The main objective of the VPI-CE control network. is to contribute to the Nation.al Geodetic Survey control network. In order to meet this objective, large amounts of survey data were accumulated at different times from various surveys between the years 1977-1980. Bach different set of survey data was reduced and adjusted by least squares independently creating various "sub" control networks that were connected to each other peace- . meal. When "sub" control networks were connected to each other, it was found that they did not meet the objective stated above. It is the purpose of this project to examine and check all survey data, adjust all data as one set to the NGS control network, and to evaluate the adjusted data to see if the survey meets second-order class II traverse specifications as established by the NGS. Included in this paper are the following: a background on NGS specifications; least squares theory including observation equations, and error theory; a description of how data for the project was accumulated and reduced; the adjustment of the reduced survey data; results and analysis of the adjustment; and conclusions and recommendations for the survey. / Master of Engineering

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Commerce (specialising in Marketing) / The twentieth-century dietary evolution has resulted in livestock being used as the primary source of protein in many countries. This has various implications on the wellbeing of humans, animals, and planet earth itself. The choices consumers make regarding food not only affect our personal health, but it also directly affects the wellbeing of our current ecosystems where modern meat production systems place a worrying burden on the environment. Sustainable consumption practice is often a result of two main driving forces, the first being individual or health (egoistic) motives and the second being animal welfare and environmental concern (altruistic) motives. The growing demand for meat products worldwide is unsustainable and there is a clear gap between our responsible intentions as citizens of the world and our hedonic needs as consumers referred to as the ‘Citizen-Consumer’ gap. Experts argue that technological innovations and more efficient production methods would serve as a future solution for the environmental and social implications of the livestock industry however current scholars emphasise that a technological fix will not be sufficient and that it is imperative for society to undertake a behavioural fix, such as lowering meat intake and discovering more sustainable means of protein consumption Consequently, the purpose of this study is to assess health consciousness, environmental concern and animal welfare as key predictors of consumers’ locus of control and attitudes towards meat consumption among university students, in Johannesburg, South Africa. The study used a design that was quantitative in nature, which resulted in the researcher employing a deductive approach, using a positivistic method. Data was collected by means of a survey questionnaire and was used to test the hypotheses. By means of Partial Least Squares – Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), the significance of the hypotheses statements was determined from a sample of 172 students enrolled at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. The findings generated by SmartPLS 3 statistical software revealed that health consciousness was the key predictor of external locus of control and that external locus of control had the most significant relationship with consumers’ attitude toward meat consumption, as compared to the second mediator variable – internal locus of control. It is anticipated that the findings of this study will contribute to both theory and practice in modern society, and it is trusted that the findings of this study will greatly inform future research endeavours. / NG (2020)

Although many extraneous variables such as different countries, levels of economic development, technologies, and politics are as important in determining the success of a project as its budgeting and finance, this report is solely from the finance and budgeting perspective. It is shown that projects in the United States have a systemic budgeting process, based on sound concepts of planning and control. In contrast, financial and budgeting planning is underdeveloped in the two projects examined in Nigeria. It is desirable that the least developed countries seek expert advice before embarking on any environmental health services programmes which may lead to the waste of resources if not properly planned and managed.

This dissertation reported an investigation of e-commerce institutionalization process in women-led SMEs in Mozambique. The goal was to understand how e-commerce is conceptualized by these SMEs while exploring the contextual factors that contribute or inhibit the process of institutionalization from the unique perspective of a least developed country (LDC) such as Mozambique. The study combined the perspectives offered by the contextualist theory (Pettigrew, 1985) and the Perceived E-readiness Model (PERM) (Molla & Licker, 2005a) to employ an integrated framework for investigating the process of e-commerce institutionalization. An interpretative and qualitative multiple case study approach was employed as a methodological basis, using six SMEs which have been able to institutionalize e-commerce. The data collection was conducted through multiple data sources including semi-structured interviews, analysis of company website, and social media platforms. Data were analysed using a thematic analysis approach across the cases. The findings indicate that there are different patterns of e-commerce institutionalization. SMEs do not always follow the traditional steady stages of e-commerce growth described in the literature. Furthermore, the results showed a socially constructed feature of e-commerce characterized by the extensive use of social media networks. A great levels of institutionalization and satisfaction was attained when enabling factors within and outside the organization interacted positively. Within the internal context of the organizations, the SMEs manager’s capability to use social media networks, e-mail and mobile phones to build innovative business models, create direct relationships with customers, and marketing direct to their niche markets. Factors from the external context emerged as the main challengers to the process of institutionalization, specifically the challenges faced by the government, market forces, supporting industries, and those of sociocultural nature. A number of important recommendations were made, for example, the government should not only provide the regulatory framework but also work actively in its promotion and implementation. This should encompass the establishment of networks and training opportunities to improve SMEs knowledge regarding e-commerce, and continuous partnership between the various stakeholders involved in the e-commerce ecosystem in addressing the various environmental challenges. By conducting an investigation on the selected women-led SMEs in Mozambique, this study has extended knowledge of e-commerce research in the country. Additionally, it is an important contribution for the debate about e-commerce in developing countries, specifically a better understanding of SMEs that go beyond the initial adoption phase.

Least-squares migration has been shown to be able to produce high quality migration images, but its computational cost is considered to be too high for practical imaging. In this dissertation, a multisource least-squares reverse time migration algorithm (LSRTM) is proposed to increase by up to 10 times the computational efficiency by utilizing the blended sources processing technique. There are three main chapters in this dissertation. In Chapter 2, the multisource LSRTM algorithm is implemented with random time-shift and random source polarity encoding functions. Numerical tests on the 2D HESS VTI data show that the multisource LSRTM algorithm suppresses migration artifacts, balances the amplitudes, improves image resolution, and reduces crosstalk noise associated with the blended shot gathers. For this example, multisource LSRTM is about three times faster than the conventional RTM method. For the 3D example of the SEG/EAGE salt model, with comparable computational cost, multisource LSRTM produces images with more accurate amplitudes, better spatial resolution, and fewer migration artifacts compared to conventional RTM. The empirical results suggest that the multisource LSRTM can produce more accurate reflectivity images than conventional RTM does with similar or less computational cost. The caveat is that LSRTM image is sensitive to large errors in the migration velocity model. In Chapter 3, the multisource LSRTM algorithm is implemented with frequency selection encoding strategy and applied to marine streamer data, for which traditional random encoding functions are not applicable. The frequency-selection encoding functions are delta functions in the frequency domain, so that all the encoded shots have unique non-overlapping frequency content. Therefore, the receivers can distinguish the wavefield from each shot according to the frequencies. With the frequency-selection encoding method, the computational efficiency of LSRTM is increased so that its cost is comparable to conventional RTM in the examples of the Marmousi2 model and a field data set from the Gulf of Mexico. With more iterations, the LSRTM image quality is further improved. The numerical results suggest that LSRTM with frequency-selection is an efficient method to produce better reflectivity images than conventional RTM. In Chapter 4, I present an interferometric method for extracting the diffraction signals that emanate from diffractors, also denoted as seismic guide stars. The signal-to-noise ratio of these interferometric diffractions is enhanced by √N, where N is the number of source points coincident with the receiver points. Thus, diffractions from subsalt guide stars can then be rendered visible and so can be used for velocity analysis, migration, and focusing of subsalt reflections. Both synthetic and field data records are used to demonstrate the benefits and limitations of this method.

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The study of ancient Maya causeways is crucial for understanding Maya social and spatial organization. Archaeologists have been interested in Maya causeways for decades, specifically documenting their locations. More recently, the use of Geographic Information Systems, or GIS, has been used for understanding the spatial organization of archaeological sites. GIS analyses on ancient Maya causeways however have been very limited. This thesis aims to evaluate ancient Maya causeways through GIS analysis. Specifically, five intersite causeway systems are looked at: the Mirador Basin, Yaxuna-Coba-Ixil, Uxmal-Nohpat-Kabah, Ake-Izamal-Kantunil, and Uci-Kancab-Ukana- Cansahcab. These causeway systems were evaluated using least-cost paths based on the terrain. In this thesis, I argue that the intersite causeways do not follow a least-cost path based on terrain and that the purpose of these roads varies between sites and regions.

[pt] Apresentamos nesta dissertação novos métodos interativos para resolver o Problema de Complementaridade Linear (PCL) e Problemas de Norma Mínima. Após uma revisão geral sobre métodos interativos para o PCL, apresentaremos no Capítulo 2, uma forma de aceleração aplicada a métodos clássicos para o PCL simétrico, através de uma decomposição (Splitting) conveniente da matriz associada ao problema. A aceleração para os novos métodos consiste em calcular uma direção de avanço usando o método básico mais uma minimização unidimensional que respeite as condições de não negatividade, provas de convergência forte são apresentadas. No Capítulo 3 comparamos algoritmos do tipo seqüencial e paralelo para solução de um Problema de Programação Linear e Problemas de Norma Mínima em l 1: para o segundo problema os métodos iterativos são aplicados no dual do problema original penalizado com um termo quadrático. Introduzimos um novo método paralelo para o Problema de Norma mínima em l 1 e provamos sua convergência. Propomos no capítulo 4, novos métodos iterativos paralelos para Problemas de Norma Mínima, convenientes para problemas de grande porte, provas de convergência são fornecidas. Finalmente, no capítulo 5 baseados sobre uma combinação da iteração de ponto proximal e métodos iterativos clássicos, propomos novos métodos iterativos para a solução de um PCL monótono não simétrico. Ilustramos todos os algoritmos apresentados, em diferentes versões, com um extensa experimentação numérica. / [en] We present in this dissertation new iterative methods for solving Linear Complementarity (LCP) and Least Norm (LNP) Problems. After a general overview on iterative methods for the LCP, in chapter 2 we present an acceleration techinique applied to classic methods for symmetric LCP generated by considering appropriate splittings of the associated matrix. The acceleration gives rise to new methods consisting of computing a search direction using the basic method plus a one dimensional minimization taking into account the nonnegative constraints. Strong convergence proofs are given. In chapter 3 we compare sequential and parallel algorithms for solving Linear Programming and least 1-Norm Problems obtained by applying iterative methods to a dual of the original problem penalized with a quadratic term. We introduce a new parallel method for the Least 1-Norm Problem, proving its convergence. In chapter 4, we present new parallel iterative methods for solving large LNP, giving convergence proofs. Finally, in chapter 5 we propose new iterative methods for solving monotone nonsymmetric LCp based on a combination of proximal point iterations and classic iterative methods. All the algorithms, in their different versions are illustrated and compared through many numerical experiments.

The Geographic Information System (GIS) is a crucial part of any land navigation system. Autonomous ground vehicles should have access to stored geographic data and the ability to manipulate it for routing purposes. Since there is no human interaction involved in operating these vehicles, data that a human driver would use to make decisions must be stored in the GIS. The data which represent the earth's surface become a series of factors and constraints which translate to friction in terms of mobility. Factors need to be weighted appropriately, but require a sensitivity analysis before designating these weights. Constraints do not require any weight because they represent absolute barriers which cannot be traveled upon. All GIS layers are incorporated into the raster environment, so that an accumulated surfaces can be built on which a least-cost path can be located. The sensitivity analysis allows generation of many routes which can be field tested for the appropriate weight selection for each factor. Ultimately, the entire process would select an optimal path and output closely spaced waypoints which the vehicle can follow. / Master of Science

Load research is the study of load characteristics on a power distribution system which helps planning engineer make decisions about equipment ratings and future expansion decisions. As it is expensive to collect and maintain data across the entire system, data is collected only for a sample of customers, where the sample is divided into groups based upon the customer class. These sample measurements are used to calculate the load research factors like kWHr-to-peak kW conversion factors, diversity factors and 24 hour average consumption as a function of class, month and day type. These factors are applied to the commonly available monthly billing kW data to estimate load on the system. Among various customers on a power system, industrial customers form an important group for study as their annual kWHr consumption is among the highest. Also the errors with which the estimates are calculated are also highest for this class. Hence we choose the industrial class to demonstrate the Lawson-Hanson Non-Negative Least Square (NNLS) optimization technique to minimize the residual squared error between the estimated loads and the SCADA currents on the system. Five feeders with industrial dominant customers are chosen to demonstrate the improvement provided by the NNLS model. The results showed significant improvement over the Nonlinear Load Research Estimation (NLRE) method. / Master of Science