread of tuberculosis in the population. Controlling the rate of population mobility from one city to another is one of the most important measures for large-scale disease control. This model therefore draws its richness from this dynamic at two different scales (two time scales modeling approaches: at the microscopic/individual level (ABM) and macroscopic/city level (ODE)), which gives the emergence of the model at the global level. As a result, it seems that the coupling of mathematical models to agent-based models should be applied when the dynamics of the complex system under consideration is at different scales. Based on our research results, it seems that the choice of an approach must depend on how the modeler would like to achieve the expected results. Mathematical models remain essential due to their analytical and synthetic aspect, but their coupling with intelligent agent-based models makes it possible to refine known results and thus reflect the reality of real life, because the resulting model integrate interactions of individuals and their heterogeneous behaviors that are necessary for understanding the spread of infectious diseases in the population that only mathematical models based on differential equations can not capture. / Mathematical Sciences / Ph D. (Applied Mathematics)

Crowdfunding challenges century long boundaries between the public, the industry andinnovation. In that respect the phenomenon holds the potential to decentralize and democratizethe way ventures are financed and realized. Crowdfunding has seen a lot of exitingdevelopments during the last few years, partly because of new crowdfunding platformsemerging on the internet, and partly because of new ground-breaking technology being used forfunding purposes. Meanwhile research has not quite catched up with the recent developments ofdifferent models for crowdfunding. This study’s aim is therefor to give an comprehensiveoverview of the different models of crowdfunding that are being utilized by crowdfundingplatforms on the internet today. A deductive content analysis has been made of 67 currentcrowdfunding platforms. The platforms have been analysed in order to determine what model ofcrowdfunding they utilize. The result has, apart from partly confirming prior studies, alsoproduced new exiting findings on what mechanisms constitute some of the crowdfundingmodels we see today. A new taxonomy of crowdfunding models is discussed and proposed. Theconclusion is that the need for a updated taxonomy, like the one this study provides, was wellneeded in order to understand the field. One important finding is that blockchain technology hasproduced a new form of crowdfunding through cryptocurrency: Initial coin offering. Thatparticular area will likely develop and continue to decentralize and democratise the economicalhuman interaction when it comes to financing.

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