The two point threshold was studied extensively by the psychophysical experimenters of the last century. More recent formulations in signal detection theory have suggested that the statements of these workers about absolute thresholds should be viewed with caution. This study investigates the two point threshold in the light of these formulations, and has two main aims :- (1) To state and deal with the problem of relating a limitation in perceptual ability, such as that which is represented by the two point threshold, to the receptor organisation of the body. (2) To demonstrate a practice effect on the two point threshold, and to consider this in the light of (1) above. To fulfil these two aims, a model of the neural mechanisms underlying the discrimination of two points applied to the skin is proposed, and this is able to accommodate what is known of the two point threshold. Although the model is simple it explicitly accounts for size transfer and the practice effect, and provides some clues as to the type of neural mechanism capable of producing them. The practice effect is demonstrated experimentally, and the results are then referred to the model proposed. The physiology of an organism sets the limits for its behaviour. 'The first aim is thus an important one, in that it considers a specific case of this general problem. And secondly, the practice effect on the two point threshold is typical of a number of fairly simple "learning" phenomena, which are part of the psychologists' study of learning.

Semiconductor manufacturing is the workhorse for a wide range of industries. It lies at the heart of consumer electronics, telecommunication equipment and medical devices. Most semiconductor electronics are made from Silicon, and are fabricated using CMOS technology. The versatility of semiconductor electronics stems from the ever-reducing cost of integrating more computing and memory functions on chip. The small cost for adding extra functions has been maintained in the past 50 years through transistor scaling. Transistor scaling focuses on shrinking the size of transistors integrated on chip. This reduction in transistor size, while keeping the overall cost of the chip fixed allowed us to reduce the cost per function with scaling, and is what is celebrated as Moore’s law. Scaling has been working gracefully up to the last decade, where the exponential rise in manufacturing cost and diminishing gains of scaling on device performance reduce its economic benefit. To revive the cost reduction trend, different techniques were proposed such as augmenting CMOS manufacturing with new materials (Beyond-CMOS), 3D integration, and integrating more non-transistor elements on-chip (More than Moore). In this work, we focus on the efficient implementation of several circuit functions using an allotropy of carbon known as graphene. Graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice, has unique electronic properties that has been taken the solid-state electronics community by a storm since its first experimental conception in 2004. Despite its promising electronic properties, namely the very high charge-carrier mobility and reduced scattering by impurities, graphene circuits has been held back by a plethora of nonidealities and technological roadblocks that hamper its use in traditional transistor-based circuits. In this work, we attempt to leverage the unique physical properties of graphene to implement non von-Neumann neuromorphic computing architectures, low-loss diodes and evaluate the behavior of diffusive-transport graphene couplers. We focus on the the design, fabrication and characterization of graphene devices in the presence of the current performance-limiting technological nonidealities in heterogeneous graphene-CMOS systems. We present the design, fabrication and characterization of all-graphene resistive data converters devices and diodes, discussing their performance and application as building elements of all-graphene brain-inspired computing architectures. We evaluate the performance of graphene couplers operating in the diffusive transport regime, which serve as a method to analyze the cross-coupling between adjacent graphene interconnects. We also discuss the current technological limitations hampering the performance of graphene devices, and the roles of different processing non-idealities on the characteristics of graphene devices.

Natural and man-made disasters have gained attention at all levels of policy-making in recent years. Emergency management tasks are inherently complex and unpredictable, and often require coordination among multiple organizations across different levels and locations. Effectively managing various knowledge areas and the organizations involved has become a critical emergency management success factor. However, there is a general lack of understanding about how to describe and assess the complex nature of emergency management tasks and how knowledge integration can help managers improve emergency management task performance. The purpose of this exploratory research was first, to understand how emergency management operations are impacted by tasks that are complex and inter-organizational and second, to investigate how knowledge integration as a particular knowledge management strategy can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the emergency tasks. Three types of specific knowledge were considered: context-specific, technology-specific, and context-and-technology-specific. The research setting was the Miami-Dade Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and the study was based on the survey responses from the participants in past EOC activations related to their emergency tasks and knowledge areas. The data included task attributes related to complexity, knowledge area, knowledge integration, specificity of knowledge, and task performance. The data was analyzed using multiple linear regressions and path analyses, to (1) examine the relationships between task complexity, knowledge integration, and performance, (2) the moderating effects of each type of specific knowledge on the relationship between task complexity and performance, and (3) the mediating role of knowledge integration. As per theory-based propositions, the results indicated that overall component complexity and interactive complexity tend to have a negative effect on task performance. But surprisingly, procedural rigidity tended to have a positive effect on performance in emergency management tasks. Also as per our expectation, knowledge integration had a positive relationship with task performance. Interestingly, the moderating effects of each type of specific knowledge on the relationship between task complexity and performance were varied and the extent of mediation of knowledge integration depended on the dimension of task complexity.

This thesis organizes information that will assist a community in the selection or construction of a context sensitive integrated senior healthcare system model. The senior healthcare system within Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario is used as a case study. Institutional Ethnography is used to collect data guided by a change management model adapted from the literature. Data sources were non-participant observations, key informant interviews, focus groups, and texts. Institutional ethnographic local and high level analyses methods were used to analyze this data. Results identified many more restraining than driving forces for integration within Sault Ste. Marie’s senior healthcare system. Study findings indicate that macro level activities are perpetuating micro level obstacles to integration. These results can be used to identify where improvements need to be made at the macro level in order for successful change to occur at the micro level.

Tail anchored (TA) proteins constitute an evolutionarily-conserved group of integral membrane proteins that are characterised by the presence of a single C-terminal transmembrane segment (TMS), which acts as both a membrane anchor and a targeting signal. In eukaryotes, TA-proteins localise to most intracellular membranes with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) being the entry site for TA-proteins destined for the compartments of the secretory pathway and the plasma membrane. Notably, distinct routes for TA-protein delivery to the ER have been identified, and the pathway preference seems to be determined by a relative hydrophobicity of the TMS.In the present study I demonstrate that two major routes for TA-protein delivery to the ER membrane, the TRC40-dependent and “unassisted”/chaperone-mediated pathways, both rely on the action of cytosolic factors which are extremely flexible and can accommodate substrates with TMSs that have been extensively modified (Chapters 2.1 – 2.3). Moreover, the ability of PEGylated forms of the TRC40 client Sec61b to become membrane-integrated correlates very well with the calculated changes in free energy that are associated with its partitioning into a lipid bilayer, supporting a thermodynamics-driven mode of membrane insertion for TA-proteins (Chapter 2.1). The use of fluorescently-labelled recombinant cytochrome b5 (Cytb5), a model TA-protein exploiting the “unassisted”/chaperone-mediated pathway, strongly suggests the involvement of cytosolic components during its biogenesis, whilst the accessibility of novel cysteine residues to the reagent mPEG-5000 indicates a role for peripheral membrane proteins during Cytb5 membrane integration (Chapter 2.2). Importantly, pull down assays using recombinant TA-proteins as bait, followed by mass spectrometric analysis, allowed me to identify a number of cytosolic interacting partners of TA-proteins (Chapters 2.3 and 2.4). The function of one such a factor, Bat3, was further investigated, and it was found to act prior to TRC40 and facilitate the loading of TA-protein substrates onto this targeting factor (Chapter 2.3). Based on these results and available published data, a hypothetical protein-protein interaction network is presented, and I speculate about the role of individual components during TA-protein biogenesis (Discussion).

"After their independence, African countries undertook to establish sub-regional organisations in order to join their efforts towards improving the living standard of their populations. Primarily vested with economic objectives, these sub-regional organisations, aware that economic development cannot be attained withouth peace, security and political stability, are more and more involved with political issues, especially since the 'democratic wind' of the early 1990s. It is therefore interesting to study how sub-regional integration as an external factor affects democracy domestically, that is to contemplate to what extent this sub-regional integration is contributing to the strengthening of democracy in Africa, and to research ways of enhancing this contribution. ... The study is structured into four main chapters. The introductory chapter contains the research design. The second chapter is devoted to an overview of sub-regional integration. It examines the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), but without losing sight of other groupings. The third chapter analyses the way the ECOWAS is dealing with the issue of democratic consolidation. It is interested in the question of whether the ECOWAS has an express policy and whether it has set standards as regards democratic consolidation in West Africa and, if so, how effective this policy and these standards have been so far. The fourth chapter is devoted to summary, conclusion and recommendations." -- Introduction. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2005. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

Vor dem Hintergrund einer weiter zusammenrückenden, Grenzen verschiebenden und globalisierten Welt ist grundlegend zu fragen, inwieweit in Theorie und Praxis von einem Anpassungsprozess einer Minderheit an die Mehrheitsgesellschaft gesprochen werden kann. Ein zunehmender gesellschaftlicher, medialer und politischer Diskurs über die (Des-)Integration der türkischen Migrant*innen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland ist seit dem Putschversuch des türkischen Militärs im April 2017 zu beobachten gewesen. Im Zuge dieser Debatten offenbaren sich zahlreiche Deutungen und Auffassungen über den Integrationsbegriff, welcher zuweilen als ein einseitiger Anpassungsprozess einer definierten Gruppe an die jeweils andere interpretiert und kommuniziert wird. Nicht zuletzt hatte diese Lesart konkrete Auswirkungen auf die politischen „Integrationsmaßnahmen“. Allerdings zeigen diverse Studien, dass die türkischen Migrant*innen bereits als gut integriert gelten. Die Diskrepanz zwischen diesen Realitäten führt in der vorliegenden Arbeit zu einer Kontroverse, die den Integrationsbegriff historisch aufarbeitet, hinterfragt und eine Alternative für die analytische Auseinandersetzung anbietet.:I. Abkürzungsverzeichnis 5 II. Tabellenverzeichnis 7 1 Integration im Diskurs – eine Einführung 9 2 Bedeutungsebenen zwischen Integration und Assimilation 13 2.1 Integration im Forschungsdiskurs 13 2.1.1 Zwischen Integrations- und Assimilationstheorie 14 2.1.2 Dimensionen, Formen und Indikatoren in der Systemintegration 18 2.2 Integrationspolitik und gesellschaftliche Debatten 23 2.2.1 Genealogie des politischen Integrationsbegriffes 23 2.2.2 Grundzüge der deutschen Integrationspolitik 25 2.3 Das Spannungsverhältnis von Segregation und Integration 27 2.4 Zur Kritik am Integrations- und Assimilationsbegriff 30 3 Transnationalität und Integration 35 3.1 Transnationalität als Antwort auf etablierte soziologische Integrationsdiskurse 35 3.2 Das Verhältnis von Transnationalität und Integration 37 3.3 Zwischenfazit: Return of Assimilation? 40 4 Das soziale Kapital 45 4.1 Theoretische Grundlagen 45 4.1.1 Mikroanalytischer Zugang 45 4.1.2 Makroanalytischer Zugang 46 4.1.3 Resümee 47 4.2 Grundvoraussetzungen für die Schaffung von Sozialkapital 48 4.2.1 Die soziale Beziehung 48 4.2.2 Die soziale Beziehung und das Netzwerk 49 4.2.3 Kontextualität des Sozialkapitals 50 4.2.4 Kritik am Sozialkapitalkonzept 52 4.3 Dimensionen des Sozialkapitals 52 4.3.1 Beziehungskapital 52 4.3.2 Systemkapital 54 5 Die Rolle des Sozialkapitals auf die ‚Inklusion‘ im Kontext der Transnationalität 57 5.1 Transnationalität und Sozialkapital 57 5.2 Zur Bedeutung von Netzwerken 59 5.2.1 Verwandtennetzwerke 59 5.2.2 Freundesnetzwerke 62 5.2.3 Gesellschaftliche Partizipation 64 5.2.4 Transnationale Beziehungsnetzwerke 66 6 Schlussfolgerung 71 Literatur- und Quellenverzeichnis 75

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Indiana University by Nikeshbhai Patel in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science, August 2005 / Medical health partners use heterogeneous data formats, legacy software and strictly licensed vocabularies which make it hard to integrate their data and work. Integration of services and data are the two main necessities. The current architecture used provides partial solution by providing one-to-one mapping wrappers. This thesis provides discussion on difficulties encountered by the coexistence of so many medical vocabularies and efforts to provide interoperation. Also other problems are listed which hinders the interoperation between health partners. Solution is proposed for some of these problems by forming semantic network based on multi-agent technology. Service composition and integration stages are shown to develop future advance health services. Middle layer is implemented which performs integration and provides common platform for sharing information, using global ontology and local domain ontology. Inferencebased matchmaking algorithm proposed in this thesis helps in mapping and achieving our goal. Six different filtering techniques are selected and used in matchmaking algorithm. Analysis of these filtering techniques is provided to understand the integration process. In the ending section an abstract idea is proposed on basis of network architecture and matchmaking algorithm to develop Open Terminological System.

The term “economic integration” recently has been used for various forms of economic cooperation. Many writers have tried to give a working definition of it, but a review of the literature does not show any generally accepted definition. The term is used for several degrees of economic cooperation; harmonization; trade agreements; tariff-agreements; advanced forms of cooperation like tariff communities, customs communities, customs unions, free trade areas, common markets, monetary unions; and complete economic unions. Integration furthermore has been split into sector and total integration and has been determined by various criteria. Thus, it is very difficult to judge where economic activity is still in the form of a loose cooperation and where the term “integration “ is appropriate. The abolition of discrimination, regional extensions or limitations, harmonization of economic policies, inclusion of meta-economic factors, and the abolition of barriers to factor movements are some of the measurements. In fact, changes in their combination observed in existing economic systems makes it difficult to find a general definition which can be applied to all forms of cooperation.

When exploring an original and relevant contribution to the continuing development of future transportation solutions, the author was inspired by the unbalanced influence mankind has on our planet earth. Amongst other effects of climate change, sea level is rising and will by the end of this century resultin uninhabitable areas. With this design project, the author aimed at emitting a positive answer to climate change; showing how with a different way of thinking the water no longer has to been seen as a problem but instead as a solution. Forming a basic understanding of how people in the future could live on water required a broad exploration of trends which are currently influencing society and living environment needs. The aging population and the need for smaller living and shared facilities were some of the conclusions of this research, which in collaboration with an architect were translated into a hypothetical floating village plan. Far future scenario planning proved to be a process with many uncertainties, however by empirically filling in the blanks an image emerged which provided a sufficient foundation for the development of potential mobility and transportation opportunities. A living environment where houses and facilities are separated from each other by a barrier (the water), presented challenges for its inhabitants in regards to mobility yet unknown in life as we know on land. The transportation solution the author is putting forward is a shared autonomous shuttle system, seamlessly integrated with the floating architecture and infrastructure, which make the inhabitants perceive the water not as a barrier. The fact that in a floating village architecture and infrastructure move along with the fluctuating water level just like the water transport, allowed for rethinking the archetype of a boat and designing a flush and stable ingress/egress experience. Aesthetic inspiration was found in nature; by analyzing the stance of the water strider insect, a stable looking vehicle was realized which conveys trust towards its users. In short, it has been a degree topic containing a multi-faceted challenge from which the author at the beginning of the project could not foresee the impact.