Weakness analysis based on grid strength assessment is useful for identifying potential weak grid issues. However, when taking into account the impact of the interactions among Renewable Energy Sources (RESs), the weakness analysis becomes computationally challenging. Different combinations of PointsofInterconnections (POIs) of RESs may have different impacts on grid strength at each POI. Due to the combination nature, such weakness analysis may be time-consuming when identifying the weakest combination of POIs from a large number of potential candidate locations in realistic power grids. This dissertation addresses the topic of determination of the weakest RESs combinations. Based on impedance ratios as a criterion, the dissertation shows that the impacts of impedance ratios magnitudes and angles are ‘quasi-mutually exclusive’. Such a concept is then used to reduce the computational burden with a fast screening algorithm. To further understand the impact of network components on grid strength, vector-based interaction analysis is developed based on the concepts of operational transfer impedances and operational interaction operators. In particular, this dissertation shows how mathematical models of interaction of multiple RESs can be simplified by replacing them with equivalent impedances, allowing us to simplify the mathematical expressions that quantify interactions among RESs. The conclusions and concepts established based on simplified models are statistically tested for their applicability to the generalized interaction model. The result would be a more simplified mathematical representation of interaction among RESs. Finally, a new technique is presented to efficiently update the Bus Impedance Matrix (Zbus) following changes in the series impedance of a branch. Conventionally, such update requires redundant recalculations, which involve matrix inversion operations (i.e., inverting the Bus Admittance Matrix, Ybus) and thus cause high computational burden because of potential matrix ill-conditioning, especially for largescale power grids. This dissertation overcomes these shortcomings by deriving an analytical expression for changes in Zbus in terms of its old elements and the variation of the impedance of a given branch. Hence, the computation overhead is comparatively small, and no issues arise due to the new Ybus being ill-conditioned. Such contribution helps facilitate real-time applications of methods that rely on Zbus.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The rationale for the topic flows out of education policy and societal pressures worldwide which are calling for an ever greater responsiveness from higher education to the workplace in the twenty-first century. Responsiveness to Work (i.e. the world of work) requires collaborative and integrative work between communities of academic and non-academic practitioners. Differences between knowledge and practices at Work and within the academy are broadly acknowledged in the literature, yet the ensuing nature and complexity of interactions between these two communities in curriculum design 'on the ground' is poorly understood. A key point is to recognize that integration as such cannot be the goal: the differences remain, but have to be turned into productive collaboration and joint development, for example, of a curriculum. Productivity here is not used in the sense of the ratio between output achieved and inputs needed, but rather refers to the activity theorists' concept of zones of potential development between two different, interacting activity systems (their way of conceptualizing communities of practice). Productivity is then a measure of the extent to which new hybrid knowledge emerges in the interactive zone with positive outcomes for both systems. Ideally, the integrated curriculum elements look to both Work and academic knowledge. Such productivity involves the acknowledgement of pre-existing boundaries and differences between types of knowledge and the subsequent actions of actors in crossing these boundaries. After sketching the policy backdrop to the issues of responsiveness to Work "on the ground", the first part of the thesis discusses theories of curriculum development, and of boundaries, differences, boundary crossing and maintenance. Inspired by the work of Nooteboom, a model is outlined for optimal difference allowing for innovative and productive curriculum development. The processes and patterns of responsiveness of higher education to the needs of 2 re studied empirically at two interconnected levels: The meso-level of the design of curriculum units; and the micro-level of face-to-face interactions between representatives from Work and the academy as they negotiate how to implement responsiveness. The curriculum units examined are those in which universities have attempted to design units which include aspects of Work. The face-to-face interactions are those between lecturers and Work representatives as they attempt to negotiate what sort of knowledge should be taught in the academy to meet both Work needs and those of the academics. At the meso-level, different cases (in different countries) were studied which together spanned the spectrum of differences between academic knowledge and workplace knowledge. At the micro-level, the focus was on the actual boundary work, and how it might set productive developments in motion. The processes involved are those of the mutual presentation of knowledge difference between work and the academy followed by knowledge transformations. These transformations are in tum enabled by the representatives' actions and their mobilisation of structures to enable bridging between the different types of knowledge. Difference between work and academic knowledge matters. Firstly, difference needs to be recognised and identified, not as a stumbling block to further developments, but as a resource. Secondly, an optimal degree of initial difference, rather than no difference at all, is an enabling factor, in concert with actor strategies, in the development of hybrid work/academic curriculum objects. The insights in micro-interactions can be combined with the analysis of meso-level curriculum development to create a model for productive work towards integration of Work and higher education. This model is supported by the literature discussed in the first part of the thesis, and can actually be used more broadly, for example for productive development and implementation of policy (in this case, for responsiveness to Work).

Les prestations de conseils se développent de façon ininterrompue depuis plusieurs décennies et la relation client-consultant apparait selon les travaux en sciences de gestion comme un facteur explicatif essentiel de leur performance. Cette revue de littérature montre que le thème du conseil reste peu développé, notamment en France, et qu’il nécessite un large développement dans les années à venir, notamment avec le changement des environnements et pratiques professionnels. Également, la plupart des travaux s’intéressent à la figure du consultant et assez peu à la relation de conseil. Ainsi nos travaux ont pour objet de contribuer à une meilleure compréhension de ce qu’elle est et de sa dynamique.Nous proposons dans cette contribution d’utiliser les apports du courant de la sociologie pragmatique et de la sociologie de la traduction (ANT : Actor Network Theory) afin de définir le processus de relation de conseil. À partir d’une démarche qualitative, nous avons identifié un modèle de la relation de conseil, appelé LES (Listening, Support, Ethic) décrivant ses trois principales variables (nommées « attributs essentiels ») dans le processus d’opération de traduction de la relation de conseil.L’apport managérial est conséquent car il concerne les acteurs du conseil (conseil en stratégie, management, opérationnels et également les experts-comptables et auditeurs) et quasiment l’ensemble des entreprises de toutes tailles qui font appel ou peuvent solliciter un prestataire pour les accompagner dans leurs activités. / Consultancy services have been developing continuously for several decades and the client-consultant relationship appears according to the work in management sciences as an essential explanatory factor of their performance. This literature review shows that the topic of consulting remains underdeveloped, especially in France, and that it will require significant development in the coming years, including through the change in environments and professional practices. Furthermore, most of the studies focus on the consultant and rather little on the advisory relationship. Thus our work aims to contribute to a better understanding of what it is and its dynamics.In this research, we propose to use the contributions of the current of pragmatic sociology and translation sociology (ANT: Actor Network Theory) in order to define the process of the consultancy relationship. Through a qualitative approach, we identified a model of the consulting relationship, called LES (Listening, Support, Ethic) describing its three main attributes (called "essential attributes") in the process of translating the consulting relationship.The managerial contribution is significant because it concerns the actors of consulting (strategy consulting, management, operational and also chartered accountants and auditors) and almost all companies of all sizes that call upon or can solicit a service provider to support them in their activities.

The purpose of this intervention study was to explore how the community volunteers from the Supporting Home Environments in Beating Adversity (SHEBA) research project – in two high-risk school communities in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan area – valued their social networks. The broader SHEBA participatory and action research project focused on how community volunteers, using their own resources, collaborated with schools in their communities to develop support plans for their communities. I selected interpretivism as the meta-theory for the study and utilised Participatory Reflection and Action (PRA) as the methodological paradigm and research design. The empirical part of this study was conducted in 2012. The data for the study were collected from 35 purposively selected volunteers who, at the time of the study, were involved in volunteer work at schools in their communities. All 35 volunteers participated in one workshop and one brainstorming session. Data were generated through a participatory workshop and follow-up brainstorming session and captured by means of posters and field notes. Inductive thematic analysis was used as the means of interpretation and I related the results to Lin’s Network Theory of Social Capital in interpreting the results. The results of the study suggest that the social networks of the volunteers were valued highly by them in dealing with the various challenges in their communities. The findings suggest also that the community volunteers invested themselves continuously in preserving their social support networks by reaching out to one another in times of crisis and by responding to each other’s needs by supporting one another. The findings suggest further that the volunteers maintained their social support networks by reinforcing the values that held them together and directed them in their efforts to support one another and their communities. The volunteers in the study attributed significant value to each other as sources of support and knowledge. They were able to meet their challenges together by learning from and identifying each other as resources. Modern communication media such as mobile phones were very important to the volunteers in maintaining their support networks with their colleagues and communicating with their communities. I therefore concluded that interventions in high-risk communities should be aimed at assisting community volunteers to gain access to and use such technologies effectively and appropriately in their networking. The value the community volunteers in the SHEBA project attributed to their social networks was clear from the benefits they derived from these networks. The findings of the study suggest that the social networks of the volunteers enhanced their sense of personal wellbeing as well as their sense of social belongingness. I concluded that social support networks could contribute significantly towards people’s overall wellbeing and that community interventions should adopt a holistic approach in high-risk communities thereby enhancing people’s hedonic, eudemonic, and social wellbeing. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Educational Psychology / MEd / Unrestricted

This dissertation suggests that network governance theory may have reached an impasse, and in order to pursue its advance, new methods need to be used. It tests the viability of actor-network theory on providing new insights on network governance, which could contribute to the strengthening of network governance theory. The author suggests that actor-network theory may offer both an epistemology and ontology that intents to not impose current definitions and divisions of traditional social science. By doing so, actor-network theory focuses on the performance of associations rather than on the traditional categories of structures, institutions, individuals or groups -- characteristic of most network governance studies. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015 / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Abstract The research utilizes 'actor-network' theory to analyze debates in the media on the socio-technical controversy on the topic of the amount of coal in the Nástup Tušimice mines. Theoretical part describes its own place in the sociological tradition and theoretical presuppositions of actor-network theory. My conclusion is that, the controversy is being developed alongside several lines, which remain relatively autonomous. Empirical part of this study analyzes dynamics of the conflict and the strategies employed by both sides in the argument over seemingly unequivocal fact. The conclusion focuses on questionable areas of ANT; especially on it's application in research of conflicts in public space which is different from its use in sociology of science where ANT originated. Problematic point seems to be utilization of management of transparency, which is employed by the alliance of companies to sustain their version of reality. Emphasis of ANT on observable aspects of controversies seems to be obstacle for fruitful use of ANT, because it probably misses the crucial areas where the controversies are being developed.

This study is about drought. At the same time, it is about a community of nomadic livestock producers in the drylands of eastern Morocco. Drought is connected to these Arab pastoralists in numerous ways. In fact, it is impossible to understand the social and economic dynamics currently unfolding in the high plateaus without understanding what drought is and does. Even though defining drought may seem straightforward, it turns out that vastly different notions coexist within the study area, each related to a specific constellation (or assemblage) of actors. In this dissertation, I explore those notions of drought and the assemblages they are entangled with, focusing on key elements of the livestock economy and the tribal community. I hope this study will contribute to knowledge on three levels. First and foremost, empirically: I collect and connect knowledge on an under-studied and marginalized pastoral community in rural Morocco. My insights stem from qualitative and quantitative fieldwork, including a household survey. The second level is methodological: by deploying actor-network theory and assemblage thinking, I tap into theories that have largely been absent from studies of the Middle East and North Africa. As my assemblage approach to drought in eastern Morocco demonstrates, this can generate innovative insights into processes of socio-economic transformation. And third, on a conceptual level, I propose a new way of thinking about drought – a phenomenon of pressing global concern far beyond the high plateaus of eastern Morocco.

We live in a world driven by fast technologies. The same technologies that make information more accessible have created a dilemma by which the same conduits have also enabled access to mass amounts of counter-factual information. It is the assertion of this thesis project that counter- factual information poses a growing risk to the security and stability in liberal democratic societies and warrants a proportional response. The body of work which follows will explore what I have characterized as an information crisis. The information crisis, so presented, is a multi-faceted issue. It's constituent causes and outcomes concern both scholars of security studies and sociology. To address breadth of scope and immediacy of the crisis, the conceptual framework purposed in this project offers an interface between actor-network theory and security studies (ANT-security interface). Actor-network theory is a material-semiotic approach that preferences engagement with human and technological actants as an assemblage. Or, in other words, a network of relationships. The first chapter will introduce the dimensions of the information crisis, providing relevant examples of how counter-factual information embodies a human, and societal security issue. It will delineate important concepts such as misinformation, and...

With the large amount of research constantly being conducted, all documenting important aspects of multiple phenomena, what makes some scientific claims, and not others, stand out from a sea of possibilities to become staple pieces of knowledge? Utilizing the controversy surrounding the use of heritability studies in criminological research as a case study, this thesis analysed the rhetoric at play in two articles presenting competing arguments to (a) identify some of the discursive devices and strategies used in the production of scientific knowledge and ignorance, (b) illustrate that the production of scientific facts is first and foremost a social endeavour, (c) show that knowledge and ignorance are a part of a duality, (d) explain how the same established scientific information can be used in new claims to generate varied forms of scientific knowledge and ignorance, and (e) illustrate how the production of scientific knowledge and ignorance oftentimes involves appealing to audiences’ emotions. Four main ignorance producing strategies were documented, namely denial, dismissal, diversion, and displacement, each of which were used in a number of ways to increase the facticity of scientific claims over that of competing ones. Acknowledging its strengths as a unique mode of knowledge, this study also underlines the importance to get comfortable with the uncertainties and conflicts at the heart of science.

The mobile payments industry, which is currently at an early stage of development, is taking the direction to be established mainly as an NFC-based industry, and, moreover, led by the mobile digital wallets setting. A mobile digital wallet is a complete payment app for your NFC-enabled mobile phone that enables consumers to pay at stores at the point of sale with a mobile phone. The digital wallet, which is associated with a credit card, integrates all payment-related services like the management and storage of receipts, coupons and offers, and loyalty cards. Currently, there are three big partnerships going ahead of the NFC mPayments stream: Google Wallet, VISA’s Digital Wallet and ISIS Mobile Wallet. Each one of these three mobile digital wallets is led by an actor coming from a different industry of origin. Google Wallet is led by Google, an internet and technology actor. VISA’s Digital Wallet is managed by Visa, a traditional payment processor. And ISIS Mobile Wallet is led by three of the largest US telecom operators: AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. Thus, applying a business network theory to analyse how the industry of origin of the mobile digital wallet affects the interaction within the partnership formed is a unique and perfectly fitted opportunity. The aim of this Master Thesis was to analyse the influence, regarding interaction, of the origin industry of the leading partners on the NFC-based mobile digital wallet partnerships of the mobile payments developing industry. A literature review on business network theory was conducted, in order to identify key features of the business landscape affecting interaction on business networks, as well as an industry analysis of the mobile payments developing industry. Then, the business network theory approach was applied to the study of the mobile payments digital wallet setting, conducting a discussion based both on the industry analysis performed and a set of interviews with experts on the mobile payments industry.