Co-op programs bridge the gap between the academic and work worlds and provide students with practical experience in their chosen fields while they earn money between academic school terms. The Technical Communication Diploma program at Red River College in Winnipeg, Manitoba, has incorporated a co-operative education term. Instructors at the College charged with placing co-op students each year are challenged in finding such placements, and they receive little guidance from research. In this study, I interviewed 21 employers in Winnipeg who hired co-op students from the Technical Communication Diploma program at Red River College from 2003–2005, to determine their perspectives on participation in co-op programs. Important factors influencing Winnipeg employers were the productivity of students and their specialized skill sets. The major deterrent to re-hiring students was lack of funding. A Model of Employers’ Motivation to Participate in Co-op Programs is proposed.

Co-op programs bridge the gap between the academic and work worlds and provide students with practical experience in their chosen fields while they earn money between academic school terms. The Technical Communication Diploma program at Red River College in Winnipeg, Manitoba, has incorporated a co-operative education term. Instructors at the College charged with placing co-op students each year are challenged in finding such placements, and they receive little guidance from research. In this study, I interviewed 21 employers in Winnipeg who hired co-op students from the Technical Communication Diploma program at Red River College from 2003–2005, to determine their perspectives on participation in co-op programs. Important factors influencing Winnipeg employers were the productivity of students and their specialized skill sets. The major deterrent to re-hiring students was lack of funding. A Model of Employers’ Motivation to Participate in Co-op Programs is proposed.

This paper states the stability requirements of the amplifier system, and then presents, and summarizes, the classic two stage CMOS Op-Amp design by employing several popular frequency compensation techniques including traditional Miller compensation, nulling resistor, voltage buffer, and current buffer. The advantages and disadvantages of all these compensation strategies are evaluated based on a standard performance which has a 70dB DC gain, a 60◦ phase margin, a 25MHz gain bandwidth, and a slew rate of 20 V/us requirements. All the designs and simulation results are based on a 180mm 1.8 V standard TSMC CMOS technology. Ultimately, the traditional Miller compensated Op-Amp (a single compensation capacitor amplifier) cannot meet all the requirements but all other techniques could with also a boost of performance in various aspects. / Master of Science / Two-stage CMOS operational amplifier has two input pins and one output pin. it is used to amplify the differential inputs signal and transfer it to the output side. Usually the input signals are too weak to be processed by the rest of the system units. So the Op-Amp can amplify the weak input signals which then can either be further modified for some specific applications by the rest units of the system or be the final output of this entire system. The role of the Op-Amp in analog and digital systems is as the role of transformers in the power system. So the output signal is required to have fast and stable responses to the inputs. This paper states some standard requirements of the Op-Amp in aspects of gain, stability, and operating frequency. Due to the classic design of two-stage Op-Amp has poor performance of stability and operating frequency, some compensation techniques are applied as the feedback networks to improve its performance. These techniques include traditional Miller compensation, nulling resistor, voltage buffer, and current buffer. The advantages and disadvantages of all these compensation strategies are evaluated based on a 180mm 1.8 V standard TSMC CMOS technology.

No description available.

The purpose of this thesis is to introduce a musical work of one of the world's most favorite composers of the 20th century - Sergej Prokofiev. Even though I would like to address all his pieces, given the extensiveness of his work and my profession as a pianist and a pedagogue, I decided to focus only on the pieces for solo piano. I detail each piano piece in a catalogue organized by opus number. My analysis focuses on compositions, eventually on cycles, which can be somehow beneficial to us. Beneficial, in this sense means exposure to pieces with variety of character, use of melody and eventually pieces from a various work periods. Another condition during a selection of pieces for my dissertation was various levels of difficulty. The majority of my thesis is dedicated to the piano sonatas. Although they are not very long, they belong to the piano masterpieces forever. Further, I mention less performed Etudes, Op. 2 and Visions fugitives, Op. 22, and on the other hand well known Suit from Romeo and Juliet, Op. 75. The music for children is represented in my analysis by one piece only - Children's Songs, Op. 65. Prokofiev wrote nearly 40 opuses for piano, which makes up almost a third of his work. That is a remarkable number and these pieces are worth interest.

No description available.

The focus of this project is the performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Etudes-Tableaux Op. 39. The purpose is to provide interested performers with a clear understanding of the inner workings of these compositions and to address many problems of interpretation and technical challenges of the Etudes-Tableaux Op. 39. The author's goal is to offer creative interpretive explanations and technical solutions to the existing pianistic problems and to aid a performer in his/her approach to learning in order to create a credible and skillful performance. The study makes use of the multi-faceted opportunities that are appropriate to the lecture-recital format. In addition to the research presented in the script, the author incorporated a Power Point™ slide presentation (copies included with this document), audio excerpts from CD performances, live demonstrations on the piano, and a live performance of selected Etudes-Tableaux Op. 39 (all included on the DVD which supplements this document). The script includes a brief biographical sketch of Rachmaninoff, followed by the two research topics of performance practice, interpretive aspects and technical challenges. The Power Point™ presentation serves to enhance the content and to facilitate the explanations of some of the topics of the lecture. This is especially relevant when incorporating excerpts from music scores and examples of paintings. The CD audio excerpts and live demonstrations are intended to illustrate the details of the compositional and stylistic features and performance practice. Finally, the live performance of the Etudes-Tableaux Op. 39, and its audio/video documentation on DVD, confirms the study's research findings.

Homeschooling is a growing trend in America. Studies on homeschooling in the past three decades have focused on the reasons why parents choose to homeschool, the academic and social quality of homeschooling, and the perceptions of public and private school officials towards homeschooling, as well as homeschooling parents' perceptions of public and private schools. The literature on homeschool cooperatives is scarce. A homeschool cooperative (co-op) is a group of homeschooling parents who have gathered to collectively teach their children. Co-ops might teach core subjects, electives, athletics, or just serve as an opportunity for homeschooling families to gather for fellowship and social time. This dissertation is a study of a homeschool co-op in San Antonio, Texas. The researcher for this study attempted to answer two questions: 1) What is a history of the co-op, and 2) What are the daily operations of the co-op? This researcher observed the selected co-op in action, reviewed documents supplied by co-op members, and interviewed four members of the co-op who have varying degrees of participation in the co-op. Through triangulation of interviews, observations, and documents, this researcher has described a history of the selected co-op, including its founding and daily operations. The co-op, formed in 2005, is a large, Catholic-affiliated co-op that meets weekly for twelve weeks each semester. The teachers, all paid, are either parents of co-op students or individuals hired from outside the co-op. Students in the co-op have twenty to twenty-five courses from which to choose each semester. The participants in the study are satisfied with their experiences in the Quality Homeschool Co-op. The participants state that the co-op is providing quality academic classes that supplement the curricula used at home. The participants are also pleased with the positive socialization that their children receive while attending the co-op. This study adds to the literature on homeschooling cooperatives. Although further research on this study is possible based on different research questions, this researcher has presented a history of Quality Homeschool Co-op and has documented the co-op's daily operations.

Due to its significant morbidity, alternatives to autogenous bone grafting are required. Recent research has focused on application of growth factors, including bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs). Two recombinant human BMP (rhBMP) containing bioimplants, Infuse® (rhBMP-2) and OP-1® (rhBMP-7), are approved for human application. Objective: to provide a direct comparison of the two approved rhBMP containing bioimplants in their clinically available forms. Methods: Activity of rhBMP-2 and -7 were tested using the C2C12 cell based assay comparing alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity. Activity of Infuse® or OP-1® bioimplants containing 52.5µg of rhBMP-2 or rhBMP-7 were compared using a mouse muscle pouch assay and analyzed with micro CT (mCT) and histology. Results: in vitro: rhBMP-2 induced greater ALP production than rhBMP-7 at different time points. In vivo: OP-1® induced greater bone volume than Infuse® of equivalent quality based on mCT. Conclusions: In the clinically available form, OP-1® induced greater bone volume than Infuse®.

Due to its significant morbidity, alternatives to autogenous bone grafting are required. Recent research has focused on application of growth factors, including bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs). Two recombinant human BMP (rhBMP) containing bioimplants, Infuse® (rhBMP-2) and OP-1® (rhBMP-7), are approved for human application. Objective: to provide a direct comparison of the two approved rhBMP containing bioimplants in their clinically available forms. Methods: Activity of rhBMP-2 and -7 were tested using the C2C12 cell based assay comparing alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity. Activity of Infuse® or OP-1® bioimplants containing 52.5µg of rhBMP-2 or rhBMP-7 were compared using a mouse muscle pouch assay and analyzed with micro CT (mCT) and histology. Results: in vitro: rhBMP-2 induced greater ALP production than rhBMP-7 at different time points. In vivo: OP-1® induced greater bone volume than Infuse® of equivalent quality based on mCT. Conclusions: In the clinically available form, OP-1® induced greater bone volume than Infuse®.