A prototype sensor array was developed for use with laboratory automation to permit closed-loop control of liquid-levels in a multiwell microplate geometry. A simple electrical model for non-contact capacitance-based fluid sensors was extended to describe a fluid-level dependency. The new model shows that a charge-transfer based capacitance transducer employing a liquid-specific calibration can be used to obtain an output signal that varies linearly with the liquid-level when fringe-field effects are negligible. The calibration also compensates for liquid-to-liquid conductivity and permittivity differences. / The sensor was tested using sodium chloride (NaCl) and ethanol solutions to simulate the range of conductivity and permittivity typical in biological and chemical research. Measured capacitance was a second-order function of liquid volume due to fringe-field effects and was compensated for by adding a hardware-based calibration. Liquid-volume measurement error averaged 0.2% of the 120mul fill volume with a standard deviation of 0.6% (< mul). The maximum absolute error for all liquids was 2.7% (3mul).

Pushover analysis involves certain approximations and simplifications that some amount of variation is always expected to exist in seismic demand prediction of pushover analysis. In literature, some improved pushover procedures have been proposed to overcome the certain limitations of traditional pushover procedures. The effects and the accuracy of invariant lateral load patterns utilised in pushover analysis to predict the behavior imposed on the structure due to randomly selected individual ground motions causing elastic and various levels of nonlinear response were evaluated in this study. For this purpose, pushover analyses using various invariant lateral load patterns and Modal Pushover Analysis were performed on reinforced concrete and steel moment resisting frames covering a broad range of fundamental periods. Certain response parameters predicted by each pushover procedure were compared with the &#039 / exact&#039 / results obtained from nonlinear dynamic analysis. The primary observations from the study showed that the accuracy of the pushover results depends strongly on the load path, properties of the structure and the characteristics of the ground motion. Pushover analyses were performed by both DRAIN-2DX and SAP2000. Similar pushover results were obtained from the two different softwares employed in the study provided that similar approach is used in modeling the nonlinear properties of members as well as their structural features. The accuracy of approximate procedures utilised to estimate target displacement was also studied on frame structures. The accuracy of the predictions was observed to depend on the approximations involved in the theory of the procedures, structural properties and ground motion characteristics.

ABSTRACT AN EVALUATION OF THE ENG 101, DEVELOPMENT OF READING AND WRITING SKILLS 1 G&uuml / ntek, Duygu M.A., Department of English Language Education Supervisor : Prof. Dr. H&uuml / sn&uuml / Enginarlar July 2005, 134 pages The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ENG 101, Development of Reading and Writing Skills 1, and find out about the effectiveness of this course in terms of the goals and objectives, methods and materials and evaluation procedures. To fulfill that aim, three questionnaires and an interview document were designed and given to 21 ENG 101 instructors and 255 students taking the couse. In addition to the questionnaires, interviews were held with 9 ENG 101 instructors and 1 administrator, and feedback was obtained from the end-of the term evaluation meeting. Another questionnaire to evaluate the coursebook, English for Academic Purposes 1 was designed and given to 19 instructors who taught the ENG 101 course. It was prepared to collect feedback about the newly-written coursebook of the ENG 101 in detail. To analyse quantitative data, descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA and t-test were conducted. The qualitative data gained from the interviews, open ended questions and feedback from the end of course meeting were analysed via content analysis. The results of the study revealed that the participants were generally satisfied with the course since most of the answers given in the questionnaires were around 3 (out of 4) &ldquo / moderately&rdquo / , which meant that all parties had generally favourable perceptions about the effectiveness of the ENG101 regarding the achievement of the objectives, effectiveness of the methods, materials and evaluation procedures as well as the coursebook. However, there were some complaints stemming from teachers&rsquo / workload and time constraints including too many writing tasks and insufficient language input for which certain administrative academic decisions were taken and work on relevant modifications started.

The study explores the management of patient complaints at a private hospital in Taiwan (i.e. the Case Hospital). The case study aims to identify factors which influence the response of the hospital to patient complaints and whether it incorporates information derived from patient complaints in its quality improvement efforts. The study was conducted in two stages. The first stage was a cross-institutional comparison of quality management systems between a hospital in Britain and a hospital in Taiwan. The study explored how these hospitals managed patient complaints and whether they took such feedback into account in reviewing priority of services. The second stage included a detailed case study of the hospital in Taiwan (the Case Hospital), exploring the hospital???s responses to patient complaints, along with the factors which may have influenced these responses. The study was designed to triangulate data through the use of a multi-method approach to derive converging or diverging empirical evidence from a variety of data sources. Data were obtained through interviews with hospital senior managers, a senior social worker, government officials, and managers of non-government organisations. A questionnaire survey was administered to managers, and the Critical Incident Technique (CIT), along with observation, was applied, as well as analysis of documents. Principally, this study adopts the techniques of thematic analysis (Lincoln and Guba, 1985a) with an interpretivist approach to analyse the empirical data. The results of the study indicate that although the Case Hospital appeared to be concerned about patients??? complaints, it did not respond in a systematic way to the messages received. Hospital managers appeared to merely attempt to pacify complainants while ignoring the underlying causes of their complaints. It was evident that there were no protocols in place as to how staff should handle complaints, and as a result, the hospital was failing to use the information about systemic problems provided by patient complaints to make any sustainable quality improvement. In other words, whilst the Case Hospital was attempting to resolve patient complaints on a case-by-case basis (doing things right for the patient, or in the terms of Argyris (1990), using ???single-loop??? learning), it was not reviewing or acting on these complaints as a collective group to identify systemic problems and deficiencies (doing right things, i.e. ???double-loop??? learning). The study found that the organisational response to complaints was influenced by features of the complaints and institutional attributes. Features of complaints affected the response pathways to complaints, such as patients??? status, the severity of complaints, and the nature of complaints. In terms of systemic features, the organisational response to complaints was influenced by the interaction between managerial factors (e.g. organisational structure and organisational culture), operational factors (e.g. documentation and communication), and technical factors (e.g. complaints handling techniques and information systems). The values of the top hospital management have been recognised as a powerful influence on these factors. Generally, results show that although the Case Hospital tends to take action to address individual complainants, there was no evidence of sustainable quality improvement within the organisation as a result of complaints data. The study recommends that if the hospital intends to use patient complaints to improve quality of clinical care, a ???double-loop??? learning strategy should be adopted within the organisation. This study also argues that governments need to take more responsibility and demand more accountability from hospitals, in terms of complaints handling. The individual hospital would thus be able to respond to patient complaints in a systemic way. Hospitals need to be more accountable when using patient complaints to drive quality improvement in the future.

Auditory processing is the ability of the brain to manipulate and utilise the neural output of the ear based on the frequency, intensity, and temporal features of the incoming acoustic signal. An auditory processing disorder (APD) is a deficiency in this ability. One category of tests that examine auditory processing ability are the various versions of the "filtered words test" (FWT), whereby a monaural, low-redundancy speech sample is distorted by using filtering to modify its frequency content. Due to the richness of the neural pathways in the auditory system and the redundancy of acoustic information in spoken language, a normal listener is able to recognize speech even when parts of the signal are missing, whereas this ability is often impaired in listeners with APD. One limitation of the various versions of the FWT is that they are carried out using a constant level of low-pass filtering (e.g. a corner frequency of 1000 Hz), which is prone to ceiling and floor effects. The purpose of this study was to counter these effects by modifying the FWT to use a computer-based adaptive procedure, to improve the sensitivity of the test over its constant-level counterparts. The University of Canterbury Monosyllabic Adaptive Speech Test (UC MAST) was performed on 23 normal adults, and 32 normal children (7 to 11 years of age). The child participants also underwent the SCAN-C test for APD in Children (Revised). Findings indicated a significant maturational effect on the UC MAST. Adult participants performed significantly better on the UC MAST in comparison to the child participants. In addition, adult participants performed the UC MAST more reliably than their younger counterparts. No correlation was found between performance on the UC MAST and SCAN-C test. The development of the UC MAST is discussed and the clinical implications of the findings are explored.

Abstract This thesis considers some linear and nonlinear time series models. In the linear case, the analysis of a large number of short time series generated by a first order autoregressive type model is considered. The conditional and exact maximum likelihood procedures are developed to estimate parameters. Simulation results are presented and compare the bias and the mean square errors of the parameter estimates. In Chapter 3, five important nonlinear models are considered and their time series properties are discussed. The estimating function approach for nonlinear models is developed in detail in Chapter 4 and examples are added to illustrate the theory. A simulation study is carried out to examine the finite sample behavior of these proposed estimates based on the estimating functions.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2007. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Lic.-avh. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2007. / Härtill 2 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2003. / Härtill 6 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.