Metadata is an increasingly central tool in the current web environment, enabling large-scale, distributed management of resources. Recent years has seen a growth in interaction between previously relatively isolated metadata communities, driven by a need for cross-domain collaboration and exchange. However, metadata standards have not been able to meet the needs of interoperability between independent standardization communities. For this reason the notion of metadata harmonization, defined as interoperability of combinations of metadata specifications, has risen as a core issue for the future of web-based metadata. This thesis presents a solution-oriented analysis of current issues in metadata harmonization. A set of widely used metadata specifications in the domains of learning technology, libraries and the general web environment have been chosen as targets for the analysis, with a special focus on Dublin Core, IEEE LOM and RDF. Through active participation in several metadata standardization communities, a body of knowledge of harmonization issues has been developed. The thesis presents an analytical framework of concepts and principles for understanding the issues arising when interfacing multiple standardization communities. The analytical framework focuses on a set of important patterns in metadata specifications and their respective contribution to harmonization issues: Metadata syntaxes as a tool for metadata exchange. Syntaxes are shown to be of secondary importance in harmonization. Metadata semantics as a cornerstone for interoperability. This thesis argues that the incongruences in the interpretation of metadata descriptions play a significant role in harmonization. Abstract models for metadata as a tool for designing metadata standards. It is shown how such models are pivotal in the understanding of harmonization problems. Vocabularies as carriers of meaning in metadata. The thesis shows how portable vocabularies can carry semantics from one standard to another, enabling harmonization. Application profiles as a method for combining metadata standards. While application profiles have been put forward as a powerful tool for interoperability, the thesis concludes that they have only a marginal role to play in harmonization. The analytical framework is used to analyze and compare seven metadata specifications, and a concrete set of harmonization issues is presented. These issues are used as a basis for a metadata harmonization framework where a multitude of metadata specifications with different characteristics can coexist. The thesis concludes that the Resource Description Framework (RDF) is the only existing specification that has the right characteristics to serve as a practical basis for such a harmonization framework, and therefore must be taken into account when designing metadata specifications. Based on the harmonization framework, a best practice for metadata standardization development is developed, and a roadmap for harmonization improvements of the analyzed standards is presented. / QC 20101117

Abstrakt I kampen mot inaktivitet och för tidig död startade man i Västerås 1975 en aktiveringskurs för sjukskrivna som riktade in sig på sjukskrivna människor. Fem år senare startade Läkarordinerad motion med ASEA som initiativtagare. Verksamheten LOM fanns i Västerås till 1996 då den avvecklades. Syftet med studien är att visa hur verksamheterna såg ut mellan 1975-1996 och varför verksamheten LOM avvecklades. Dessa delar kommer att redovisas genom en dokumentanalys som genomfördes på landstingsarkivet i Västerås. Man fick bidrag från Försäkringskassan till verksamheterna. Både arbetsgivare och deltagare visade goda resultat. Man kände plötsligt ett välbefinnande och fick en bättre livskvalitet efter kurserna. Många kunde återgå till sina jobb och man kände förmågan att ta ansvar för sina liv. Verksamheten LOM avvecklades 1996. Anledningen var att man inte kunde komma överens om vilken instans som skulle ha ansvaret för LOM. Utifrån ett uppdrag som Beställarkansliet fick blev det klart att LOM inte skulle finnas kvar ekonomiskt hos landstinget. LOM skulle flyttas där det organisatoriskt hörde hemma. Man kom aldrig överens om var det var någonstans. Kort därefter avvecklades LOM.

Master of Engineering (Research) / Educational standards are having a significant impact on e-Learning. They allow for better exchange of information among different organizations and institutions. They simplify reusing and repurposing learning materials. They give teachers the possibility of personalizing them according to the student’s background and learning speed. Thanks to these standards, off-the-shelf content can be adapted to a particular student cohort’s context and learning needs. The same course content can be presented in different languages. Overall, all the parties involved in the learning-teaching process (students, teachers and institutions) can benefit from these standards and so online education can be improved. To materialize the benefits of standards, learning resources should be structured according to these standards. Unfortunately, there is the problem that a large number of existing e-Learning materials lack the intrinsic logical structure required, and further, when they have the structure, they are not encoded as required. These problems make it virtually impossible to share these materials. This thesis addresses the following research question: How to make the best use of existing open learning resources available on the Internet by taking advantage of educational standards and specifications and thus improving content reusability?In order to answer this question, I combine different technologies, techniques and standards that make the sharing of publicly available learning resources possible in innovative ways. I developed and implemented a three-stage tool to tackle the above problem. By applying information extraction techniques and open e-Learning standards to legacy learning resources the tool has proven to improve content reusability. In so doing, it contributes to the understanding of how these technologies can be used in real scenarios and shows how online education can benefit from them. In particular, three main components were created which enable the conversion process from unstructured educational content into a standard compliant form in a systematic and automatic way. An increasing number of repositories with educational resources are available, including Wikiversity and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology OpenCourseware. Wikivesity is an open repository containing over 6,000 learning resources in several disciplines and for all age groups [1]. I used the OpenCourseWare repository to evaluate the effectiveness of my software components and ideas. The results show that it is possible to create standard compliant learning objects from the publicly available web pages, improving their searchability, interoperability and reusability.

Thesis (M.A. in English)--Vanderbilt University, Aug. 2008. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Evaluation datums about development landscapes. Surveying vegetative types. Evaluation influence elements anthropogenic empty weight on landscape and proposal solving special - interest territory.

Diploma thesis discusses and summarizes the problematic how ovality effects durability of bended tubes. The work presents an approach to the solution, the experiments concerning change of ovality, changes in the thickness of the distorted cross-section. Final results represent connection between ovality and durability.

The goal of this diplma thesis is to design a system for axial bearings parameter measurement. The system uses principles of 2D active optical triangulation. The system will have a capability of compensating error caused by refraction on preservative oil layer, which the bearings are covered in.

The thesis is focused on the prediction of the fracture toughness temperature dependence through a universal curve of fracture toughness (also known as the master curve). To determine the parameters of the universal curve of fracture toughness, values acquired from the measurement results of fracture toughness and tensile tests of structural steel P91 are used. The theoretical part is based on a summary of the relevant information from the field of fracture mechanics and brittle-ductile fracture behavior of steels that are important for the understanding of fracture-strain response of materials depending on load conditions. The experimental part of the thesis contains the results from practical measurements and analyses, which were used for determining the parameters of a universal curve of fracture toughness as well as for the evaluation of fracture behavior and description of the impact of structural parameters on this behavior in case of steel P91.

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

The topic of osmund iron is of great interest in both historical and metallurgical perspective. Between the 14th and the 17th century osmund iron was exported extensively from Sweden but it has been difficult to characterize and confirm what exactly osmund iron is. Further research should be conducted to improve the understanding of this kind of iron.   This work is primarily focused on medieval osmund iron. It is trying to determine what can be stated about their production methods and how to identify osmund pieces. A literature review was performed, to present an overview of iron production methods in medieval Europe. A metallurgical analysis was conducted on a number of osmund samples from the polish shipwreck ‘Miedsiowiec’, W5., together with samples from bar irons and iron billets from the same ship. Analysis was performed using LOM and SEM with EDS, analysing the crystallographic structure of the samples, and performing slag analysis using EDS to establish statistical trends. One of the aims was to evaluate a previously suggested hypothesis, namely that osmunds were shipped to Danzig from Stockholm, and then refined into iron bars and billets.  The studied iron bars and billets were purely ferritic with some slag inclusions. By looking at the shape of the slag inclusions, it can be stated that the bars and billets were forged differently from the osmund pieces. The osmunds were found to be made by indirect reduction as seen by the prevalence of cementite. It could not be confirmed if the bars and billets were forged by osmunds.  The osmunds showed different trace element compositions, than the iron bars and billets. The microstructure of all the osmunds varies greatly, which was to be expected. The osmunds had a higher carbon content and fewer slag inclusions. The hypothesis that osmunds were refined into iron bars and billets is not supported by the findings of this study. / Osmundjärn är av stort arkeometallurgiskt intresse, som en svensk exportvara som exporterades mellan 1300- och 1600-talet. Det är dock svårt att definitivt avgöra vad osmundjärn är för något. Det krävs därför ytterligare analyser och studier inom detta område för att förbättra vår förståelse av osmundjärn.   Denna studie behandlar upphittade medeltida osmundjärn och stångjärn i syfte att avgöra hur dessa har tillverkats. En litteraturstudie genomfördes som omfattande medeltida järntillverkningsprocesser, den existerande forskningen om osmundjärn samt relevanta forskningsmetoder. Järnproverna som erhölls kommer från den polska skeppsvraket ’Miedsiowiec’, W5. Mikrostrukturen av proverna analyserades med ljusmikroskop och en SEM-EDS analys utfördes. En föregående publicering om osmundar har föreslagit att osmundar exporterades från Stockholm till Gdansk, där de välldes och bearbetades till stångjärn. Osmundarna och stångjärnen som erhölls undersöktes också för att korrektheten i denna hypotes. Stångjärnens mikrostrukturer var ferritiska med ett flertal inneslutningar. Två av de så kallade iron billets hade anisotropiskt formad slagg, jämfört med de så kallade iron bars som hade isotropiskt format slagg. Det bedömdes att osmundarna var tillverkade i en masugn, på grund av perliten som hittades i mikrostrukturen i samtliga osmundar. Mikrostrukturen i alla osmundar varierade dock kraftigt, som väntat. Osmundarna hade också högre kolhalt, och färre slaggpartiklar. Hypotesen om att osmundar bearbetades till stångjärn stöds därför inte av resultaten som hittats i denna studie.