This dissertation addresses two critical issues in the deformation of nc metals and alloys: (1) A stress-induced genuine grain growth after the plastic deformation rather than just a change of the grain shape; (2) A systematically quantitative study of micrsostructural evolution during the plastic deformation. These two critical issues point to the deformation of nc materials with the average-grain sizes within the range of 10 to 50 nm, which is the most interesting and controversial region in the current time. The current study provides a systematic and detailed microstructural evolution for this region, which is definitely beneficial for the investigation of the deformation mechanism in this region, especially for the simulation. The main experimental and data-analysis methods employed in this research are synchrotron high-energy X-ray diffraction, X-ray line profile analysis, and texture analysis. The combination of these methods is beneficial to the accurate microstructural interpretation of the bulk materials.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 90-94).

This research develops a technique focused on shading and texturing, with an emphasis on line work and color, to emulate the unique qualities of copperplate line-engraving from 16th century cartography. A visual analysis of selected maps determines the defining characteristics adapted for three-dimensional computer generated environments. The resulting work is presented in a short time-based animation.

La ghréline est un peptide de 28 acides aminés, produit principalement par l’estomac et caractérisé par la présence d’un groupement octanoyl sur la sérine en position 3 (Kojima et al. 1999). La ghréline stimule la libération de l’hormone de croissance (GH) et régule la prise alimentaire et le métabolisme énergétique (Gualillo et al. 2003). Ces activités biologiques sont principalement médiées par le « growth hormone secretagogue receptor » (GHS-R). Deux sous-types de GHS-R, produits par épissage alternatif d’un même gène, ont été clonés : le GHS-R 1a, dont l’activation entraîne une libération de calcium via la formation d’inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3), et le GHS-R 1b, qui ne semble pas lié à une activité biologique (Howard et al. 1996). La première partie de mon travail de thèse consistait en l’étude de la dégradation de la ghréline. La ghréline circule dans le sang principalement sous forme de des-acyl ghréline, une forme de ghréline dépourvue du groupement octanoyl qui ne se lie pas au GHS-R 1a. Peu d’études ont été réalisées sur le catabolisme de la ghréline. Les enzymes impliquées dans la dégradation de la ghréline étant des régulateurs importants de son activité biologique, le but de cette étude était d’identifier les sites de clivage et les enzymes impliquées dans la dégradation de la ghréline par du sérum, des sous-fractions plasmatiques et des homogénats de tissus. Nous avons montré qu’au contact de sérum humain et de rat, la ghréline est désoctanoylée, sans protéolyse. Dans le sérum humain, nous avons montré que la butyrylcholinestérase et la « platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase » (PAF-AH), une phospholipase associée aux lipoprotéines de basse densité (LDL), sont impliquées dans ce phénomène (articles n°1 et n°2). En parallèle, nous avons montré que la ghréline peut être transportée dans la circulation sanguine par les lipoprotéines riches en triglycérides (TRL), les LDL, et les lipoprotéines de haute et de très haute densité (HDL et VHDL) (article n°2). Dans le sérum de rat, la désoctanoylation de la ghréline implique une carboxylestérase (article n°1). Au contact d’homogénats de tissus, la ghréline est dégradée à la fois par désoctanoylation et protéolyse N-terminale, suggérant la participation d’estérases et d’aminopeptidases. Nous avons identifié cinq sites de clivage dans la ghréline : entre les résidus Ser2-(acyl)Ser3 (dans l’estomac et le foie), (acyl ?)Ser3-Phe4 (dans l’estomac, le foie et le rein), Phe4-Leu5 (dans l’estomac et le rein), Leu5-Ser6 et Pro7-Glu8 (dans le rein) (article n°1). La deuxième partie de mon travail de thèse consistait à étudier l’expression et la production de ghréline par différentes lignées leucémiques (HEL, HL-60, THP-1, SupT1), par des leucocytes poly- et mononucléés et par des plaquettes sanguines, et à étudier l’effet de la ghréline sur la prolifération cellulaire. Pour cela, nous avons mis au point des dosages radioimmunologiques (RIA) permettant de quantifier et de distinguer les formes octanoylées et non octanoylées de la ghréline, et nous avons caractérisé en détail les anticorps SB801 et SB969 obtenus. Par HPLC en phase inverse suivie des RIAs, nous avons mis en évidence la présence de ghrélines octanoylée et non octanoylée dans chaque population de cellules. Plus de 80 % de la ghréline produite est octanoylée dans les cellules HEL, les leucocytes et les plaquettes. Nous avons montré que la ghréline endogène stimule la prolifération des cellules HEL de façon autocrine impliquant un récepteur encore non identifié, distinct du GHS-R 1a (article n°3). La ghréline et la des-acyl ghréline inhibent la prolifération des leucocytes mononucléés mais sont dépourvues d’effet sur les cellules HL-60, THP-1 et SupT1. Malgré la présence du GHS-R 1a dans les leucocytes mononucléés, cet effet pourrait être médié par un récepteur différent puisque la des-acyl ghréline exerce le même effet que la ghréline sur la prolifération (article n°4).

Problem: The online betting industry has erased the importance of national borders and opened up the world, which has lead to a more diversified perspective of the company. In this master thesis we wanted to broaden and develop the topic of corporate valuation with regard to the on-line gambling industry. In order to do that, a case study of the on-line betting firm Unibet and its core betting activities has been carried out. Purpose: The study aims to identify factors in the strategic, SWOT and financial analysis that will be used in the cash flow valuation model in order to derive the company value. Method: A case study has been chosen to collect empirical data to our study. Conclusion: A cash flow valuation in different scenarios was carried out. With the assumptions made in the “probable” scenario a value of approximately GBP 85 million was reached, which was significantly lower than the listed value. This is mainly due to the fact that we believe that the increased competition will make it difficult for Unibet to maintain its strong growth in sales in the future. The assumptions have been based on the information gained from the strategic analysis, the SWOT analysis and the development in financial ratios.

No description available.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka hur HSBs värderingar skapar värde för HSBs intressenter. För att undersöka detta har vi använt oss av en kvalitativ metod. Denna grundar sig i en syn på verkligheten som social konstruktion och en hermeneutisk, tolkande, syn på kunskap. Undersökningen är gjord vid HSB Centrala Värmland i Karlstad. Företag söker ständigt nya sätt att skapa värde. Värde anses idag vara något som skapas tillsammans, genom relationer och att enbart fokusera på ägare och att göra vinst är således inte längre tillräckligt. Ett företag måste ta hänsyn till samtliga av sina intressenter och lära sig vad som skapar värde för dem. På senare tid är det intresset för sociala, etiska och miljömässiga värderingar ökat. Begrepp som socialt ansvar och hållbarhet blir allt viktigare och dessa aktiviteter verkar kunna styras precis som andra system inom ett företag. Värderingar kan vidare vara drivande faktorer i förbättringsprocesser vad gäller tjänstekvalitet, så kallad värderingsbaserad tjänstekvalitet för hållbara affärer. Slutsatsen av undersökningen är att HSBs värderingar, engagemang, trygghet, hållbarhet, omtanke och samverkan, ETHOS, skapar värde för HSBs intressenter och särskiljer HSB från andra företag på marknaden genom att de genomsyrar hela HSBs verksamhet och kan kopplas till allt HSB gör. Avgörande i denna process är framför allt den interna kommunikationen. HSBs medarbetare definierar värderingarna, ETHOS, som sina egna och agerar enligt dem vilket, som ovan nämnt, ger värderingarna innehåll. Genom att lyssna på sina intressenter, och ge dem vad de vill ha och förväntar sig, driver och förbättrar värderingarna tjänstekvaliteten. HSB som är en kooperativ organisation har en större möjlighet att komma nära sina intressenter och därmed att förstå vilka värderingar dessa har, än andra privat- eller aktieägdaföretag, vilket måste anses som en fördel.

This study aims to research how small companies that operate on the Swedish home electronic-market utilize marketing communications to communicate their message. The focus of this study has been to research these companies use of below-the-line activities in their marketing communications. Interviews have been conducted with representatives from each of the three companies Neonode, Jens of Sweden and Tonium, that compose the selection from the population in this study. The use of below-the-line activities in small companies is mainly motivated by lower cost, which suit small company budgets. Below-the-line activities are also used for branding and the creation of credibility among the consumers when the target audience does not yet know the brand. On the other hand, above-the-line activities are used when you wish to remind the consumers of a certain product or brand once the brand already exists. The result that this study has generated is supported by previous studies that claim that companies first build their brand by the use below-the-line activities, and subsequently communicate the brand by using above-the-line activities within their marketing communications. / Denna studie syftar till att ta reda på hur små företag på den svenska hemelektronikmarknaden tillämpar marknadskommunikation för att nå ut med sitt budskap. Framförallt har fokus legat på tillämpningen av below-the-line metoder hos dessa företag. Tre intervjuer har därmed genomförts med representanter för företagen Neonode, Jens of Sweden och Tonium vilka utgör urvalet för populationen. Tillämpningen av below-the-line metoder inom marknadskommunikation motiveras till stor del av en lägre kostnad vilket passar små företags budget. Below-the-line tillämpas även vid varumärkesbyggande och skapandet av trovärdighet bland konsumenterna då man ännu inte har någon varumärkeskännedom bland målgruppen. Above-the-line metoder lämpar sig å andra sidan bäst då man vill påminna konsumenterna om en produkt eller ett varumärke då man redan har ett varumärke att kommunicera. Resultatet som denna uppsats genererat stöds av tidigare studier som menat att företag först bygger upp ett varumärke genom att tillämpa below-the-line, för att senare kommunicera varumärket genom above-the-line metoder.

Problem: In order to keep up with the vast changes in the telecom industry, stay competitive and gain efficiency, Ericsson implemented a major re-organization in January 2007. The changes had large effects on the line-managers and their direct groups, proposing many critical issues regarding the implantation process and effects of the re-organization. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to carry out an analysis of how the implementation process of the re-organization at Ericsson was conducted. Also, how the outcomes of the new organizational design as well as the characteristics of the changes affected the line-managers. Method: Overall, a qualitative approach to research was chosen for this specific case-study. A total of 19 in-depth interviews were conducted with affected line-managers on four different locations and additional interviews with people in other positions were done in order to gain other perspectives of the changes. Issues of reliability, validity, objectivity and generalizability were approached in order to ensure an optimal methodology of this study. Result: The re-organization within Ericsson lead to a new focus in their matrix structure, moving from being product-based to competence-based. Generally, it was found that the changes were perceived differently in all four geographical sites but common for all is the confusion and mixed opinions regarding why the changes were conducted. Moreover, a strong corporate culture has lead to extremely high loyalty towards the organization. Conclusion: This study has led to many implications; theoretical, methodological and managerial. Some of the advice from the authors to Ericsson is to improve information and timing of change. Also, they must embrace and allow people to add input to the changes. Finally, the issue of knowledge transfer should be stressed in order to secure in-house competences.

In the age of Web2.0, various network services became critical. Exchange of messages between entities in the network is so frequent that information explosion is quite common nowadays. Volume of Information passed is growing up rapidly. With the wide development of web applications, people need to learn how to filter the important messages; service providers have urgent need to trace the ever changing role of users. This research studies the detections of the user interaction scenario, based on the result from the test function in the on-line learning platform. The learning platform users are divided into two groups, teachers and students, based on their roles. Usually students sit for an on-line examination at the end of each learning activity. The teachers are in charge of helping students with their presentations, encouraging those with good grades, and helping the weaker ones to reach their potential. But in the one-to-many teaching method, a teacher needs to face many students and the resultant grade of an examination becomes a heap of fuzzy and difficult to comprehend numbers. Even though some mathematical tools can help the teachers analyze the data, it is still very difficult to provide appropriate response to each student. The purpose of this research motives building an examination system which combines context-awareness and auto-notification, and bring the advantages of digital examination. An inference engine is used to calculate linear regression of learning curve for each student, then review the old data, and transfer the analysis into the learning context. Then the feedback is given to the students under the various learning context or the teacher will get notification after it compile the analysis. Besides analyzing the past data, the linear regression result will be adjusted to fit the characteristics of learning curve and infer the personal goal of the student. If result is better than expected goal, students should be encouraged. On the other hand, the remediable actions will be administered. Those events can be scheduled by the manager of auto-notification system, published in the appropriate time, and achieve the goal of variety, personalization, and automation.