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Bakgrund: Amyotrofisk Lateral Skleros (ALS) är en allvarlig, obotlig och progressiv sjukdom som innebär att nerver som kontrollerar muskler gradvis bryts ned. Det vanligaste symtomet i sjukdomen är förlamning som utvecklas individuellt, ofta i smygande takt. Det enda som inte påverkas av sjukdomen är intellektet som fungerar helt normalt. Syfte: Syftet var att belysa patienters upplevelser av att leva med Amyotrofisk Lateral Skleros. Metod: En systematisk litteraturstudie där en manifest innehållsanalys med induktiv ansats har använts som arbetssätt. Sökningar gjordes i databaserna CINAHL, PubMed och PsycINFO och granskades utifrån valda granskningsmallar. Sju kvalitativa och fyra kvantitativa artiklar blev efter kvalitetsgranskning de artiklar som användes till resultatet. Resultat: De kategorier som framkom var leva med dödlig sjukdom och upplevelser av välbefinnande. Upplevelserna av att leva med ALS är varierande och individuella. Sjukdomen upplevs som en ständig kamp mellan hopp och förtvivlan och där patienterna upplever sig vara en börda både för sig själv och för omgivningen. Upplevelsen att leva nära sin familj ansågs viktigt för patienterna för att känna lycka och trygghet, vilket gav stöd i sjukdomsprocessen. Slutsats: Det har framkommit både positiva och negativa upplevelser av att leva med ALS. Det finns olika sätt att hantera sjukdomen och därmed få kontroll över det kvarvarande livet. Vidare forskning kring sjukdomen ALS behövs för att öka förståelsen kring upplevelser och för att vårda denna patientgrupp.

The flat dilatometer (DMT) and piezocone penetration (CPTU) tests are likely to be among the most widely used in situ testing methods for soil characterization and indirect determination of geotechnical design parameters such as: strength, stiffness, permeability and compressibility. The flat dilatometer has proved to be a reliable, robust and adaptable tool, and the data obtained with this instrument is very repeatable, and easy to reduce and process. Furthermore, the addition of a seismic module to the standard flat dilatometer (SDMT) to measure the shear wave velocity (Vs) significantly complements the set of data typically obtained with a standard DMT test. Nonetheless, the experience in interpreting the combination between Vs and DMT data is fairly limited due to the recent introduction of the SDMT for commercial applications. Additionally, the estimation of the coefficient of earth pressure at rest (K₀) has been the most important application of the DMT since its introduction. However, a potential weakness of the DMT is that the derivation of K₀ is based upon empirical correlations developed some time ago and neither improvement work nor upgrade of these approaches has been performed in the last 10 years. Throughout the years several additional sensors have been developed in order to supplement the data collected with the CPTU test. Among the wide variety of sensor developed, the lateral stress module mounted behind a piezocone represents a promising tool for estimation of in situ lateral stress conditions from the interpretation of lateral stress penetration data. However, the popularity of the so called lateral stress cone has declined over the years due to constraints in both the instrumentation and the interpretation of measured data. Also, the application of this instrument remains limited to specific soils conditions and specific projects. However, the valuable experience gained throughout the years in the development and application of several lateral stress cones in combination with developments in electronics and understanding of soil behaviour allow the improvement of this type of technology. This thesis presents the results of a comprehensive laboratory and field testing programs performed by the author at several research sites located in the Lower Mainland of BC, undertaken in order to assess the performance of the seismic flat dilatometer and lateral stress seismic piezocone (LSSCPTU), built and develop at UBC. Firstly, the analysis of field measurements with the SDMT collected at several sites have demonstrated the potential for an improved soil characterization through the combination of DMT parameters and the small strain shear modulus (G₀). Additionally the usefulness of the DMT-C closing pressure for soil identification is shown. On the basis of several relationships identified from this data, a new soil type behaviour system based upon SDMT measurements is proposed. Furthermore, empirical correlations based upon fairly large and updated databases have been developed to estimate K₀ and Vs values from DMT parameters.

In an organization, coworkers are the people who have the most contact with a worker besides his or her supervisor. Past empirical evidence of social support in workplace research has focused on supervisor while support from coworkers is often discussed with social support and organization citizenship behaviors (OCBs). Based on Affective Event Theory (AET), this study extends previous research of coworker support by focusing on the personal emotion, reaction and opinion. The main points of this study include: What are the different types of coworker support and nonsupport behaviors? How do these coworker behaviors influence the workers¡¦ personal emotions? How do workers response to them? This qualitative study uses the Critical Incident Technique (CIT) to collect coworker behaviors as incidents, define criteria and analyze. This study finds that coworker support can predict the workers¡¦ emotion, reaction and opinion. Coworker support will help to enhance the displays of positive emotion, reaction and opinion of workers. In addition, people in positive emotion are more likely to response and think positively. They will keep interacting with others, dedicate to their job and identify themselves to their organizations. From a standpoint of practical management, in order to enhance organization performance, managers should improve organization environment to facilitate coworker support.

Safety in automobiles is gaining increasing importance. With the increasing trend of U.S. buyers towards SUVs, appropriate safety measures for SUVs need to be implemented. Since SUVs, as a vehicle type, have a higher center of gravity and hence have a greater tendency to rollover at high cornering speeds. The rollover can also occur due to the vertical road inputs like bumps and potholes which induce a rolling moment. The proposed rollover identification system would "couple" the two inputs from the suspension relative position sensors and the lateral acceleration sensor to predict rollover. The input to the suspension relative position sensors could be either due to the vehicle cornering, which results in the outer suspension getting compressed and the inner suspension getting extended, or maybe due to vertical road inputs. The principal objective is to differentiate the two types of inputs (since they can have opposing moment values) and further couple the same with the lateral acceleration input to form a rollover identification system. The work involves modeling of a semi-car model using the Dymola-vehicle dynamics simulation software. The semi-car model is developed to simulate values for the two proposed sensors. Then using NHTSA standard steering procedures and steering angle as the input, the lateral tire forces are generated. These tire forces serve as input to the Dymola model which is integrated into a Simulink model. The lateral acceleration and suspension relative position sensor values obtained are then used by LabVIEW to pass judgments on the type of rollover. The model was successfully developed in Dymola. The model with steering angle as input was able to generate values of lateral acceleration and lateral tire forces. The roll angle induced due to road inputs and vehicle cornering were estimated. Since the principal objective of modeling was to generate lateral acceleration values, these values were subsequently used in the LabVIEW Rollover Identification System where rollover induced either by maneuver or through road inputs were clearly identified.

This dissertation includes the three major parts of the study: volume change, and lateral earth pressure due to suction change in expansive clay soils, and design of civil infrastructure drilled pier, retaining wall and pavement in expansive soils. The volume change model in expansive clay has been refined to reinforce realistic characteristics of swelling and shrinkage behavior of expansive clay soils. Refinements include more realistic design soil suction versus depth profiles and improved characterizations of the effects of soil cracking, overburden stress, and lateral earth pressure. The refined model also includes an algorithm of assigning suctionvolumetric water content curves and diffusivity through the soil. The typical lateral earth pressure distribution during wetting against a stationary wall is proposed. The proposed stationary retaining wall-soil system in expansive soils includes an upper movement active zone and a lower anchor zone. Mohrâ s circles and failure envelopes are used to define the effective horizontal stress and shear failure in an unsaturated soil. The prediction of the horizontal pressures due to suction change in a soil is compared with the in situ measurement of natural horizontal pressures and the measurements from the large scale tests. It is found that agreement between the measured and predicted horizontal pressures is satisfactory. Case studies of axial and bending of the pier are presented with both uniform and non-uniform wetting. The pier case study for axial behavior shows a good agreement with a heave at ground surface and uplift forces. Three case studies for bending behavior of the pier and retaining wall are presented based on suction change. Pavement design program has been refined to extend the design capabilities into both flexible and rigid pavements supported by pavement treatments. The comparative case studies using both current and new methods in pavement design show that the current method criterion of 1-inch is unnecessarily conservative. Furthermore, the current method does not provide a means of anticipating subgrade shrinkage that will result in longitudinal cracking along the edge of the pavement. The design calculations with both methods lead to the conclusion that neither the swelling movement, as in the current method, nor the total movement, as in the new method, is a reliable indicator of likely acceptable pavement performance. Instead, all of these case studies show that it is important to use the predicted history of the present serviceability index and the international roughness index as the proper design guideline for an acceptable treatment of the subgrade of an expansive soil.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2003. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.

Abstract The intellectual assets underpinning the modern knowledge economy are not normally associated with activities in the primary sector. This raises the question whether resourcebased developing countries are eternally relegated to the Also-Runs in global competition or at least whether they need to disassociate themselves from their economic mainstay in order for catch-up to materialise. The answer to this question is of paramount importance to many developing countries, especially in Latin America and Africa. This analysis contributes to the discussion in two novel ways. The first is the focus on technological trajectories that start in or around resource-based activities and subsequently become more knowledge intensive. Hence the study shows the direct contribution resource-based activities make towards the development of a knowledge economy. The second is the attempt systematically to compare technological trajectories in Africa’s most sophisticated economy with those in three Latin American countries at different stages of development. By contrast, this study concentrates on countries from continents that are customarily lumped together in the failure category. It analyses examples of technological learning and focuses on what works (not), and why, and whether insights from a collection of case studies can inform a broader policy discussion about how best to reconcile the demands of the knowledge economy with intensive resource endowments.

published_or_final_version / Physiology / Master / Master of Philosophy

The flat dilatometer (DMT) and piezocone penetration (CPTU) tests are likely to be among the most widely used in situ testing methods for soil characterization and indirect determination of geotechnical design parameters such as: strength, stiffness, permeability and compressibility. The flat dilatometer has proved to be a reliable, robust and adaptable tool, and the data obtained with this instrument is very repeatable, and easy to reduce and process. Furthermore, the addition of a seismic module to the standard flat dilatometer (SDMT) to measure the shear wave velocity (Vs) significantly complements the set of data typically obtained with a standard DMT test. Nonetheless, the experience in interpreting the combination between Vs and DMT data is fairly limited due to the recent introduction of the SDMT for commercial applications. Additionally, the estimation of the coefficient of earth pressure at rest (K₀) has been the most important application of the DMT since its introduction. However, a potential weakness of the DMT is that the derivation of K₀ is based upon empirical correlations developed some time ago and neither improvement work nor upgrade of these approaches has been performed in the last 10 years. Throughout the years several additional sensors have been developed in order to supplement the data collected with the CPTU test. Among the wide variety of sensor developed, the lateral stress module mounted behind a piezocone represents a promising tool for estimation of in situ lateral stress conditions from the interpretation of lateral stress penetration data. However, the popularity of the so called lateral stress cone has declined over the years due to constraints in both the instrumentation and the interpretation of measured data. Also, the application of this instrument remains limited to specific soils conditions and specific projects. However, the valuable experience gained throughout the years in the development and application of several lateral stress cones in combination with developments in electronics and understanding of soil behaviour allow the improvement of this type of technology. This thesis presents the results of a comprehensive laboratory and field testing programs performed by the author at several research sites located in the Lower Mainland of BC, undertaken in order to assess the performance of the seismic flat dilatometer and lateral stress seismic piezocone (LSSCPTU), built and develop at UBC. Firstly, the analysis of field measurements with the SDMT collected at several sites have demonstrated the potential for an improved soil characterization through the combination of DMT parameters and the small strain shear modulus (G₀). Additionally the usefulness of the DMT-C closing pressure for soil identification is shown. On the basis of several relationships identified from this data, a new soil type behaviour system based upon SDMT measurements is proposed. Furthermore, empirical correlations based upon fairly large and updated databases have been developed to estimate K₀ and Vs values from DMT parameters.