Post-synthetic modification (PSM) of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) has increased in importance in the last decade, as a pathway to access more complex surfaces in the pores and channels of porous coordination polymers. This thesis will describe new examples of tandem PSM processes leading to new functionalised MOFs that are inaccessible by direct synthesis. Chapter 1 introduces metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and reviews the literature ranging from the basic building blocks to 3-D infinite networks. Post-synthetic modification (PSM) is introduced and a review of recent literature given. The aims of this report are also detailed at the close of the chapter. Chapter 2 contains an investigation into the conversion of primary amino to secondary amino groups in the pores of MOFs via a tandem PSM reaction. The pendent amino groups of [Zn4O(BDC-NH2)3] (IRMOF-3) and [Cr3O(OH)(OH2)2(BDC)3] (MIL-101(Cr)-NH2) were modified to produce secondary amino functionalised groups protruding into the void space. Several crystal structures are described including two obtained for the products of the PSM reaction on IRMOF-3. Nitrogen and carbon dioxide absorption was carried and high selectivity for CO2 over N2 was observed. Chapter 3 describes a new hydrothermal synthetic method of MIL-101(Cr)-NH2 and the modification, post-synthesis, to form halo- and azo dye-functionalised pore surfaces by a tandem diazotisation reaction. Quantitative yields are reported for the conversion to the halogenated frameworks inaccessible by direct synthesis with the analogous dicarboxylic acid. Gas adsorption studies demonstrated increased selectivity for CO2 over N2. Chapter 4 details the synthesis of new MOFs, with the potential for PSM, and crystallographic information is supplied for each new extended structure. The linkers, based on isophthalic acid, (1,3-benzenedicarboxylic acid) functionalised at the 5- position, were investigated with a range of metal salts and the resulting frameworks exposed to PSM reaction conditions where appropriate. By using a mixed ligand stoichiometry in the MOF synthesis reaction, 4,4’-bipy and BPDC have been incorporated into new extended frameworks. A new, simpler, synthetic route to the amino functionalised honeycomb framework [Zn4(BDC-NH2)3(NO3)2(H2O)2] (PNMOF-3) is also reported.

Teleoperated robotic surgical systems such as daVinci are widely used for laparoscopic surgeries. The currently available daVinci system does not provide haptic feedback. Prior research has shown that the addition of haptic feedback improves surgeons' performance during minimally invasive surgeries. Other authors have implemented haptic feedback in the daVinci robot, but some issues made them impractical for clinical use. In this work, two strain gauge force-sensing devices were created for the patient side manipulator of the daVinci surgical robot. These devices were designed to be easily added to the existing system and used for the real-time force feedback in the daVinci robot. The proposed system has high sensitivity and resolution, matches the required force measurement range, and has high signal-to-noise ratio, which implies high signal quality. However, the absolute errors of the currently built devices are high due to the manufacturing techniques used on the prototype that could be improved upon for a deployed device. This work demonstrates fast 3-DOF force measurements on the daVinci robot without any robot or instrument modifications. While the present system has significant systematic errors, these can be mitigated by altering the mechanical design to improve the accuracy of the system.

Measuring process safety performance is a challenge, and the wide variations in understanding, compliance, and implementation of process safety programs increase the challenge. Process safety can be measured in three strata: (1) measurement of process safety elements within facilities; (2) benchmarking of process safety elements among facilities; and (3) use of incident data collection from various sources for industrial safety performance assessment. The methods presently available for measurement of process safety within facilities are deficient because the results are strongly dependent on user judgment. Performance benchmarking among facilities is done within closed groups of organizations. Neither the questionnaires nor the results are available to the public. Many organizations collect data on industrial incidents. These organizations differ from each other in their interests, data collection procedures, definitions, and scope, and each of them analyzes its data to achieve its objectives. However, there have been no attempts to explore the potential of integrating data sources and harnessing these databases for industrial safety performance assessment. In this study we developed models to pursue the measurement of samples of the strata described above. The measurement methodologies employed herein overcome the disadvantages of existing methodologies and increase their capabilities.

In Canada, many large-scale assessments are administered in English and French. The validity of decisions made from using these assessments critically depends on the meaningfulness and comparability of scores from using different versions of assessments. This research study focused on examining (1) the degree of construct comparability and (2) possible sources of incomparability of the Canadian English and French versions of the programme for international student assessment (PISA), 2003 problem-solving measure (PSM). In this study, statistical and qualitative linguistic reviews were used to examine construct comparability and potential sources of incomparability. These procedures sought to (1) determine the degree of comparability of the measure (2) identify if there are items that function differentially and (3) identify the potential sources of differential item functioning in the two language versions of the measure. Evidence from these procedures was used to determine the comparability of the inferences based on test scores from PISA 2003, PSM. A comparative analysis of the two language versions of the measure indicated that there were some psychometric differences at the scale and item level between the two languages which may jeopardize the comparability of assessment results.

In Canada, many large-scale assessments are administered in English and French. The validity of decisions made from using these assessments critically depends on the meaningfulness and comparability of scores from using different versions of assessments. This research study focused on examining (1) the degree of construct comparability and (2) possible sources of incomparability of the Canadian English and French versions of the programme for international student assessment (PISA), 2003 problem-solving measure (PSM). In this study, statistical and qualitative linguistic reviews were used to examine construct comparability and potential sources of incomparability. These procedures sought to (1) determine the degree of comparability of the measure (2) identify if there are items that function differentially and (3) identify the potential sources of differential item functioning in the two language versions of the measure. Evidence from these procedures was used to determine the comparability of the inferences based on test scores from PISA 2003, PSM. A comparative analysis of the two language versions of the measure indicated that there were some psychometric differences at the scale and item level between the two languages which may jeopardize the comparability of assessment results.

In Canada, many large-scale assessments are administered in English and French. The validity of decisions made from using these assessments critically depends on the meaningfulness and comparability of scores from using different versions of assessments. This research study focused on examining (1) the degree of construct comparability and (2) possible sources of incomparability of the Canadian English and French versions of the programme for international student assessment (PISA), 2003 problem-solving measure (PSM). In this study, statistical and qualitative linguistic reviews were used to examine construct comparability and potential sources of incomparability. These procedures sought to (1) determine the degree of comparability of the measure (2) identify if there are items that function differentially and (3) identify the potential sources of differential item functioning in the two language versions of the measure. Evidence from these procedures was used to determine the comparability of the inferences based on test scores from PISA 2003, PSM. A comparative analysis of the two language versions of the measure indicated that there were some psychometric differences at the scale and item level between the two languages which may jeopardize the comparability of assessment results. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

The mobile ad hoc network (MANET) has become a popular technology in recent years. Due to most devices are battery powered, energy conservation is a critical issue in the MANET. To save energy and extend battery life, nodes should turn their radios off when they have no packet to send or receive. To achieve this, IEEE 802.11 defined a synchronous power saving mechanism (PSM) based on periodical beacon transmission. It allows devices to turn their radios off when no data has to be sent or received. However, the idle state is long because the device must remain awake during the entire beacon interval even though there is only a small amount of data packets to be sent. Although some PSMs have been proposed, they still suffer from a long idle state. In this paper, we propose a new power saving mechanism by dynamically adjusting the sleeping time based on the network traffic. Simulation results show that the proposed PSM outperforms other PSMs in energy goodput and lifetime.

This work analysis model transformation problems in Model Driven Architecture (MDA). MDA is an architecture created by Object Management Group (OMG). MDA separates business and application logic from underlying platform technology. Platform-independent models of an application or system can be realized through the MDA on any platform. The most important MDA problem is a transformation between plarform-independent models (PIM) and platform specific models (PSM). Currently, there is no standard language for these transformations. Purpose of this work is to analize possible transformations. Two technologies will be researched: XSLT and QVT XSLT (Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations) is a language for transforming XML documents into other XML documents. QVT (Queries/Views/Transformations) is a language for transforming models in MDA architecture. Aggregation systems will be used as models for transformations. Platform-independent model of aggregation system will be created and transformed to Java platform models using XSLT and QVT transformations.

Yes / This study aims to contribute to the relevant accounting, corporate gover-nance, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) literature by examining thevalue relevance of mandatory CSR disclosures in China. Using a difference-in-differences (DID) research design and a sample based on propensity scorematching (PSM) over the period from 2003 to 2020, our findings suggest thatmandatory CSR disclosures are negatively associated with firm' values. We alsofind that firms with a high level of institutional ownership and leverage experi-ence a relatively lower drop in firms' values as a result of the mandatory CSRdisclosures. These findings remain robust to alternative sampling design, use of market to book value as an alternative measure of firms' market-based performance, and a parallel test to validate our DID analysis. Our findings have useful implications for managers, regulators, policy makers and other stakeholders.

Esta pesquisa avalia o impacto do \"Programa de Garantia da Atividade Agropecuária\" para agricultores familiares, conhecido como Proagro Mais. A relevância do trabalho fundamenta-se no considerável tamanho do Programa dentro do contexto das políticas de gestão de risco agrícola no Brasil. Além disso, é a primeira pesquisa desse tipo na literatura científica do país. A amostra é formada por produtores de milho do Estado do Paraná, tendo como linha base o ano de 2003, uma vez que é o ano anterior ao lançamento do Proagro Mais, e o ano de 2005 como ano de impacto. A base de dados utilizada neste estudo foi fornecida pelo Tribunal de Contas da União (TCU), cujas variáveis relevantes incluem características da cultura e dos agricultores familiares, como área financiada, atividades agrícolas complementares, educação e rendimento esperado. Adicionalmente, a partir de outras fontes públicas, foram adicionadas variáveis meteorológicas e regionais para controlar a localização da fazenda. O objetivo da pesquisa é avaliar o impacto do Proagro Mais sobre o montante de crédito por hectare concedido aos beneficiários do Programa. As metodologias usadas incluem o Propensity Score Matching (PSM), a Diferença das Diferenças (DID) e dois estimadores condicionais do DID com PSM usando dados em painel e repeated cross-section. As estimativas econométricas mostram que o Efeito Médio do Tratamento nos Tratados (EMTT) teve sinal negativo na maioria dos modelos revelando que, após o período de perda de rendimento, o grupo de controle teve um valor médio mais elevado de crédito por hectare do que os beneficiários do Proagro Mais. Os resultados sugerem a existência de mecanismos que poderiam complementar ou substituir o Proagro Mais como instrumento de gestão de risco agrícola, mas também podem sugerir que o Programa avaliado não cubra todos os riscos do setor. / This research evaluates the impact of the \"Farm Activity Guarantee Program for Smallholders\" or Proagro Mais. The relevance of this research relies on the considerable size of the program within the context of agricultural risk management policies in Brazil. This research is also the first of its kind in the scientific literature in Brazil. It was used a sample of small-scale corn producers from the State of Paraná. It was assumed 2003 as the baseline since it is the year prior to the launch of Proagro Mais, and 2005 as the endline. The database used in this study was provided by the Federal Accounting Court of Brazil (TCU). The relevant variables include crop and growers characteristics such as area financed, complementary agricultural activities, education, and expected yield. It was also added meteorological and regional variables from other public sources to control farm location. The main objective of the research is to evaluate the impact of Proagro Mais on the amount of credit per hectare granted to the beneficiaries of the Program. The methodology includes Propensity Score Matching (PSM), Difference-in-Difference (DID), and two conditional DID along PSM estimators, using longitudinal and repeated cross-sections data. The econometric estimates show that the Average Treatment Effect on the Tread (ATET) was negative. This suggests that after the yield loss period, the control group got a higher average amount of credit per hectare than Proagro Mais beneficiaries. Thus, the question that arises is whether there may be other agricultural risk management mechanisms more suited for smallholders than Proagro Mais, or whether the evaluated program could not achieve its main goal because it does not cover all risks faced by its beneficiaries.