My work is about valuing the ordinary moments in life that can be described as joyful, difficult, beautiful, painful, or even transcendent. My creativity arises from a need to tell the story of these moments, and to share my experience with others. These moments are often evidenced by the objects we leave behind. They are a testament to the life we have lived, or are now living. My attention to small, ordinary details includes honoring and remembering people who have died. They may be artists, writers, friends, or family members but it is important to me to record the unique contributions they have made to this world. To tell my stories I work with clay, paint, wood, wire, photography, jewelry, books, and found objects. I incorporate text to tell the story of the piece. I layer objects and imagery to focus the viewer's attention on the mundane. I use found objects to serve as metaphorical evidence of the path we take. Many symbolic images also recur in my work, such as crows, gravestones, hands, and trees. Finally, I use grids to organize the structure of my pieces and help create a sense of order in the profusion of information. I want my art to be mindful, to elevate the ordinary, and to ask the viewer to join me in reflection on the human experience.

Lightning detection over Houston, Texas is possible with the Lightning Detection and Ranging (LDAR-II) network and the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN). A comparison of the two datasets in conjunction with 37 isolated, ordinary thunderstorms reveals a time separation of 3.1 minutes between the first detected Very High Frequency (VHF) source (i.e. first intracloud discharge) and the first cloud-toground (CG) lightning flash. This CG warning time is increased to 16.1 minutes when using the radar-defined criterion of when the 30-dBZ contour first reaches the -10°C isotherm level. Several attempts were made to establish a similar characteristic that could be used to forewarn the occurrence of the final CG in this storm type. Based on the average radar characteristics during the last CG flash in each thunderstorm case, CG activity comes to an end when the 45-dBZ echo falls below the -10°C isotherm. Detection efficiencies that remain slightly less than perfect for each network may have allowed for some error when analyzing VHF sources and ground flashes for each convective case. Exhibiting this possible error, four cases actually recorded a greater number of CG flashes than intracloud flashes, which is contrary to typical lightning characteristics. Future studies hope to increase the number of thunderstorm cases to analyze as the LDAR network continues to observe more lightning events. Also, similar approaches could be implemented in differing geographic regions of the country to observe if these lightning characteristics vary depending on latitude, longitude, or climate.

This thesis is concerned with an investigation and evaluation of collocation algorithms for solving two-point boundary value problems for systems of ordinary differential equations. An emphasis is on developing reliable and efficient adaptive mesh selection algorithms in piecewise collocation methods. General background materials including basic concepts and descriptions of the method as well as some functional analysis tools needed in developing some error estimates are given at the beginning. A brief review of some developments in the methods to be used is provided for later referencing. By utilising the special structure of the collocation matrices, a more compact block matrix structure is introduced and an algorithm for generating and solving the matrix is proposed. Some practical aspects and computational considerations of matrices involved in the collocation process such as analysis of arithmetic operations and amount of memory spaces needed are considered. An examination of scaling process to reduce the condition number is also presented. A numerical evaluation of some error estimates developed by considering the differential operator, the related matrices and the residual is carried out. These estimates are used to develop adaptive mesh selection algorithms, in particular as a cheap criterion for terminating the computation process. Following a discussion on mesh selection strategies, a criterion function for use in adaptive algorithms is introduced and a numerical scheme to equidistributing values of the criterion function is proposed. An adaptive algorithm based on this criterion is developed and the results of numerical experiments are compared with those using some well known criterion functions. The various examples are chosen in such a way that they include problems with interior or boundary layers. In addition, an algorithm has been developed to predict the necessary number of subintervals for a given tolerance, with the aim of improving the efficiency of the whole process. Using a good initial mesh in adaptive algorithms would be expected to provide some further improvement in the algorithms. This leads to the idea of locating the layer regions and determining suitable break points in such regions before the numerical process. Based on examining the eigenvalues of the coefficient matrix in the differential equation in the specified interval, using their magnitudes and rates of change, the algorithms for predicting possible layer regions and estimating the number of break points needed in such regions are constructed. The effectiveness of these algorithms is evaluated by carrying out a number of numerical experiments. The final chapter gives some concluding remarks of the work and comment on results of numerical experiments. Certain possible improvements and extensions for further research are also briefly given.

In Japan, the basics of living are described as three main elements; clothing, food, and shelter. These elements involve simple daily activities such as changing clothes in the morning, eating lunch, and sleeping at night. It may easily become a mundane topic since they are woven into our daily routines. Nevertheless, a moment in one's day may become joyful when we reconsider and play with the ordinary. The first trace of a dwelling in Japan is a pit shelter. People dug a circular pit in the ground, placed sticks vertically at the perimeter of the pit, and covered it with straws to make a roof. The dwelling protected people from the weather, animals and other tribes. The function of architecture may be as simple as that. Today, the purpose of making architecture is not dramatically different from the ancient times, yet the technology in our profession as well as in our daily routines have developed over thousands of years and changed the way of life. Today, one may easily get trapped in the graphical or stylish looks of architecture and ignore the fundamental reason to make architecture. Making architecture is quite an ordinary act. My intention for this thesis is to examine my daily activities and concerns and extract the essence of the Architecture that beautifully fulfills the function. I believe Architecture strongly influences people's experiences and feelings, and goal as a designer is to orchestrate spaces which will make one's ordinary day into an extraordinary one. / Master of Architecture

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The parameter estimation problem or the inverse problem of ordinary differential equations is prevalent in many process models in chemistry, molecular biology, control system design and many other engineering applications. It concerns the re-construction of auxillary parameters by fitting the solution from the system of ordinary differential equations( from a known mathematical model) to that of measured data obtained from observing the solution trajectory. Some of the traditional techniques (for example, initial value technques, multiple shooting, etc.) used to solve this class of problem have been discussed. A new algorithm, motivated by algorithms proposed by Childs and Osborne(1996) and Z.F.Li's dissertation(2000), has been proposed. The new algorithm inherited the advantages exhibited in the above-mentioned algorithms and, most importantly, the parameters can be transformed to a form that are convenient and suitable for computation. A statistical analysis has also been developed and applied to examples. The statistical analysis yields indications of the tolerance of the estimates and consistency of the observations used.

The focus of this project is the exploration of notions of the sacred through the study of functional, unadorned forms and the processes by which I translate them into drawn images. My objective is to observe and represent what I see as visually essential to objects such as bowl, egg and rag. My intention is to engage aspects of archetypal simplicity, providing a visual starting-point for contemplation in the viewer. Detached from specific liturgical contexts, the notion of 'sacredness' is not anchored by traditional icons. The logic behind the austerity of my 'generic' subject matter is to make a visual connection to the otherwise formless concept of a primal imprint of human consciousness, to anchor my exploration of the sacred. I aim to discover a position between figuration and abstraction that can communicate what I see as elemental to the subject of each drawing, concentrating the arena for contemplation within the bounds of the form depicted. By subduing contextual narrative in this way, I intend to amplify the tiny events of light, line and texture within the drawn form.

Under the assumption of mass-action kinetics, systems of chemical reactions can give rise to a wide variety of dynamical behaviour, including stability of a unique equilibrium concentration, multistability, periodic behaviour, chaotic behaviour, switching behaviour, and many others. In their canonical papers, M. Feinberg, F. Horn and R. Jackson developed so-called Chemical Reaction Network theory which drew a strong connection between the topological structure of the reaction graph and the dynamical behaviour of mass-action systems. A significant amount of work since that time has been conducted expanding upon this connection and fleshing out the theoretical underpinnings of the theory. In this thesis, I focus on three topics within the scope of Chemical Reaction Network theory. 1. Linearization: It is known that complex balanced systems possess within each invariant space of the system a unique positive equilibrium concentration and that that concentration is locally asymptotically stable. F. Horn and R. Jackson determined this through the use of an entropy-like Lyapunov function. In Chapter 4, I approach this problem through the alternative approach of linearizing the mass-action system about its equilibrium points. I show that this approach reproduces the results of F. Horn and R. Jackson and has the advantage of being able to give explicit exponential bounds on the convergence near equilibria. 2. Persistence: A well-known limitation of the theory is that the stabilities of the positive equilibrium concentrations guaranteed are locally limited. The conjecture that the equilibrium concentrations of complex balanced systems are global attractors of their respective invariant spaces has become known as the Global Attractor Conjecture and has received significant attention recently. This theory has been significantly aided by the realization that trajectories not tending toward the set of positive equilibria must tend toward the boundary of the positive orthant; consequently, persistence is a sufficient condition to affirm the conjecture. In Chapter 5, I present my contributions to this problem. 3. Linear Conjugacy: It is known that under the mass-action assumption two reaction networks with disparate topological structure may give rise to the same set of differential equations and therefore exhibit the same qualitative dynamical behaviour. In Chapter 6, I expand the scope of networks which exhibit the same behaviour to include ones which are related by a non-trivial linear mapping. I have called this theory Linear Conjugacy theory. I also show how networks exhibiting a linear conjugacy can be found using the mixed integer linear programming (MILP) framework introduced by G. Szederkenyi.

Structural equation model (SEM) is a general approach to analyze multivariate data. It is a relatively comprehensive model and combines useful characteristics from many statistical approaches, thus enjoys a variety of advantages when dealing complex relationships. This report gives a brief introduction to SEM, focusing especially the comparison of SEM and OLS regression. A simple tutorial of how to apply SEM is also included with the introduction and comparison. SEM can be roughly seen as OLS regression added with features such as simultaneous estimation, latent factors and autocorrelation. Therefore, SEM enjoys a variety of advantages over OLS regression. However, it is not always the case that SEM will be the optimal choice. The biggest concern is the complexity of SEM, for simpler model will be preferable for researchers when the fitness is similar. Two simulation cases, one requires special features of SEM and one satisfies assumptions of OLS regression, are applied to illustrate the choice between SEM and OLS regression. A study using data from US life insurers in the year 1994 serves as a further illustration. The conclusion is when special features of SEM is required, SEM fits better and will be the better choice, while when OLS regression assumptions are satisfied, SEM and OLS regression will fit equally well, considering the complexity of SEM, OLS regression will be the better choice. / text

The aim of this study is to describe condition for cooperation between motherlanguage teachers and ordinary teacher in Swedish school. The investigation is based on a case study with teachers in one school and tries to find implications, causes and possible solutions for this problem. The theoretical framework of the investigation is based on intercultural and educational theories. Qualitative methodological approach in form of semi-structure interviews is used. The investigation shows, among other things, that it is differences and monocultural attitudes in both groups that becomes an obstacle for professional cooperation between teachers in mother language and ordinary teachers. The investigation also shows that the implications for motherlanguage teachers are problems with planning and teaching students. The results discussion suggests that guiding values come in focus through an action oriented research with external researcher competence that actively take part and lead the process. One important area is to consciously lead the project with democracy where difference ideas and opinions do not make other person an enemy but an opponent. Examples of training unthinking and automatic way to respond and communicate with and about others that seems like a stranger to us is a step in development in a form of transcultural ability