This thesis discusses American prairie culture through the writings of Thorstein Veblen and Mark Twain.

Employee share options and Black Economic Empowerment deals are financial instruments found in the South African market. Employee share options (ESOs) are issued as a form of non-cash compensation to the employees of the company in addition to their salaries or bonuses. Its value is linked to the share price and since there is no downside risk for the employee his share option is similar to owning a call option on the stock of his employer. Black economic empowerment (BEE) deals in this report refer to those types of transactions structured by listed South African companies to facilitate the transfer of a portion of their ordinary issued share capital to South African individuals or groups who qualify under the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act of 2003 (“the Act”). This Act requires a minimum percentage of the company to be black-owned in order to address the disproportionate distribution of wealth amongst racial groups in South Africa due to the legacy of Apartheid. These transactions are usually structured in such a way to allow the BEE partner to participate in the upside of the share price beyond a certain level but not in the downside which replicates a call option on the share price of the issuing company. The cost of both ESOs and BEE deals has to be accounted for on the balance sheet of the issuing company at its fair-value. Neither of these instruments can be traded and their extended option lifetimes are features that distinguish these deals significantly from regular traded options for which liquid markets exist. This makes pricing them a non-trivial exercise. A number of types of mathematical models have been developed to take the unique structure features into account to price them as accurately as possible. Research by Huddart&Lang (1995&1996) has shown that option holders often exercise their vested options long before the maturity of the transactions but are unable to quantify a measure that can be used. The wide variety of factors influencing option holders (recent stock price movements, market-to-strike ratio, proximity of vesting dates, time to maturity, share price volatility and wealth of option holder) as well as little exercise data publicly available prevents the options from being priced in a consistent manner. Various assumptions regarding the exercise behaviour of option holders are used that are not based on empirical observations even though the option prices are sensitive to this input. This dissertation provides an overview of the models, inputs and exercise behaviour assumptions that are recognized in pricing both ESOs and BEE deals under IFRS 2 in South Africa. This puts the reader in a position to evaluate all pricing aspects of these deals. Furthermore, their structuring are also analysed in order to identify the general issues related to them. A number of methods to manage the pricing issue surrounding exercise behaviour on ESOs have been considered for the South African market. The ESO Upper Bound-methodology showed that for each strike there is a threshold at which exercise will occur and the employee can invest the after-tax proceeds in a diversified portfolio with a higher expected return than that of the single equity option. This approach reduces the standard Black-Scholes option value without relying on assumptions about the employee’s exercise behaviour and is a viable alternative for the South African market. The derived option value represents the cost of the option. Seven large listed companies’ BEE transactions are dissected and compared against one another using the fair-value of the transaction as a percentage of the market capitalization of the company. The author shows how this measure is a more equitable way of assigning BEE credits to companies than the current practice which is shareholding-based. The current approach does not reward the effort (read cost) that a company has undertaken to transfer shares to black South Africans but only focuses on the amount that is finally owned by the BEE participants. This leaves the transaction vulnerable to a volatile share price and leads to transactions with extended lock-in periods that do not provide much economic benefit to the BEE participants for many years. Other inefficiencies in the type of BEE transactions that have emerged in reaction to the BEE codes that have been published by the South African government are also considered. Finally the funding model that is often used to facilitate these deals is assessed and the risks involved for the funder (bank) is reflected on. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Mathematics and Applied Mathematics / unrestricted

Previous studies of saw marks have primarily focused on morphological characteristics and their utility in identifying saws suspected to have been utilized in cases of criminal dismemberment. The present study examined the extent to which metric analysis may be used to correlate saw blades measurements of kerf width. A sample of 56 partially defleshed white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) limbs were utilized as a proxy for human remains. The partial limbs were cut using a variety of commercially available saws, including 11 manual-powered saws and 5 mechanical-powered saws. A total of 500 false start kerfs (FSKs) were measured using digital calipers. Two experiments were performed, with the first test examining the kerf widths of false starts produced on specimens that were restrained using clamps, while the second test analyzed the kerf widths of false starts produced on minimally restrained specimens. Statistical analysis using Hierarchical Linear Modeling indicated a positive relationship between saw blade width (mm) and minimum kerf width (MKW), with the model estimating that MKWs would increase by 1.61 mm for every millimeter increase in blade width. Results from the models indicated that blade width (p<0.001) and the difference between mechanical- and manual-powered saws (p=0.029) were considered statistically significant. A comparison of MKWs produced using manual-powered saws on unrestrained and restrained bones suggests that restraint condition (p=0.009) is statistically significant. In comparisons of MKWs to blade widths, the average ratio for used saws was 2.7% greater than the average ratio for new saws. The mode of the ratios was approximately 1.4, supporting the general rule that MKW does not exceed 1.5 times saw blade width.

Cut-To-Length (CTL) logging is the dominating logging method in many parts of the world. CTL logging requires a forwarder for the logs from the felling area to a landing area. Due to the harsh off-road working conditions, a well performed suspension system is necessary for the forwarder. A down-scaled forwarder prototype of the full-scale XT28 prototype was developed last year but without any control system. In this project, the forwarder was conducted to the Skogforsk standard rough ground test and development and implementation of a control system was chosen as a refinement task. Structure refinement was also achieved for the improvement of the dynamic behavior. Within the project, the down-scaled version of standard test track was realized as well. The control system with fuzzy logic control strategy was implemented to control the pitch and roll angle when passing the bumps on the track. The scaling effect was investigated with the Buckingham Pi Theorem and utilized to understand the relation between the dynamic behavior of the down-scaled prototype and the full-scale forwarder. During the test, the pitch and roll angle history were collected with a maximum angle of 8 degrees when the forwarder was moving with a speed of 0.06m/s. The test with the control system was recorded but due to the vibration it was hard to collect data in this circumstance. From the test, it is clear that the control system was able to work but its ability was limited owing to the slow reaction speed of the linear actuator. With the analysis of the real hydraulic actuator, it was implied that a better performance could be achieved if this control system was implemented on the full-scale forwarder. / Kortvirkesmetoden är den dominerade avverkningsmetoden i Sverige och resten av Europa. Metoden baseras på två maskiner, en skördare och en skotare, där skotaren transporterar det kapade virket till en uppsamlingsplats för vidare transport med lastbil. För att minska helkroppsvibrationer vid arbete i hård och ojämn terrängen, är det önskvärt att skotaren kan förses med ett effektivt och hållbart fjädringssystem. En nedskalad skotare, baserad på fullskaleprototypen XT28, utvecklades vid ett examensarbete förra året. Skalmodellen saknade styrsystem. I detta projekt realiserades också en nedskalad prototyp av den standardiserade provbana för hård och ojämn terräng som tagits fram av Skogforsk. Ett aktivt styrsystem, med syftet att förbättra skalmodellens dynamisk prestanda i ojämn terräng, utvecklades också för skalmodellens pendelarmar. Den valda reglerstrategin för rollvinkeln, baserades på fuzzi-logik. Skalningseffekterna undersöktes med Buckingham Pi, och dessa resultat användes för att förstå förhållandet mellan dynamiskt beteende hos skalprototypen och fullskaleprototypen. Under testet, registrerades pitch- och rollvinklarna, med en maximal vinkel på 8 grader. Vid provet framfördes skotaren med hastigheten 0,06 m/s. På grund av vibrationerna var det svårt att samla in analyserbara data för styrsystemet. Från testet, är det klart att styrsystemet kunde arbeta som tänkt, men dess förmåga var begränsad på grund av skalmodellens långsamma elektriska ställdonen. Analys av de verkliga hydrauliska ställdonen i fullskaleprototypen indikerar att styrsystemet skulle fungera betydligt bättre för den verkliga skotaren.

Det finns en innovativ, grön grundläggningsteknik kallad energigrundläggning. Principen är att integrera redan erforderliga, strukturella element såsom pålar med en värmeväxlare i syfte att utvinna energi. Tekniken har funnits sedan tidigt 80-tal men har knappt används i Norden. Tekniken visar på stor potential då man kan uppnå synergi genom utvinning av värme under vinterhalvåret och kyla under sommarhalvåret. I detta arbete redogörs för grundläggande principer och mekanismer bakom energigrundläggning samt en omfattande litteraturstudie av vad som tidigare har studerats inom området. Det finns få exempel i litteraturen på problematiken med förändrade geotekniska egenskaper hos jorden på grund av energiutvinningen och än färre exempel på knäckningsproblematiken hos slagna, slanka stålrörspålar. Tyngdpunkten i arbetet har varit just denna förändring av de geotekniska egenskaperna, främst skjuvhållfastheten och hur denna förändring påverkar pålens bärförmåga. På grund av saknad av originell data har flera antaganden och erfarenheter tagits från Tidfors (1987) som undersökte förändringar hos olika lerors geotekniska egenskaper då de utsattes för olika temperaturdifferenser. I arbetet har två konsekvenser av användning av energipålning studerats i en fallstudie, nämligen temperaturinducerad rörelse av pålen och försämrad bärförmåga med avseende på knäckning. Fallstudien är ett nyligen färdigställt projekt i Jyväskylä, Finland där en kommersiell byggnad grundlagts på energipålar. De temperaturinducerade rörelserna hos pålen har undersökts analytiskt genom beräkning med gällande förutsättningar i Jyväskylä. De axiella lasterna som uppkommer i studien visar inte de storlekar som krävs för att innebära ett strukturellt problem. Dock visar fenomenet på ett reellt problem som måste tas i beaktning. Det är även svårt att modellera problemet då det är svårt att avgöra vilken slags inspänning pålen har. Knäckningsproblematiken studerades även den analytiskt genom beräkning. En typ-påle dimensionerades enligt gällande normer med en gradvis försämrad och förbättrad skjuvhållfasthet. Förändringen av skjuvhållfastheten byggde på antaganden baserade på resultaten presenterade av Tidfors (1987). Den försämrade skjuvhållfastheten innebär självfallet försämrad bärförmåga. Brottmoden knäckning blev dimensionerande vid en 50 % försämring av skjuvhållfastheten. Användandet av energigrundläggning medför förändringar av jordens geotekniska egenskaper och innebär att ett behov av att kvantifiera dessa förändringar uppstår. Vidare måste konsekvenserna av användande integreras i dimensioneringsprocessen så att framtida ekonomiskt gångbart användande är möjligt. På så sätt kan tekniken växa och infria sin stora potential. / There is an innovative, green foundation technique called energy foundation. The principle is to integrate already required structural elements such as piles with a heat exchanger to extract energy. The technology has been around since the early 1980’s but has hardly been used in the Nordic countries. The technique shows great potential as one can achieve synergy by extracting heating in wintertime and cooling in the summertime. This thesis presents the basic principles and mechanisms of energy foundation and an extensive literature review of what has been previously studied in the area. There are few examples in the literature on the problems associated with the changes of geotechnical properties due to energy extraction. Even fewer examples of the buckling problem of driven, slender steel pile. The focus of this thesis has been this change of the geotechnical properties, mainly the shear strength and how this change affects the pile bearing capacity. Because of a lack of original data, several assumptions and experiences has been derived from Tidfors (1987). She subjected different clays to different temperatures and investigated the changes in the various clays’s geotechnical properties. In the thesis has two consequences of the use of energy piles been studied in a case study. The two consequences are temperature-induced motion of the pile and buckling problems due to loss of shear strength of the soil. The case study is a recently completed project in Jyväskylä, Finland, where a commercial building’s foundation has been laid on energy piles. The temperature-induced motion of the pile has been investigated analytically by calculation given the conditions in Jyväskylä. The axial loads arising in the pile did not show the sizes needed to represent a structural problem. However, the phenomenon presents a real problem that must be taken into consideration. It is also difficult to model the problem as it is difficult to determine what kind of restraint the pile got. The buckling problem was also studied analytically by calculation. A typical pile was designed according to current standards with a gradual deterioration and improved of the soils shear strength. The change in the shear strength was based on assumptions corresponding to the results presented by Tidfors (1987). The deterioration of the shear strength did obviously reduce the pile’s carrying capacity. Failure by bucklingmode came into play at a reduction of the shear capacity of 50 %. The use of energy foundation results in changes of the soil’s geotechnical properties and creates a need to quantify these changes. Furthermore must the consequences by using energy foundation be integrated into the design process so that in the future economically viable usage is possible. By doing so the technology can grow and fulfil its great potential.

Bücher, die bewegen, liest man mit dem Bleistift in der Hand, man knickt die Ecken wichtiger Seiten ab, legt Zettel ein und klebt Zeitungsausschnitte in die vorderen oder hinteren Buchspiegel, kurz: Man eignet sie sich an wie selbst geschriebene Texte. Die Geschichte sitzt hier am Rand des Satzspiegels in Anmerkungen, sie sitzt in Unterstreichungen und Kommentaren ebenso wie in Frage- und Ausrufungszeichen. Die Leser mögen so tot sein wie die Autoren: Immer aber sagen diese Zeichen der aufmerksamen Lektüre früherer Epochen, dass Bücher beweglich sind, dass sie den Text vom Autor zum Leser bringen und dort auf autorähnliche Heftigkeit stoßen, die in manchen Fällen zu einem eigenen Text führt, meist aber zu Anmerkungen und Kommentaren, für die es keinen besseren Ort gibt als eben jene Stellen, zu denen sie Anmerkungen und Kommentare sind. Die folgenden Beobachtungen sind die eines Lesers, der den schreibenden Eingriff in gedruckte Texte oft genug geübt hat und nun um Verständnis bittet, dass er nur persönlich sprechen kann und eigene Erlebnisse beim Umgang mit Büchern ausstellt. Im Aufbrechen solcher Intimität zeigen sich Spuren einer oft vernachlässigten Geschichte, die in Büchern sitzt und daraus von Fall zu Fall befreit werden muss.

En el sistema legal andino se reconoce la protección del nombre comercial a través de su uso en el mercado, y considera que su registro es de carácter declarativo, lo cual se alejaría de lo dispuesto por el Convenio de París. Asimismo, se han generado diversos criterios para la tutela del nombre comercial en la jurisprudencia nacional y andina, mientras que el titular del signo debe soportar una carga probatoria constante a fin de acreditar el uso del nombre comercial. El presente trabajo propone la protección del nombre comercial a través de la marca de servicio, en la medida en que existen semejanzas en la forma en la que se exteriorizan las actividades que ambos signos distinguen. Además, permitirá alcanzar una protección a través del registro constitutivo de derechos. Con ello, se otorga seguridad jurídica al empresariado, buscando la transparencia en la información que brinda el registro. Por otro lado, y sin desconocer la existencia del nombre comercial que no se encuentra registrado, se propone materializar la protección dentro de un espacio geográfico determinado, con la posibilidad de extenderse a todo el territorio del Estado si el ámbito antes señalado sobrepasa dichos límites. La propuesta no busca alejarse de lo dispuesto en los compromisos internacionales asumidos por el Estado peruano, sino que el titular del nombre comercial tendrá nuevas opciones de protección de su signo, lo que beneficiará al mercado en general. / The Andean legal system recognizes the protection of the trade name through its use in the market, and considers that its registration is declarative, which would be far from the provisions of the Paris Convention. Likewise, different criteria have been generated for the protection of the trade name in the national and Andean jurisprudence. Furthermore, the sign owner must continuously go through evidentiary burden to prove the use of the trade name. This paper proposes the protection of the trade name through its registration as a service mark, to the extent that there are similarities on how the activities distinguishing both signs are shown, and to achieve this protection through a constitutive brand registration system. This provides legal certainty for the businesspersons and seeks transparency in the information provided by the registration of distinctive signs. On the other hand, and without disregarding the existence of the trade name that is not registered, it is proposed that this must be protected within the geographical area of the customers to which it is addressed; and it may be extended to the entire territory of the State, if the aforementioned scope exceeds such limits. The foregoing does not seek to be far from the provisions of the international commitments made by the Peruvian State, but the holder of the trade name has new options for the protection of his or her sign and this will benefit the market in general. / Tesis

In the entertainment industry, where temporary structures are erected in a new venue every day, floor markings play an important role during the set up. Today, mark out is commonly done using tape measures - a very tedious and time consuming process. This thesis explores the possibility to create a tool to assist in the mark out process, a mark out station. Two stations working in tandem would both compute their respective positions in the venue and accurately and precisely show the location of any wanted point, based on their coordinate locations. The mark out stations were built using consumer grade line lasers, stepper motors, common micro controllers and fused filament fabrication (FFF)-manufactured plastic components, as well as various other common hardware components. The software utilized already established triangulation algorithms and a custom control protocol to manage the mark out stations. A short range test on a test surface was performed with three different station placements. Placing the mark out stations in between three calibration points yielded better precision and accuracy in contrast to placing them on the edge of the surface. When placed on the edge, the calibration accuracy benefited from more calibration points, in contrast to placement in between calibration points. Next phase after successful short range testing is testing in a larger setting to conclude if this is a viable tool to assist in the mark out process. Further improvements in the calibration process and the mark out process can be made in future iterations to achieve better performance. / Inom eventbranchen, där tillfälliga strukturer reses på nya platser varje dag, spelar markeringar på golvet en viktig roll. Idag sker utmärkningen med hjälp av måttband - en väldig tidskrävande process.  Detta examnesarbete undersöker huruvida det går att utveckla ett verktyg som assisterar i denna utmärkningsprocess, en utmärkningsstation. De två stationerna som arbetar  tillsammans skulle både beräkna deras respektive positioner på spelplatsen samt noggrant och precist visa placeringen av en önskad punkt, baserad på dess koordinater.  Utmärkningsstationerna byggdes av konsumentlinjelasrar, stegmotorer, vanliga mikrokontrollers och FFF-tillverkade komponenter. Mjukvaran inkorporerar redan etablerade trianguleringsalgoritmer och ett egenskrivet kontrollprotokoll för att styra utmärkningsstationerna.  Ett test på mindre avstånd gjordes på en testyta med tre olika stationsplaceringar. Att placera stationerna mellan tre kalibreringspunkter gav bättre noggranhet och precision än när stationerna placerades på utkanten av ytan. När stationerna placerades på utkanten av ytan, ökade noggrannheten och precisionen av att lägga till ytterligare kalibreringspunkter, till skillnad från placeringen mellan kalibreringspunkterna.  Nästa fas, efter ett lyckat test på kort avstånd, är att testa på större avstånd för att undersöka om detta kan vara ett användbart vektyg inom utsättning. Ytterliggare förbättringar i kalibrerings- och utmärkningsprocessen kan göras i framtida iterationer för att uppnå en bättre prestanda.

The purpose of this study is to compare a concrete slab on ground with a Koljernfoundation based on the given aspects of climate impact, cost, and time. The goal of the study is to identify obstacles and opportunities for the construction industry to use alternatives to concrete slab in new construction of low-rise buildings. Currently, the construction and real estate sector account for 20 % of Sweden's greenhouse gas emissions. Concrete and steel contribute significantly to emissions and are materials that are included in concrete slabs, which is why the Koljernfoundation which consists of cellular glas and steel studs could be one of the solutions required to achieve climate neutrality. To achieve the purpose, a literature study has been conducted to create an overview of the foundation’s structures. A case study has been made to investigate the three aspects, and interviews have been held. The results showed that a concrete slab has about twice the emissions of a Koljernfoundation for the A1-A3 product stage. Therefore, the conclusion is that the Koljernfoundation is the most suitable option for the foundation of a low-rise building from a climate perspective. The time aspect is investigated for the first time in this study and the results show that the Koljernfoundation can make the building process more time-efficient if there is no problem during the installation of the foundation. The results also show that for concreate slabs, the material cost is significantly lower than for the Koljernfoundation.

In this thesis, the life history and population biology of an endemic and declining California butterfly, Speyeria adiaste clemencei (Comstock, 1925) is described from Chews Ridge, Monterey Co., CA. S. a. clemencei can be successfully reared on commercially available Viola spp., facilitating captive rearing for restoration. Larvae of S. adiaste can be distinguished morphologically from sympatric S. callippe and S. coronis larvae based upon coloration of the dorsal and dorsolateral scoli, head capsule coloration, and coloration of setae, facilitating identification in the field. Adequate access to nectar sources throughout the flight period, especially during drought years, as well as host plant density and distribution, are critical aspects for maintaining viable S. a. clemencei populations. To gain a better understanding of its population biology, three seasons of weekly Pollard walk counts and two seasons of mark recapture (MR) were conducted. The population declined during the study period, which may be associated with decreasing rainfall. MR estimates were very strongly correlated with weekly Pollard walk counts. Differences in habitat use between the sexes were observed, with males showing a slight preference for ridge over meadow plots, whereas females preferred meadow plots containing Viola host plants. Analysis of survival and dispersal indicated this species is relatively short-lived with low dispersal ability, two traits associated with its life history that have important implications for re-colonization dynamics and population structure.