This study probes into the SME strategic typology evolution at different stage of business life cycle from Resource Base View, and analyzes the factors and incidents triggering the SME strategic evolution. It further infers that as the resource accumulating, visionary leadership cultivating, and movement typology changing, the decision-making process varies. To conclude, the finding of this study are followed: 1.SME strategic typology varies, rather than fixes. This indicates that SEM entrepreneur ought to adopt appropriate strategy by inspecting market/product focus, R-D and managerial skills 2.SEM movements could be divided into three parts: ¡§Action before acknowledge¡¨, ¡§Action with only leader acknowledged¡¨ and ¡§Action with both leader and organization acknowledged. SEM¡¦s Movements adoption changed by resource accumulation, visionary leadership cultivation, decision making reliance 3.SME should adopt distinct decision-making process at different stage in business life cycle.

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to understand the mothers lived experience and perception towards 24-hour Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) during hospitalization of their preterm babies. A qualitative design was used and phenomenological methods used to collect data. Nine in-depth unstructured interviews were with purposely-selected participants. The meaning of their experience was analyzed using Collaizzi’s (1978) steps to phenomenological data analysis. Data analysis revealed major three themes: (a) “it is a bond between me and my child” (b) nurse-parent interaction, and (c) “it is tiring and exhaustive”. However, the study found that all the mothers in spite of exhaustion, reported some high level of satisfaction with KMC because it allowed them to be closer to their babies. hence giving them the opportunity to observe their growth and become fully involved in the care. KMC was additionally noted have provided a comforting and warm environment for the babies, thus enabling them to grow faster and this in turn increased maternal satisfaction. Recommendation was made regarding further research preferably quantitative study to establish relationship between production of breast milk and the use of KMC. The principle of 24-hour KMC should also be incorporated and emphasized in all levels of educational training as this practice has been found to have numerous benefits both to the mothers and to their preterm babies.

Cette thèse vise à étudier la diffusion protonique, et dans une moindre mesure ionique, au sein d’un matériau électrolyte pour pile à combustible BaCeO3 dopé Gd, en adoptant une démarche multi-échelle. Tout d’abord, des calculs ab initio ont été réalisés afin de déterminer les positions stables des défauts protoniques OH_O et des lacunes d’oxygène VO dans le matériau. Puis, en utilisant toujours le formalisme de la théorie de la fonctionnelle de la densité, les barrières d’énergies pour les deux types de défauts entre deux positions stables ont été calculées. Enfin, ces barrières ont été utilisées dans un algorithme de Monte-Carlo cinétique afin de simuler des trajectoires de protons et de lacunes d’oxygène. Cette méthode permet d’accéder à des grandeurs macroscopiques, accessibles expérimentalement, telles que l’énergie d’activation, le coefficient de diffusion ou la mobilité, en se basant uniquement sur des données atomiques issues de simulations ab initio. Le gadolinium semble être un dopant intéressant pour le cérate de barium au vu de son faible pouvoir attractif sur le proton : il permet ainsi la création de nombreuses lacunes d’oxygène, qui pourront incorporer des molécules d’eau, sans toutefois piéger l’hydrogène. Ces deux conditions sont nécessaires pour obtenir un bon électrolyte pour les oxides solides conducteurs de protons. / This thesis deals with the study of protonic diffusion, and to a lesser extent ionic, inside a Gd-doped BaCeO3, a possible electrolyte for fuel cell, using a multi-scale approach. First of all, first principles calculations have been made to determine stable positions for protonic defects OH_O and oxygen vacancies V O in the material. Then, using the same formalism of density functional theory, energy barriers for both kinds of defects have been computed between two stable positions. Finally, these barrier heights have been used in a Kinetic Monte-Carlo algorithm to simulate trajectories of protons or oxygen vacancies. This method allows to access macroscopic values that can be found by experiments, such as activation energy, diffusion coefficient or mobility, using only atomic data coming from ab initio simulations. Gadolinium seems to be an interesting dopant in barium cerate considering its weak power of attraction on the proton: the introduction of gadolinium creates lots of oxygen vacancies that will be able to incorporate water molecules, without trapping the hydrogen. Both these conditions are necessary to get a good electrolyte for protonic ceramic fuel cell.

Dans cette étude, nous nous intéressons au relâchement du carbone dans les CSD-C (Colis Standard de Déchets Compactés) par simulation atomique. Le carbone 14 peut atteindre la surface de la zircone par deux mécanismes : la migration par diffusion interstitielle et/ou la migration dans les porosités. La migration dans les porosités a été modélisée par une migration sur une surface anhydre de zircone. Le coefficient de diffusion est égal à 10⁻¹⁵ cm²/s à la température d’étude de 50 °C. Cela représente une migration de l’ordre du mm sur 100 000 ans (échelle de temps considérée). La migration interstitielle a été étudiée par les sauts au voisinage de la subsurface. L’épaisseur de la subsurface correspond aux 2 couches (0.7 nm) pour lesquelles l’énergie d’interaction du carbone est différente de celle en volume. La migration du carbone est préférentielle vers la surface dans cette zone. Nous avons également analysée l’hydratation de la surface par l’eau qui pourraient arriver dans le site de stockage. Une nouvelle configuration de la monocouche d’hydratation de la surface est proposée dont la stabilité en température a été étudiée par dynamique moléculaire. La monocouche d’hydratation reste inchangée en présence d’eau. Des mécanismes associées à la spéciation une fois que le carbone est sur la surface hydratée ont été simulés. Les conditions basiques ont été prise en compte. La désorption de CO et de CO₂ nécessite des énergies d’activation accessibles de 0.40 eV au maximum. La désorption de CH₄ semble plus difficile. Le carbone pourrait aussi être piégé sur la surface. / In this study, we are interested in the release of carbon in CSD-C (Standard Package of Compacted Waste) by atomic simulation. Carbon 14 can reach the surface of zirconia through two mechanisms: pore diffusion and/or migration in porosities. Migration in porosities was modelled by migration on an anhydrous zirconia surface. The calculated diffusion coefficient is equal to 10⁻¹⁵ cm²/s at the study temperature of 50 °C. This represents a migration in the order of mm per 100 000 years (time scale considered). Interstitial migration was studied by jumps in the vicinity of the subsurface. The thickness of the subsurface corresponds to the 2 oxide layers (0.7 nm) for which the interaction energy of carbon is different from bulk. Carbon migration is preferred towards the surface in this area. We have also analyzed the hydration of the surface with water that could arrive in the storage site. A new configuration of the surface hydration monolayer is proposed whose temperature stability has been studied by molecular dynamics. The hydration monolayer remains unchanged in the presence of water. Mechanisms associated with speciation once the carbon is on the hydrated surface have been simulated. The basic conditions have been taken into account. The desorption of CO and CO₂ requires accessible activation energies of up to 0.40 eV. Desorption of CH₄ seems more difficult. Carbon could also be trapped on the surface.

Behaviour of Group III (Al) and IV (Sn) metals on Si(100) surface was studied by Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy in a temperature range from 115 K to 350 K. Evolution of the length of Sn chains at room and elevated temperatures was studied by the method of repeated line scans. Activation energies and the respective frequency prefactors for detachment of different individual atoms from the chains' terminations were obtained by means of statistical processing. Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations were used to obtain activation energies for hops of Sn adatoms on the Si(100) surface at room temperature by fitting experimentally measured growth characteristics of Sn/Si(100). Three basic Al objects observed by Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy at room temperature on Si(100) were identified and thoroughly described. Direct observation of Al adatom hopping on Si(100)-c(4x2) at 115 K was used to evaluate the activation energies for individual hops in directions parallel with Si dimer rows and perpendicular to Si dimer rows. Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations were used to obtain activation energies for hops of Al adatoms on the Si(100) surface at room temperature by fitting experimentally measured growth characteristics of Al/Si(100).

Adsorption is a low-energy separation process especially advantageous when the components to be separated are similar in nature or have a low molar concentration. The choice of the adsorbent is the key factor for a successful separation, and among them periodic mesoporous silicas (PMS) are of importance because of their pore sizes, shapes and connectivity. Furthermore, they can be modified by post-synthesis functionalisation, which provides a tool for tailoring them to specific applications. SBA-2 and STAC-1 are two types of PMS characterised by a three-dimensional pore system of spherical cages interconnected by a network of channels whose formation process was until now obscure. In this work the kinetic Monte Carlo (kMC) technique has been extended to simulate the synthesis of these complex materials, presenting evidence that the interconnecting network originates from spherical micelles touching during their close-packing aggregation in the synthesis. Moreover, for the first time atomistic models for these materials were obtained with realistic pore-surface roughness and details of the possible location of its interaction sites. Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations of nitrogen, methane and ethane adsorption in the materials pore models show excellent agreement with experimental results. In addition, their potential as design tools is explored by introducing surface groups for enhancing CO2 capture; and finally, application examples are presented for carbon dioxide capture from flue gases and for natural gas purification, as well as in the separation of n-butane / iso-butane isomers.

A framework for constructing kinetic monte carlo (KMC) simulations of diffusive events on a lattice was developed. This code was then tested by running simulations of Fe adatom diffusion on graphene and graphene-boron nitride surfaces. The results from these simulations was then used to show that the modeled diffusion adheres to the laws of brownian motion and generates results similar to recent research findings.

Målet med det här arbetet var att skapa en konceptuell designprototyp för en scenarioeditor åt en digital version av utbildningsverktyget Emergo Train System. Rapporten ämnar ta upp och presentera den arbetsprocess som lett fram till designprototypen och dess utvärdering. I rapporten tillkommer även en diskussion kring hur en scenarioeditor bör utformas för att stödja skapandet av ETS-scenarion samt hur ett flexibelt arbetssätt stöds i form av skapandet av scenariorepresentationer. Intervjuer genomfördes med instruktörer och systemansvarige för ETS, samt observationer av iordningställande av ett ETS-scenario. Datainsamlingen analyserades och resulterade i en kravspecifikation för den digitala scenarioeditorn. Den prototyp som utformades gjordes så i pappersformat och utvärderades tillsammans med personal från Katastrofmedicinskt centrum i Linköping.

Objective: To describe the breastfeeding characteristics of late-preterm infants (LPIs) in a kangaroo mother care unit (KMC). Materials and methods: In a 20-bed KMC unit, the breastfeeding of 73 purposively-selected LPIs’ (mean gestational age: 34.8 weeks) was observed once-off, using the Preterm Infant Breastfeeding Behavior Scale. Participants’ mean age was 9.5 days, mean number of days in the unit was 3.1 days, and mean number of days breastfeeding was 7.5 days on observation. Results: Only 13.7% of participants were directly breastfeeding without supplementary tube-feeding/cupfeeding and 86.3% received supplementary cup-feeding of expressed breast milk. Most participants did not exhibit obvious rooting (83.5%) and although most latched-on (97.3%), those who did, latched shallowly (93%). The mean longest sucking burst was 18.8 (SD: 10.5) and approximately half the participants swallowed repeatedly (53.4%). The mean breastfeeding session duration was 17.8 minutes but most participants breastfed less than 10 minutes (76.7%). No statistically significant associations were found between chronological age and breastfeeding characteristics. A general trend towards more mature behaviors in participants breastfeeding for more days was present for many breastfeeding characteristics. More infants exhibited the most mature behavior for each breastfeeding characteristic when the environment was quiet, rather than noisy and disturbing, except for depth of latching (quiet: 0%, disturbance: 15.2%). Conclusion: LPIs in this sample presented with subtle, moderate breastfeeding difficulties, highlighting their need for breastfeeding support. Further research is required to examine the effect of KMC on breastfeeding in LPIs. / Dissertation (MA)- University of Pretoria, 2017. / Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology / MA / Unrestricted

La problématique énoncée par l’utilisation de matériaux composites C/C denses implique la connaissance et la maîtrise des processus de dégradation auxquels ils sont soumis. L’utilisation de moyens de caractérisation in-situ de ces voies de dégradation constitue alors un atout considérable pour leur anticipation. Ainsi, l’utilisation de la MEBE en Température associée à une caractérisation cristallographique par MET et une confrontation ex-situ par Analyse thermogravimétrique a abouti à l’obtention de lois cinétiques caractérisant la propagation de l’oxydation dans toutes les directions de l’espace. A la suite de cette étape expérimentale, une approche numérique basée sur l’utilisation d’algorithmes de Monte-Carlo Cinétique, a alors été mise en place pour modéliser ces observations tant sur le plan atomique avec la modélisation de la loi cinétique d’oxydation linéique, que meso et macroscopique par la simulation de la loi cinétique de perte de masse dans le cas particulier du HOPG. / The problem stated by the use of composites C / C dense implies knowledge and control of degradation processes to which they are subjected. The use of in-situ characterization of these means of degradation pathways then is a considerable asset for their advance. Thus, the use of ESEM in temperature associated with a crystallographic characterization by TEM and ex situ confrontation by thermogravimetric analysis resulted in obtaining kinetic laws characterizing the propagation of oxidation in all directions. Following this experimental stage, a numerical approach based on the use of algorithms Kinetic Monte-Carlo, was then introduced to model these observations both at the atomic level with the modeling of the oxidation kinetics law linear, as meso-and macro-simulation by the kinetic law of mass loss in the case of HOPG.