Nohria, Joyce and Roberson, a trio of academics in the United States, wrote an article in the July issue of the Harvard Business Review in 2003 entitled "What Really Works". For several years they had studied the management practices of 160 companies in the United States with a view to determining what made certain companies consistently successful. They found that the most profitable companies in their study were not successful because they utilised the latest management tools and techniques, but rather that they had a strong grasp of business basics. Companies outperformed their industrial peers, because they excelled at what they called the four primary management practices - Strategy, Execution, Culture and Structure. These practices were supplemented by a proficiency in any two out of four secondary practices - Talent, Innovation, Leadership and Mergers and Partnerships. They called this winning combination the 4 + 2 Formula for business success. The purpose of this thesis is to determine whether competence in these management practices applies in the Third World. The study will concentrate on four companies representing the printing industry in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Zimbabwean companies are faced with a number of unusual obstacles that do not exist in First World free market economies. This study will attempt to examine the nature of the obstacles faced and how each company deals with them. It will determine whether the management practices outlined by Nohria et ai, are valued to the same degree in the Zimbabwean context, and how far they contribute to profitability.Because of the pace of change in Zimbabwe, the research will focus on the period 2003 - 2004 and evaluate another management practice - change management. The forces of change can often be so radically negative, that if companies are not adequately prepared, they may face imminent collapse. Change management, the process of anticipating, reacting to and driving forces of change, has become a vital competency. Without it, the prospects of profitability and success in the Zimbabwean environment are slim. For this reason, this management practice will be given the same focus as those eight discussed by Nohria et al.

L’émergence des applications mobiles accessibles depuis un smartphone provoque une très forte augmentation du trafic de données transitant sur les réseaux mobiles. L’augmentation de la capacité du réseau et de la rapidité des connexions sont autant de points cruciaux que les nouvelles générations de réseau mobile devront adresser afin de répondre à la demande des utilisateurs. L’une des solutions viables pour augmenter la capacité du réseau mobile consiste à le densifier afin de permettre la réutilisation des fréquences en déployant des stations de base consommant une faible puissance et couvrant de petites surfaces (les "small cells"). Ce mode de déploiement massif en "small cells" constitue un défi majeur pour le réseau de backhaul afin de reconnecter chacune de ces "small cell" au cœur de réseau. De plus, avec l’évolution du réseau de backhaul vers une architecture de type Centralized Radio Access Network (CRAN), des technologies sans fil pouvant supporter des débits supérieurs à 10Gbit/s seront requises. Étant donné la maturité des technologies silicium au-delà de 100GHz, la bande 116-142GHz semble être un candidat idéal pour établir des communications point à point supérieures à 10Gbit/s et très faible consommation DC. Dans cette thèse, plusieurs solutions d’antennes-lentilles et réflecteurs fonctionnant à 60, 80 et 120GHz sont explorées pour des systèmes WLAN/WPAN et backhaul. Afin de minimiser le coût de la solution antennaire, nous évaluons des technologies d’impression 3D pour la fabrication des lentilles et des réflecteurs, ainsi que des technologies utilisant des matériaux organiques à faibles pertes pour la fabrication des antennes-sources planaires. / The improvement of the capabilities of wireless communication devices (smartphone, tablets …) which require higher and higher data rate, leads to a significant increase of the data traffic needed by each end user. This strong consumer demand for higher data-rate and coverage is stressing a lot the capacity of existing cellular networks. In order to cope with this challenge, one of the most promising solution consists in a network densification based on the deployment of low-power and short-range-radio-coverage base stations (small cells). The development of high data-rate and low power wireless fronthaul and backhaul technologies is a key requirement to enable the deployment of those future small cells (since associated civil works costs generally prevent the use of optical fiber solutions). So far, the wireless industry has been investigating the use of 60 and 80 GHz frequency bands in order to develop low-cost higher than 1Gbit/s backhaul solutions. It is expected that higher data-rate > 10 Gbit/s will be required for fronthaul communications. The broad bandwidth available around 120GHz (116-142GHz) would enable to reach such data rates while lowering the DC power consumption. In this thesis, we develop several lens and reflector antennas operating at 60, 80 and 120GHz for WLAN/WPAN and fronthaul/backhaul networks. In order to minimize the cost of those solutions, we evaluate 3D-printing technologies for the fabrication of the lenses and the reflectors as well as industrial low loss organic packaging technologies for the fabrication of planar antenna-source.

This thesis focuses on the flourishing music-publishing industry in England in the second half of the seventeenth century, and examines its relationship to and influence on the activities of professional musicians. Music publishing as a commercial entity developed in England during this period, particularly, but not exclusively, through the endeavours of the Playford family. By placing the printed music books within the social and cultural contexts in which they were produced, this thesis explores the consequences of printing on the musical text, understanding the purposes for which the printed book was created and how different functions of print affected the musical texts that they contained. A detailed examination of the printed music sources sheds light on how publication (including posthumous publication) related to the image and status of the composer, and draws attention to the interaction between public music-making, compositional activity and music publishing during this period. Through an investigation of the contemporary printed outputs of five case-study composers - William Lawes, Henry Lawes, Matthew Locke, Henry Purcell and John Blow - this thesis explores the individual nature of the composers' relationships with the printed music book trade and how their contemporary printed outputs relate to their overall compositional output. This is followed by a detailed analytical study of specific compositions by the five case-study composers, examining both contemporary manuscript and printed sources, in order to determine to what extent the commercial print market influenced professional musical creativity. Different versions of compositions of certain genres, particularly secular vocal works, were disseminated via print as opposed to manuscript, and these alternative versions appear to have been instigated by both composers and stationers. This approach to examination of contemporary sources calls for the contextual consideration of sources and the musical texts within them.

Direct Write (DW) defines an emerging group of technologies that allow the printing of electronic and other functional components out of vacuum, directly onto conformal surfaces. Both ink-jet and nozzle deposition technologies, which are seen to be complementary for the wide range of materials and processing required by industry, are employed in this project.Silver neodecanoate salt is sensitive to both light source, including ultra violet light (UV) and heat source, and is a good inkjet printing precursor when dissolved in xylene. We have studied the electrical properties of inkjet printed silver samples, derived from silver neodecanoate ink, and investigated the influence of UV treatment before thermal curing the silver samples. UV exposure at room temperature is believed to control the nucleation of silver particles. In addition we have studied the influence of thermal pre-treatment on the printed samples. This pre-treatment is thought to assist the neodecanoate precursor to form a uniform distribution of silver nanoparticles. The influence of UV exposure, thermal pre-treatment and the thermal curing conditions on subsequent track microstructure, and its influence on electrical resistivity is reported for glass substrates. Furthermore, a series of extruding experimental at different nozzle offset and pumping pressure settings are conducted based on the rheological property of silicone oil and silver paste to find the ideal condition for producing continuous tracks with good shape. These findings are used to simulate a computer model for further applications.

Thermoelectric generators (TEG) directly convert heat energy into electrical energy. The impediments as to why this technology has not yet found extensive application are the low conversion efficiency and high costs per watt. On the one hand, the manufacturing process is a cost factor. On the other, the high-­‐priced thermoelectric (TE) materials have an enormous impact on the costs per watt. In this thesis both factors will be examined: the production process and the selection of TE materials. Technical screen printing is a possible way of production, because this method is very versatile with respect to the usable materials, substrates as well as printing inks. The organic conductor PEDOT:PSS offers reasonable thermoelectric properties and can be processed very well in screen printing. It was demonstrated by prototypes of fully printed TEGs that so-­‐called vertical printed TEGs are feasible using standard graphic arts industry processes. In addition, the problems that occur with print production of TEGs are identified. Finally, approaches to solve these problems are discussed.

Les GAGs, en particulier les HS et les CS, sont des polysaccharides linéaires sulfatés situés à la surface des cellules et la matrice extracellulaire où ils influencent les fonctions des cellules. Les GAGs sont connus pour se lier et réguler l'activité d'un certain nombre de protéines différentes appelées «protéines de liaison héparine», y compris les chimiokines, facteurs de croissance, des enzymes et des molécules d'adhésion. Dans le cas du développement de la tumeur, la surexpression de l'héparanase a été observée. En conséquence, une variété d'oligosaccharides de HS et de CS est libérée. Néanmoins, leurs structures et leurs effets biologiques sont inconnus.De nombreux outils existent pour la caractérisation des GAG cependant, le développement de nouvelles technologies pour isoler des fragments du HS endogènes est nécessaire. Dans ce contexte, nous proposons d'utiliser la technologie d'empreinte moléculaire, ce qui permettrait d'obtenir des polymères avec des cavités capables de reconnaître certains types d'oligosaccharides mimétiques de HS, et par la suite d'étudier les HS endogènes.Les GAGs extraits de tumeurs xénogreffes et du sang, de 3 à 8 semaines au cours de la croissance tumorale, ont été quantifiés par dosage colorimétrique. Nous avons observé une diminution de la quantité des GAG tumoraux et une augmentation des GAG sanguin, au cours de la croissance de la tumeur. En outre, les GAGs tumoraux montrent une affinité croissante pour le FGF-2 au cours de la croissance tumorale.Nous avons étudié l'applicabilité de la «technique d'empreinte moléculaire» pour la production d'hydrogels imprimés capables de reconnaître spécifiquement le fondaparinux, un oligosaccharide analogue de l'héparine. Nous avons préparé une bibliothèque d'hydrogels imprimés afin d'optimiser leur synthèse et obtenir des matériaux qui reconnaissent spécifique et sélectivement cette molécule cible. Nos résultats montrent que, par un contrôle minutieux de la stœchiométrie et de la proportion de l'agent de réticulation utilisé lors de leur synthèse ainsi que la détermination des conditions de reconnaissance, les hydrogels imprimés reconnaissent spécifiquement les oligosaccharides mimétiques de HS.Ces travaux ouvrent des intéressantes perspectives d'application de la technologie d'impression moléculaire à l'analyse des séquences de GAGs extraits d'un milieu biologique. / GAGs, and particularly heparan sulfate (HS) and chondoitin sulfate (CS), are linear and sulfated polysaccharides located at the cell surface and extracellular matrix from where they influence the functions of cells. GAGs are known to bind and regulate the activity of a number of distinct proteins known as ‘heparin binding proteins' including chemokines, growth factors, enzymes and adhesion molecules. In the case of tumor development, heparanase over-expression has been observed. As a consequence, a variety of HS and CS oligosaccharides are released which structures and biological effects are unknown.Many tools exist for GAG characterization and a need to develop a new technology to isolate fragments of endogenous HS is required. In this context, we propose to use molecular imprinting technology that could allow to obtain polymers owing cavities able to recognize specific types of HS mimetic oligosaccharides and therefore the endogenous HS.GAGs extracted from xenografted tumors and blood, at 3 to 8 weeks during tumor growth, were quantified by a colorimetric assay. We observed a decrease in the amount of GAGs tumors and an increase of GAGs blood, during the tumor growth. Moreover, tumor GAGs were tested by competition toward growth factor with enzyme immunoassay showing increasing affinity for FGF-2 during tumor growth.We investigated the applicability of ‘Molecular Imprinting Technology' to the generation of imprinted hydrogels able of specifically recognize fondaparinux, an oligosaccharide analogue of heparin. We have prepared a library of imprinted hydrogels in order to optimize their synthesis and obtain materials that specifically and selectively recognize that oligosaccharide. Our results show that, by a careful control of the stoichiometry and crossliking choice for their synthesis and by adapting rebinding conditions, namely the temperature, imprinted hydrogels can readily be prepared to specifically recognize the HS mimetic used as model.This work opens an interesting outlook to analyze GAGs extracted from a biological medium by molecular imprinting technology

La bibliographie sur la polyphonie profane italienne des XVIe et XVIIe siècles, qui décrit aussi le répertoire des éditions de plusieurs auteurs (par rapport à des livres d'un seul compositeur) est restée jusqu'à aujourd'hui la moins connue, la moins cataloguée et la moins mise à jour malgré les efforts des nombreux chercheurs talentueux. Reléguée à une section secondaire du «Vecchio Vogel» (1892) et révisé avec autorité par Alfred Einstein (1962), sa complexité variée a été éludée par la musicologie systématique, avec quelques exceptions rares, mais partielles (Lincoln, Lewis Bernstein.) Le Nuovo Vogel (1977), qui avait prudemment évité ce vaste répertoire 'collectif', non sans certaines inclusions incorrectes (Balbi, Barré, Doni etc.), n’a toujours pas été mis à jour, plus de 35 ans après sa sortie. Même le grand effort de catalogage RISM (B/I) ne donne aucune garantie d'exhaustivité ni d’utilité suffisante, car il n’affronte pas de manière systématique, par exemple, les problèmes de l'anonymat de plus de mille pièces, ou ce ‘Di incerto autore’ dispersé dans l'histoire de la musique vocale imprimée au Renaissance. Cela signifie qu'à ce jour, le savant qui veut examiner consciemment la genèse, le mouvement et la documentation historique de première main sur une pièce donnée, ou sur les madrigaux d'un livre collectif (que par souci de concision, nous avons défini UBI) doit feuilleter un répertoire de plus de huit mille textes de madrigaux. (UBI et uesi sont des néologismes pour décrire le répertoire que nous étudions). De nombreuses études, bien que limitées à certains livres, ont documenté la richesse musicale, littéraire, linguistique, géographique et professionnelle de ce grand répertoire de pièces de musique, ressentant le besoin d'un ordre plus important, sans que rien de tel n'ait été fait. À ce besoin urgent a répondu un travail du présent auteur consacré à l'indexation complète des livres, des textes, des dédicaces, des notes internes et des documents originaux que ce répertoire présente: ce nouvel outil bibliographique est appelé RIM (musique de la Renaissance italienne). La transcription intégrale de plus de 98% des textes mis en musique dans ce répertoire avec le nécessaire soutien informatisé et numérisé permet à tous ceux qui s'occupent de l'historiographie musicale italienne de la Renaissance non seulement d’identifier d'un grand nombre de pièces jusqu'aujourd'hui anonymes, mais constitue aussi un progrès dans de nombreux domaines du madrigal italien. Ce n’est qu’une fois que le RIM a été disponible qu’il a été possible de mener une enquête systématique sur l'organisation interne des UBI. Cette thèse est donc une recherche systématique sur l'organisation interne des anthologies (que l’on définit ici comme un choix de chansons déjà connues) et des edizioni collettive (à la différence des anthologies, les éditions collectives contiennent un choix de chansons originales), disposées de manière appropriée afin d'identifier et d'offrir des programmes structurés selon les intentions des coordinateurs-compilateurs, ou de celui qui signe la dédicace, ou encore des artistes qui les ont compilées dans le but d'honorer et d'illustrer leur propre communauté. Environ 150 livres étudiés nous permettent d'identifier une richesse jusque-là inconnue de propositions collectives et d'ingénieuses organisations texte-musique, qui conduisent à la fin de la période à la création du livret d'opéra ante litteram avant l'avènement même du mélodrame. / The bibliography on the Italian secular polyphony of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, which describes the repertoire in the editions of various authors (compared to that of the books of a single composer) has remained until today the least known, the least up-to-date, despite the efforts of several talented scholars. Relegated to a secondary section from the first Vogel (1892) and authoritatively revised by Alfred Einstein (1962), it was systematically 'baffled' by the musicology due to its varied complexity, with only some rare but partial exception (Lincoln, Lewis, Bernstein). Neither the New Vogel (1977), which had prudently evaded this gigantic repertoire – apart from some strange inclusions (Balbi, Barré, Doni etc.) –, has been updated in the last 35 years. Also the huge effort of the RISM (B/I) catalogue gives no assurance of completeness or noteworthy usefulness until, for example, the problem of the over one thousand anonymous or 'Of uncertain author' songs that disseminate the history of printed vocal music of the '500 /' 600 is fully addressed. This means that to date the scholar who wants to consciously examine the genesis, the movement and the historical first-hand records on a given song, or on the songs of a collective book (which we have defined UBI for brevity) has to go through the not-indexed list of more than eight thousand songs-texts. Many studies, although limited to individual books, have documented the wealth of musical, literary, linguistic, geographical, professional proposals of this section, feeling the need of a larger organization without doing nothing to overcome this situation. The study and research of a single Italian scholar has finally remedied this binding necessity with a complete indexing of books, texts, dedications, internal notes in the books and the original documents provided by that repertory: this new bibliographical tool is called RIM (Italian Renaissance music). The full transcript of more than the 98% of the texts set to music in this repertoire, with the necessary computerized and digitized supports, allows the entire historiography on the Renaissance to progress its studies and research, not only in the identification of several hundreds of songs so far anonymous, but in many fields of the entire historiography of music in the age of the Italian madrigal. Carrying out a systematic investigation on the compilatory organization of the UBI has been possible only thanks to the availability of the RIM. This thesis therefore represents the systematic investigation on anthologies (choices of already known songs) and on edizioni collettive (collective editions are books of original songs) appropriately arranged in order to form programs and courses coherent in sense with the intentions of the coordinators, compilers-dedicators, artists who have compiled them to honour and illustrate their own community with music and poetry. About 150 books examined allow us to identify a previously unknown wealth of collective proposals and ingenious text-music organization to be seen as 'Libretto' ante litteram before the advent of melodrama. / La bibliografia relativa alla polifonia profana italiana cinque/secentesca che descrive anche il repertorio contenuto nelle edizioni di vari autori (rispetto a quello dei libri di un solo compositore) è rimasta fino ad oggi la meno nota, la meno aggiornata e la meno catalogata nonostante gli sforzi di valenti studiosi. Relegata in una sezione secondaria fin dal primo Vogel (1892) e rivista autorevolmente da Alfred Einstein(1962), nella sua complessità variegata è stata ‘elusa’ sistematicamente dalla musicologia, con qualche rara ma, in ogni caso, parziale eccezione (Lincoln, Lewis, Bernstein.) Nemmeno il Nuovo Vogel (NV,1977), il quale aveva prudenzialmente eluso deliberatamente questo vasto repertorio, non senza qualche strana inclusione (Balbi, Barré, Doni ecc.), alla distanza d'un tempo pari ad un ‘mezzo cammin di nostra vita’, non è stato più aggiornato. Per analoghe ragioni l'ingente sforzo catalografico del RISM B/I non si rivela di soverchia utilità, né dà certezza di completezza, finché, per esempio, non si affronti in modo sistematico il problema degli oltre mille brani adespoti o ‘Di incerto autore’ che disseminano la storia della musica vocale profana stampata fino al 1700. Ciò significa che a tutt’oggi lo studioso che voglia esaminare coscientemente la genesi, la circolazione e la documentazione storica di prima mano su un determinato brano, (o sui brani di un libro collettivo, che per brevità abbiamo definito UBI) deve passare in rassegna l'intero repertorio non indicizzato di oltre ottomila brani/testi. (UBI e uesi sono neologismi da noi ideati, che sono discussi nel primo capitolo della tesi, funzionali a descrivere il repertorio indagato). Molti studi, ancorché limitati a singoli libri collettivi, hanno documentato la ricchezza di proposte musicali, letterarie, linguistiche, geografiche e professionali di questa sezione di repertorio vocale, segnalando la necessità di un più ampio ordinamento, senza che nulla di tutto ciò sia stato fatto. Lo studio e la ricerca di uno singolo studioso italiano ha finalmente dato una risposta - creando una base di dati, cioè uno strumento informatico - che ha, almeno in parte, sanato questa esigenza davvero inderogabile, con un’indicizzazione completa dei frontespizi, dei testi poetici, delle dediche, delle documentazioni originali e delle note interne dei libri collettivi che tale repertorio presenta: questo nuovo strumento bibliografico si chiama RIM (Rinascimento Musicale Italiano). La trascrizione integrale, con i necessari supporti informatici digitalizzati, di oltre il 98% dei testi messi in musica di questo repertorio consente all’intera storiografia musicale un sicuro progresso non solo nella migliore identificazione dei brani già noti (e soprattutto di un buon numero di anonimi), ma anche di cogliere e fornire una visione complessiva del fenomeno in numerosi campi della storiografia musicale del ’5/'600. Con il RIM è stato possibile procedere all'indagine sistematica sull'organizzazione compilativa delle singole UBI. Questa tesi è quindi l'indagine sistematica sulle anthologie (scelte di brani già noti) e sulle edizioni collettive cioè libri di brani originali, disposti in modo idoneo a costituire programmi e percorsi di senso strutturati secondo le intenzioni dei coordinatori-dedicatori, artisti che le hanno compilate con lo scopo precipuo di onorare ed illustrare la propria comunità tramite la musica e la poesia. I circa 150 libri esaminati in maniera completa ci permettono di segnalare un'ideale ricchezza di proposte collettive e di geniale organizzazione testo-musica finora sconosciuta. È un'organizzazone che si configura come 'Libretto' ante litteram di opere musicali ben prima dell'avvento stesso del melodramma.

The effect of hydrogen bonding interactions on the drop generation of both acid and hydroxyl-containing polymer solutions is reported showing that polymer chain relaxation can be influenced through the use of appropriate polymer co-solvent interactions for polymers having weight average molecular weight (Mw) < 100 kDa. Reported for the first time is evidence of flow-induced polymer degradation during inkjet printing for both poly(methylmethacrylate) and polystyrene in good solvent. Polymers having Mw either less than 100 kDa or greater than approximately 1,000 kDa show no evidence of molecular weight degradation. The lower boundary condition is a consequence of low Deborah number imposed by the printhead geometry and the upper boundary condition due to viscoelastic damping. For intermediate molecular weights the effect is greatest at high elongational strain rate and low solution concentration with higher polydispersity polymers being most sensitive to molecular weight degradation. For low polydispersity samples, PDi £ 1.3 chain breakage is essentially centro-symmetric induced either by overstretching when the strain rate increases well beyond a critical value, that is the stretching rate is high enough to exceed the rate of relaxation or by turbulence. For higher polydispersity samples, PDi chain breakage is consistent with almost random scission along the chain inferring that the forces required to break the chain are additionally transmitted either by valence bonds, i.e. network chains and junctions or discrete entanglements rather than solely by hydrodynamic interaction. Preliminary results are presented on the degradation of molecular structure in water of two galactomannan’s in water after inkjet printing. Galactommann’s are known to form complex H-bonded structures in water and the results are consistent with breaking of the H-bonding structure at low reduced concentration with evidence of main chain breakage at higher reduced concentration, c/c* = 0.25.

Despite that we are in the midst of profound changes in communications technologies, there is a remarkable gap in the International Relations literature devoted to exploring the implications of these changes. In part, this can be attributed to the discipline’s conservative tendencies; generally, International Relations theorists have resisted studying major discontinuity in the international system. The few studies that do attempt to account for change typically focus on modes of production or destruction as determinant variables. Though there are rare exceptions, many of them also tend towards a form of mono-causal reductionism. When considered at all, communications technologies are viewed through the prism of, or are reduced to, these other factors. This study seeks to remedy this gap by examining the relationship between large-scale shifts in modes of communication and “world order” transformation -- the structure or architecture of political authority at a world-level. Drawing from the work of various “medium theory” scholars, such as Harold Innis and Marshall McLuhan, the study outlines an open-ended, non-reductive theory at the core of which is the argument that changes in modes of communication facilitate and constrain social forces and ideas latent in society. This hypothesized process can be likened to the interaction between species and a changing natural environment: new communications environments “favour” certain social forces and ideas by means of a functional bias towards some and not others, much the same as environments determine which species prosper by “selecting” for certain physical characteristics. In other words, social forces and ideas survive differentially according to their “fitness” or match with the new communications environment -- a process that is both open ended and contingent. The study is organized into two parts: Part one examines the relationship between printing and the medieval to modem world order transformation in Europe; Part two examines the relationship between new digital-electronic-telecommunications (called “hypermedia”) and the modem to postmodern world order transformation. The study suggests that the hypermedia communications environment is contributing to the dissolution of modern world order by facilitating the transnationalization of production, the globalization of finance, the rise of complex, non-territorial social networks, and the de-massification of “national” identities. The hypermedia environment is also helping to re-focus security concerns from an inter-national to an intra-planetary context. While it is far too early to provide a clear outline of the emerging postmodern world order, the trends that are unearthed in this study point away from single mass identities, linear political boundaries, and exclusive jurisdictions centred on territorial spaces, and towards multiple identities and non-territorial communities, overlapping boundaries, and non-exclusive jurisdictions. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate

The thesis has two main goals. The first one, which is going to be achieved in the theoretical part, is to offer a satisfactory overview of a range of fundamental concepts covering the subject of starting and running a new business. In particular, a range of definitions, legislation matters and procedures will be offered. The second goal is to research a particular business idea and determine, whether the idea is likely to succeed. The practical part of the thesis explains and describes this particular business idea and offers a business plan mainly dealing with marketing, technical, financial, risk and future growth matters.