This thesis is mainly based on an extensive literature review and statistic analysis. The purpose is to find out the motives and effects of four different options in both literature and empirical study and then answer research questions. The four options are in house production, off-shoring, domestic outsourcing and international outsourcing. After the explanation of four options’ definitions, literature review will discuss most common motives and effects of outsourcing from many articles. The theory basis, such as transaction cost, resource based view, industrial view and their influence on the outsourcing will be mentioned to help reader to understand outsourcing. In empirical study, four options model and two questions (in house/outsourcing, domestic/off-shoring) from survey are used to classify Swedish companies into four groups which stand for four options. The statistics analysis results are from SPSS's ANOVA and Scheffe. According to the results, important motives of Swedish companies are “cost reduction”, “investment reduction”, “fixed cost”, and “accessing to core competence”. They are a little different from the literature review. And most effects of four options are positive, only “lead time” and “delivery time” is significant between “in house production” and “off-shoring” options.

Stiffness and strength models are derived for simply supported composite sandwich panels comprised of fibre-reinforced face sheets and polymer cores subject to symmetric four point bending and uniformly distributed loading. Optimal trajectories for minimum mass design are calculated using the models and situated on failure mechanism maps. A stiffness constraint is also derived to omit beam designs of excessive compliance. Analytical models were validated through an extensive series of experiments, considering beams comprised of GFRP face sheets with ROHACELL 51-IG and extruded polystyrene (EPS) polymer cores. An alternate loading fixture was used to simulate uniform pressure loads. In general, experiments were able to validate most analytical expressions for a range of experimental conditions. Though the predictions worked well with most beam cases, analytical models were noted to become unreliable for short or slender beams.

Stiffness and strength models are derived for simply supported composite sandwich panels comprised of fibre-reinforced face sheets and polymer cores subject to symmetric four point bending and uniformly distributed loading. Optimal trajectories for minimum mass design are calculated using the models and situated on failure mechanism maps. A stiffness constraint is also derived to omit beam designs of excessive compliance. Analytical models were validated through an extensive series of experiments, considering beams comprised of GFRP face sheets with ROHACELL 51-IG and extruded polystyrene (EPS) polymer cores. An alternate loading fixture was used to simulate uniform pressure loads. In general, experiments were able to validate most analytical expressions for a range of experimental conditions. Though the predictions worked well with most beam cases, analytical models were noted to become unreliable for short or slender beams.

As Galileo peered through a lens to see the twinkle of the Jovian moons, and Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek did the same to study the tremulous basis of all life, so the fabric of threads we weave across time and space – the vast net of relations that bind and separate us – is visible only through a lens. Footprints in the snow and the weathered stone steps of buildings hint at the shape of these threads, but the coming of spring and the hardness of stone limit our observations. The Global Positioning System (GPS) now provides us a lens to see the path that individuals, families, and communities take in space-time -- their worldlines. When millions of GPS signatures are collected from hundreds of individuals, heritable patterns emerge that embody particular individual’s ideas and practices, as well as those of the society and the environment in which they operate. Besides providing a tool to test assumptions about how space is used, I argue in this thesis that by allowing us to glimpse a terra incognita, mapping worldlines also provides a unique perspective on our spatial relationship to one another.

This study provides information on the age and growth of two important Iinefish species, Scomberomorus pluriline~tus and Polysteganus undulosus. Age determination for both species was carried out using otoliths and growth was modelled using age- and length-based methods. For the age-based method various growth models were evaluated to determine which growth function best described the age-length data, whilst Shepherd's Length Composition Analysis was used to estimate growth parameters from length-frequency data. Preliminary stock assessments, based on limited catch data, were also attempted for both species. Age estimates for the pelagic migrant S. plurilineatus, derived from reading whole otoliths, ranged from 0 + to 6 + years. As validation by marginal increment analysis was inconclusive because of the seasonal occurrence of this species in KwaZulu-Natal waters, it was assumed that a single opaque band was laid down in the otolith annually. Reproducibility of age estimates evaluated using the average percentage error (APE) technique was good (9.4%). Von Bertalanffy growth parameters were poorly estimated from length-frequency data because multiple maxima were encountered on the fitting surface. However, from the age-length data, growth was adequately modelled by the von Bertalanffy growth equation: L t =9 3 5mmFL (l-e -0. 583yr-1 (t+o. 991yr) ) S. p!urilineatus are fully recruited to the fishery at the age of 1 + year and the ageiv at-50% maturity is 2 + years. Preliminary per-recruit analyses indicated that the spawner biomass of S. plurilineatus is at 50% of its unfished level. Polysteganus undulosus is an endemic, reef-dwelling sparid and large catches weremade earlier in the century. Age determination was carried out using sectioned otoliths collected in 1962 and 1963 before the collapse of the fishery. Age estimates ranged from 3 + to 20 + years. Marginal increment analysis indicated that active deposition of opaque bands occurred during winter but, because of the seasonal occurrence of P. undulosus in KwaZulu-Natal, validation was inconclusive. Reproducibility of the age estimates was low (APE = 18.2%) because of difficulties with band interpretation as a result of stacking on otolith margins in old fish. Von Bertalanffy growth parameters could not be adequately estimated from length frequency data because of the slow growth and longevity of this species. However, from the age-length data, no difference in growth rate between the sexes was observed, and growth for the combined sexes is described by the following logistic equation: L = 942mmTL t 1+e-O.277yr-l(t-S.178yrs) The age at full recruitment was found to be 12 + years and the age-at-50% maturity was 8.8 years. A preliminary stock assessment revealed that the spawner biomass of P. undulosus was already at 25% of its unfished level in the early 1960s. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, 1996.

This thesis proposes that Yeats found in certain conventions of the Noh drama a realization and defense of his idea of unity of culture, which his Noh-like Four Plays for Dancers illustrates. Yeats' use of recurrent imagery in the dance plays expresses his belief in a unity of culture defined and evoked by an image and stems in part from the pattern of images he discovered in the Pound-Fenollosa translations of the Noh. The imagery of the poetic text reappears in symbolic visual designs or is coordinated with music and dance in the production of the plays. The importance of the spoken word above all determined the basis of the association of arts with which Yeats characterized unity of culture and shaped his adaptation and occasional misconception of the staging techniques of the Noh. A common love of vivid, allusive words joined the audience for whom the dance plays were written. When Yeats stated that they were modelled on the audience of the Noh, his perception was colored, as usual, by his own priorities and experience.

Auditory processing disorder (APD) is a label that describes a variable set of symptoms that share a common feature of difficulty listening to sounds in the absence of an actual audiological deficit (Moore, 2006). Clinical assessment of APD typically involves a test battery consisting of tests designed to examine the integrity of various auditory processes of the central auditory nervous system. Individuals with APD have difficulty recognising speech when parts of the signal are missing. One category of tests used to assess the extent to which this deficit is associated with reduced performance on the task is the low-pass filtered speech test. The University of Canterbury Adaptive Speech Test-Filtered Words (UCAST-FW) is a computer-based adaptive low-pass filtered speech test developed for the assessment of auditory processing skills in adults and children. Earlier studies with the UCAST-FW (McGaffin, 2007; Sincock, 2008; Heidtke, 2010; Abu-Hijleh, 2011) have produced encouraging results. However, there appear to be a number of confounding factors. The UCAST-FW is testing New Zealand listeners using an Australian recording of American test material. The purpose of the current study was to develop a new four-alternative forced choice test to replace the Northwestern University Children’s Perception of Speech (NU-CHIPS) stimuli the UCAST-FW currently utilises. The new test consists of 98 sets of four test items, (one target item and three foil alternatives) designed to be used in a four-alternative forced choice picture-pointing procedure. Phonemic analysis of the new word list and the NU-CHIPS word lists revealed a similar distribution of phonemes for target words of both word lists. The development of the new word list is described and the clinical applicability is explored.

One of the significant weaknesses of the design speed concept is that it uses the design speed of the most restrictive geometric element as the design speed of the entire road. This leads to potential inconsistencies among successive sections of a road. Previous studies documented that a uniform design speed does not guarantee consistency on rural two-lane facilities. It is therefore reasonable to assume that similar inconsistencies could be found on rural four-lane non-freeway highways. The operating speed-based method is popularly used in other countries for examining design consistency. Numerous studies have been completed on rural two-lane highways for predicting operating speeds. However, little is known for rural four-lane non-freeway highways. This study aims to develop operating speed prediction models for horizontal curves on rural four-lane non-freeway highways using 74 horizontal curves. The data analysis showed that the operating speeds in each direction of travel had no statistical differences. However, the operating speeds on inside and outside lanes were significantly different. On each of the two lanes, the operating speeds at the beginning, middle, and ending points of the curve were statistically the same. The relationships between operating speed and design speed for inside and outside lanes were different. For the inside lane, the operating speed was statistically equal to the design speed. By contrary, for the outside lane, the operating speed was significantly lower than the design speed. However, the relationships between operating speed and posted speed limit for both inside and outside lanes were similar. It was found that the operating speed was higher than the posted speed limit. Two models were developed for predicting operating speed, since the operating speeds on inside and outside lanes were different. For the inside lane, the significant factors are: shoulder type, median type, pavement type, approaching section grade, and curve length. For the outside lane, the factors included shoulder type, median type, approaching section grade, curve length, curve radius and presence of approaching curve. These factors indicate that the curve itself does mainly influence the drivers speed choice.

Activity and fitness levels decline through the years from 30 to 60 years of age. Minimal research is available regarding functional assessment tools in this population. Reliable functional tools are needed to reintroduce individuals to appropriate physical activity levels following an injury and to maintain high levels of participation through their lifespan. The purposes of this study were multiple: 1) determine if three functional tests correspond with neuromotor fitness levels, 2) establish a model of functional tests, activity levels and descriptive data that distinguishes the most from the least fit, 3) describe expected mean functional test performances, and 4) demonstrate the reliability of the three functional tests in a sample of 30-60 year olds. 63 females and 38 males completed activity surveys, a neuromotor fitness test, the star excursion balance test (SEBT), the four square step test (FSST), and the Biering-Sorensen test of trunk extensor muscle endurance. Moderate to high reliability of the functional tests was determined with 29 subjects. The SEBT (r=.97), FSST (r=.88) and the Biering-Sorensen test (r=.64) were reliable. All functional tests were able to distinguish between the most fit and least fit with regards to the fitness tests. A model of the body mass index and the FSST predicted 25% of the variance in fitness level. Functional test means are reported by 10-year age groups and represent expected performance values.Health care professionals can use this information to compare their patients to this group of healthy individuals. This will allow them to have some idea of how well a person with an injury is performing relative to a healthy individual. Additionally the combination of a persons BMI plus their FSST gives the health care professional some information about an individual level of neuromuscular fitness so that the health care professional can guide their patients toward an appropriate level of physical activity after their injury or illness.

Ce projet de recherche porte sur une méthode numérique permettant de prédire l'évolution du profil 2D de la couche solide qui recouvre l'intérieur des parois de plusieurs fours de transformation à haute température. Un modèle mathématique basé sur la formulation faible de l'énergie est d'abord développé et validé. Une méthode de transfert thermique inverse reposant sur ce modèle est ensuite développée afin d'obtenir une mesure rapide et continue de l'évolution du profil de cette couche solide. Vu la grande inertie thermique du système à l'étude, différentes stratégies sont proposées afin de faciliter la mise en oeuvre de cette méthode numérique. Finalement, cette approche inverse est confrontée aux résultats expérimentaux obtenus à l'aide d'un réacteur métallurgique. Une étude préliminaire montre que les fours de transformation présentent une très grande inertie thermique qui limite grandement l'utilisation des méthodes inverses. En effet, la sensibilité de cette méthode numérique repose essentiellement sur le délai temporel observé entre la variation du profil du banc et la fluctuation de la température à la surface externe de la paroi du four. Les résultats obtenus démontrent qu'une partie de ce délai est proportionnel à la chaleur latente de fusion lorsque le matériau à changement de phase est constitué d'un mélange non eutectique. Afin de limiter l'impact de ce délai temporel, deux astuces numériques sont proposées : réutiliser plus d'une fois les mesures de température et modifier le problème thermique dans les régions pâteuse et liquide. D'une part, le concept de chevauchement proposé permet de réduire le temps d'acquisition des données entre chacune des prédictions. D'autre part, l'approche virtuelle développée permet de réduire l'inertie thermique du système et, par le fait même, le délai temporel associé à la diffusion de la chaleur. Ces deux stratégies ont permis de prédire efficacement l'évolution 1D de l'épaisseur de la couche de gelée qui se solidifie à l'intérieur des cuves d'électrolyse. Par ailleurs, l'important temps de calcul associé à la mise en oeuvre de la méthode inverse a été réduit en utilisant une approche pseudo 2D pour résoudre le problème inverse 2D. Cette approche consiste à diviser le domaine à l'étude en plusieurs tranches unidimensionnelles pour lesquelles la méthode inverse 1D est rapidement mise en oeuvre. L'ensemble des solutions est ensuite combiné pour mener à la prédiction de l'évolution du profil de l'interface de changement de phase. Il est à noter que la validité de cette méthode dépend fortement de l'importance des effets 2D dans le système. Un abaque portant sur le domaine d'application de cette méthode est d'ailleurs présenté dans cet ouvrage. Finalement, l'efficacité de cette méthode numérique a été validée à l'aide d'un montage expérimental s'apparentant à une cuve d'électrolyse réelle. Les résultats obtenus permettent de conclure que la méthode inverse proposée peut être efficacement implémentée dans un dispositif de mesure permettant de prédire rapidement et à moindre coût l'évolution du profil de la couche protectrice que l'on retrouve dans ces cuves d'électrolyse.