The research was conducted in the light of a training programme which will train a total of 150 engineers of AVIC I in Cranfield University during a period of 3 years. Cost has become an essential driver to aircraft design, as well as performances due to either the limited defence budget or competitive airline market. Consequently, knowing the possible cost prior to making actual expenditure will help managers to make proper decisions and allocate resources efficiently, and designers to optimize their work. Existing aircraft cost estimating models are outdated and mainly based on a database including both military and civil aircraft with various missions. This research concentrated on commercial jet aircraft and was to develop a suitable acquisition cost estimating methodology for conceptual design from a commercial aircraft manufacturer’s perspective. The literature reviewing took a comprehensive overview of some widely-applied cost estimating methods: Analogy, Parametric, Bottom-up, Feature-based costing, Activitybased costing (ABC), Expert judgement, and etc. Some practical cost models were also reviewed to learn the application of cost estimating in the aerospace industry. Then, analogy and parametric approaches were selected to perform the methodology development considering the limited data available at the conceptual design phase. An investigation was deployed to identify the actual problems in practice. The results helped to recognize the needs of industry. Also, the preparation works for development are presented to understand the environment. With subjective judgement and statistical techniques, a series of cost estimating relationships (CERs) were achieved, in which some historic explanatory parameters remained or were eliminated, and some new ones introduced. Size of aircraft became another variable besides weight. As to engines, all developed explanatory variables have been revealed in prior researches. The validation of CERs proves that they can provide reliable cost estimates with high accuracy and can be applied to conceptual design. In addition, a case study was conducted using a baseline aircraft defined in the group design project (GDP) and presents cost forecasting for the proposed aircraft. At last, discussion and conclusion presents an overview of the research. A framework for cost estimating system can be educed. Also, the future work is proposed for in-depth research.

This dissertation examines the relationship between an instructional style called Interactive-Engagement (IE) and gains on a measure of conceptual knowledge called the Calculus Concept Inventory (CCI). The data comes from two semesters of introductory calculus courses (Fall 2010 and Spring 2011), consisting of a total of 482 students from the first semester and 5 instructors from the second semester. The study involved the construction and development of a videocoding protocol to analyze the type of IE episodes which occurred during classes. The counts of these episodes were then studied along with student gains, measured in a number of different ways. These methods included a traditionally used measure of gain, called normalized gain, which is computed at the instructor level. Additionally, gains were further investigated by constructing hierarchical linear models (HLMs) which allowed us to consider individual student characteristics along with the measures of classroom interactivity. Another framework for computing ability estimates, called Item Response Theory (IRT), was used to compute gains, allowing us to determine whether the method of computing gains affected our conclusions. The initial investigation using instructor-level gain scores indicated that the total number of interactions in a classroom and a particular type of interaction called "encouraging revisions" were significantly associated with normalized gain scores. When individual-level gain scores were considered, however, these instructor-level variables were no longer significantly associated with gains unless a variable indicating whether a student had taken calculus or precalculus in high school or in college was included in the model. When IRT was used to create an alternative measure of gain, the IE variables were not significant predictors of gains, regardless of whether prior mathematics courses were included, suggesting that the method of calculating gain scores is relevant to our findings.

Conceptual practices developed in Colombia towards the end of the 1960s and into the 1970s. Even a cursory look at surveys of Colombian conceptual art shows that the collective El Sindicato, active between 1976 and 1979, secured its space in these accounts with its 1978 work Alacena con zapatos, which won the top prize at the XXVII Salón Nacional. However, Alacena con zapatos was neither the only, nor the most significant, contribution of El Sindicato to the development of conceptual practices. The collective’s rich oeuvre, while concise, was nonetheless remarkable in its interventions on public spaces as a means for social change. A number of factors have led to the critical misunderstanding and, ultimately, the historiographical neglect of these interventions. This thesis problematizes these factors in order to reframe and expand El Sindicato’s role within the narrative of Colombian art. To elucidate El Sindicato’s contributions, and taking into account that much of Colombian conceptual art remains unknown in the United States, this thesis also registers Colombia’s artistic field as it stood in the 1970s. In all, my project situates El Sindicato’s practices within the broader narrative of Conceptualism as a means to both enrich our understanding of contemporary art in Colombia and help expand the familiar boundaries of the map of conceptual art. / text

Η παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία πραγματεύεται το ρυθμιστικό ή κανονιστικό πλαίσιο των διαδικασιών που σχετίζονται με την παραγωγή λογιστικών πληροφοριών. Σκοπός της παρούσας εργασίας είναι να αναλύσει τις μορφές ρύθμισης σε επίπεδο Χρηματοοικονομικής Πληροφόρησης σε διεθνές πλαίσιο. Η μεθοδολογία που ακολουθήθηκε για την διεξαγωγή της έρευνας αυτής βασίστηκε στην ανάλυση της διεθνούς βιβλιογραφίας. Μερικά από τα κυριότερα συμπεράσματα που προέκυψαν από την έρευνα είναι ότι δίνεται ρυθμιστική καθοδήγηση στα λογιστικά πρότυπα, η οποία πρέπει να εφαρμόζεται σε όλους τους λογαριασμούς προκειμένου να παρουσιάσουν μια “αληθινή και δίκαιη εικόνα”. Τα IFRS ξεκίνησαν μια προσπάθεια εναρμόνισης της λογιστικής σε ολόκληρη την Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση, η αξία της εναρμόνισης γρήγορα έγινε ελκυστική σε ολόκληρο των κόσμο. Το IASB , το οποίο βασίζεται στα IFRS, πήρε τη σκυτάλη για τον καθορισμό των Διεθνών Λογιστικών Προτύπων, αναπτύσσοντας τα πρότυπά του λαμβάνοντας υπόψη μια οικονομική προσέγγιση, που εστιάζει στη γενική οικονομική ευημερία. Το Εννοιολογικό Πλαίσιο της Οικονομικής Αναφοράς του IASB, επιδιώκει να αναπτύξει μια υποκείμενη φιλοσοφία ως βάση για συνεχείς λογιστικές αρχές, έτσι ώστε κάθε πρότυπο να ταιριάζει με το υπόλοιπο πλαίσιο. Έχει προχωρήσει πέρα από τις προϋποθέσεις των υπαρχόντων λογιστικών προτύπων. Στηρίζεται στη θεωρεία Balance Sheet Approach και τοποθετεί στο επίκεντρο τα στοιχεία του ισολογισμού, τα οποία αποτελούν τον πυρήνα του ως ρυθμιστική βάση για τη ρύθμιση προτύπων. Τα ποιοτικά χαρακτηριστικά της σχετικότητας, της πιστής απεικόνισης και της συγκρισιμότητας που αναγνωρίζονται στο Εννοιολογικό Πλαίσιο είναι μερικά από τα γνωρίσματα που κάνουν τις οικονομικές πληροφορίες χρήσιμες στους διάφορους χρήστες των οικονομικών καταστάσεων. Πέρα από τα οφέλη της τυποποίησης που παρέχουν, επειδή στηρίζονται σε οικονομική θεωρία, δηλαδή σε επιστημονικές αρχές – θα είναι δύσκολο να αμφισβητηθούν. Η πιθανότητα για την επιρροή του ΙΑSB σε αυτό τον τομέα είναι σημαντική επιδιώκοντας αρίστευση στα πρότυπα με απόλυτη αυστηρότητα. / This research discusses the regulatory framework or regulatory procedures related to production accounting information. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the forms of regulation at the financial reporting internationally. The methodology used to conduct this research was based on an analysis of the literature. Some of the key findings that emerged from the research is that given regulatory guidance in accounting standards, which must be applied to all accounts in order to present a "true and fair view". The IFRS began an effort to harmonize accounting across the E.U, the value of alignment quickly became attractive in the whole world. The IASB, based on IFRS, took the baton for the establishment of the International Accounting Standards Board, developing its standards, taking into account an economic approach that focuses on the overall economic prosperity. The Conceptual Framework of the economic report of the IASB, seeks to develop an underlying philosophy based on continuous accounting principles so that each template to match the rest frame. It has gone beyond the requirements of existing accounting standards. Based on the theory Balance Sheet Approach and puts the focus on balance sheet, which form the core of a regulatory basis for setting standards. The qualitative characteristics of relevance, faithful representation, comparability and recognized in the conceptual framework are some of the features that make financial information useful to various users of financial statements. Beyond the benefits of standardization provide, because based on economic theory, namely on scientific principles will be difficult to challenge. The chance to influence the IASB in this area is important in pursuing excellence standards with absolute rigor.

The aim of this essay is to investigate the reconfiguration and, to some extent, the total deconstruction of the aesthetic field, such as we have know it since Baumgarten, that is promoted by Conceptual art. It is our intention to show the philosophical importance and the theoretical implications of the questions raised by this artistic movement, which somehow instigated the tumultuous debate directed to overwhelm much of the art world from the late 1960's onward. We believe that the very core of Conceptual art is philosophical and in this respect our programme is to investigate how Conceptual art not only challenges the viewer with traditional aesthetic concepts, but also with the very means used by philosophy to analyse art. This essay aims therefore to be an analysis of the philosophy of Conceptual art, which we put in relation to the aesthetic investigations of three philosophers - TheodorWiesengrundAdorno, Umberto Eco and Jacques Rancière. The ambition is to shed theoretical light on an artistic movement certainly scantly considered within the philosophical domain, while it indicates itself as the contingent successor to philosophy.

In the dissertation, the theoretical assumptions proposed by the cognitive model of conceptual blending have been applied to the practical study of irony in Lithuanian and American news website headlines, proving that the theory of blending is able to account for the mechanism of irony processing, and does not conflict with the majority of the other theories of irony processing. The dissertation aims at determining cross-cultural similarities and differences in the structure, processing and functioning of irony in American and Lithuanian news headlines by exploring the integration mechanisms and their constituent parts within the framework of conceptual blending. Based on data collected from Lithuanian and American news websites, the thesis explores empirically the types of integration models, frames, inner and outer vital relations, compressions, means of expression, functions and conventionalization that create irony. In accordance with the main aim the changes in the perception of the phenomenon of irony are identified, the ideas related to the definition of irony are consolidated, a list of possible indicators of irony is composed and the role of context in irony comprehension discussed. The dissertation does not only examine empirically the practical viability of the application of the conceptual blending framework to the analysis of irony, but also, while performing a contrastive analysis, makes an attempt at characterizing common and specific features of Lithuanian and... [to full text] / Disertacijoje teorinės konceptualiojo blendingo prielaidos taikomos praktiniam ironijos tyrimui naujienų antraštėse lietuviškame ir amerikietiškame žiniatinkliuose siekiant įrodyti, kad blendingo teorija yra pajėgi paaiškinti ironijos veikimo mechanizmą neprieštaraujant daugumai kitų ironijos suvokimo teorijų. Remiantis konceptualiojo blendingo teorija disertacijoje keliamas tikslas nustatyti ironijos sukūrimo ir išraiškos struktūros, perteikimo ir funkcionavimo, integracinius mechanizmų bei jų sudedamųjų dalių panašumus ir skirtumus tiriant Amerikos ir Lietuvos žiniatinklių antraštes. Tikslui pasiekti disertacijoje apžvelgiamas ironijos sampratos kitimas, konsoliduojamos ironijos apibrėžimo idėjos, pateikiama ironijos mechanizmo teorijų apžvalga bei kritika, sudaromas galimų ironijos žymiklių sąrašas, bei aptariama konteksto įtaka ironijos suvokimui. Disertacijoje ne tik empiriškai išnagrinėjamas bei pagrindžiamas praktinis konceptualiojo blendingo taikymas ironijai analizuoti, bet taip pat atliekamas lyginamasis tyrimas išskirtiniams Lietuvos ir Amerikos ironiškų naujienų antraščių bruožams nustatyti.

Disertacijoje teorinės konceptualiojo blendingo prielaidos taikomos praktiniam ironijos tyrimui naujienų antraštėse lietuviškame ir amerikietiškame žiniatinkliuose siekiant įrodyti, kad blendingo teorija yra pajėgi paaiškinti ironijos veikimo mechanizmą neprieštaraujant daugumai kitų ironijos suvokimo teorijų. Remiantis konceptualiojo blendingo teorija disertacijoje keliamas tikslas nustatyti ironijos sukūrimo ir išraiškos struktūros, perteikimo ir funkcionavimo, integracinius mechanizmų bei jų sudedamųjų dalių panašumus ir skirtumus tiriant Amerikos ir Lietuvos žiniatinklių antraštes. Tikslui pasiekti disertacijoje apžvelgiamas ironijos sampratos kitimas, konsoliduojamos ironijos apibrėžimo idėjos, pateikiama ironijos mechanizmo teorijų apžvalga bei kritika, sudaromas galimų ironijos žymiklių sąrašas, bei aptariama konteksto įtaka ironijos suvokimui. Disertacijoje ne tik empiriškai išnagrinėjamas bei pagrindžiamas praktinis konceptualiojo blendingo taikymas ironijai analizuoti, bet taip pat atliekamas lyginamasis tyrimas išskirtiniams Lietuvos ir Amerikos ironiškų naujienų antraščių bruožams nustatyti. / In the dissertation, the theoretical assumptions proposed by the cognitive model of conceptual blending have been applied to the practical study of irony in Lithuanian and American news website headlines, proving that the theory of blending is able to account for the mechanism of irony processing, and does not conflict with the majority of the other theories of irony processing. The dissertation aims at determining cross-cultural similarities and differences in the structure, processing and functioning of irony in American and Lithuanian news headlines by exploring the integration mechanisms and their constituent parts within the framework of conceptual blending. Based on data collected from Lithuanian and American news websites, the thesis explores empirically the types of integration models, frames, inner and outer vital relations, compressions, means of expression, functions and conventionalization that create irony. In accordance with the main aim the changes in the perception of the phenomenon of irony are identified, the ideas related to the definition of irony are consolidated, a list of possible indicators of irony is composed and the role of context in irony comprehension discussed. The dissertation does not only examine empirically the practical viability of the application of the conceptual blending framework to the analysis of irony, but also, while performing a contrastive analysis, makes an attempt at characterizing common and specific features of Lithuanian and... [to full text]

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Industries want to add value to their offerings but to do this, rather than just accepting customer requirements, they now need to know how their products and/or services have been embedded within their customer’s process to achieve a goal that the customer has; any gaps within the process then present an opportunity for the provider to fill these gaps. The System-In-Use (SIU) Methodology presented in this thesis facilitates customer issues in “pulling” the supply chain into creating new solutions as well as the supply chain “pushing” new value propositions into improving customer processes. It does this by drawing on a detailed theory of value and capability which was developed as part of this research. The method has been applied in five industries in processes encompassing high value-assets with very positive outcomes for each of the stakeholders involved: notably, three solutions have been adopted in industry for which a KT-Box award was granted by Cambridge University. Cont/d.

Industries want to add value to their offerings but to do this, rather than just accepting customer requirements, they now need to know how their products and/or services have been embedded within their customer’s process to achieve a goal that the customer has; any gaps within the process then present an opportunity for the provider to fill these gaps. The System-In-Use (SIU) Methodology presented in this thesis facilitates customer issues in “pulling” the supply chain into creating new solutions as well as the supply chain “pushing” new value propositions into improving customer processes. It does this by drawing on a detailed theory of value and capability which was developed as part of this research. The method has been applied in five industries in processes encompassing high value-assets with very positive outcomes for each of the stakeholders involved: notably, three solutions have been adopted in industry for which a KT-Box award was granted by Cambridge University. Cont/d.