Supported stope mining is one of the most common types of mining in the modern day gold mining industry. The excavated regions, where ore is extracted, are supported with a combination of roof-bolting, timber packs, backfill, timber props and mechanical prop technologies. In order to install a support system that will be able to absorb the energy released by the elastic movement of the surrounding rock mass and support the unstable hanging wall, it is necessary for the rock engineer to know how the individual types of support will react to different load conditions in order to design a safe support system. Current support systems are developed using knowledge from past experience and trial and error processes. These are expensive and time consuming methods that can possibly be improved and made more cost effective by using modern design techniques. A study was conducted to determine the feasibility of the application of Finite Element Modelling (FEM) to the deformation of a modern support unit under specified quasi-static and dynamic stope load conditions with the view to assist in the prediction of the operational performance of support units that cannot be experimentally tested due to a lack of test equipment, capabilities and facilities. The study was extended by investigating the theoretical possibility of buckling due to an impact load on the prop and the performance of the prop. To achieve this, a simulation was carried out using ANSYS™ transient structural software to determine whether it is possible to simulate the performance curve of a prop. Computerised methods were used to determine the possibility of failure due to buckling and the implications of buckling, if it occurs, on the performance of a specific support prop design. In summary this study proved that it is possible to simulate the performance curve of a friction prop design in order to compare the result obtained with the required performance, provided that the correct friction coefficients between prop mating surfaces are known. It also presents a methodology to investigate the theoretical effect of high velocity impact load on the buckling potential of a friction prop design and slender columns in general, which is highly applicable to these types of support. The methodologies used in this study can be applied to different designs of friction props, and possibly reduce the development costs and implementation time of these types of support units. / MIng (Mechanical Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The main theme of this thesis is higher algebraic structures that come from operads and props. The first chapter is an introduction to the mathematical framework needed for the content of this thesis. The chapter does not contain any new results. The second chapter is concerned with the construction of a configuration space model for a particular 2-colored differential graded operad encoding the structure of two A∞ algebras with two A∞ morphisms and a homotopy between the morphisms. The cohomology of this operad is shown to be the well-known 2-colored operad encoding the structure of two associative algebras and of an associative algebra morphism between them. The third chapter is concerned with deformation quantization of (potentially) infinite dimensional (quasi-)Poisson manifolds. Our proof employs a variation on the transcendental methods pioneered by M. Kontsevich for the finite dimensional case. The first proof of the infinite dimensional case is due to B. Shoikhet. A key feature of the first proof is the construction of a universal L∞ structure on formal polyvector fields. Our contribution is a simplification of B. Shoikhet proof by considering a more natural configuration space and a simpler choice of propagator. The result is also put into a natural context of the dg Lie algebras coming from graph complexes; the L∞ structure is proved to come from a Maurer-Cartan element in the oriented graph complex. The fourth chapter also deals with deformation quantization of (quasi-)Poisson structures in the infinite dimensional setting. Unlike the previous chapter, the methods used here are purely algebraic. Our main theorem is the possibility to deformation quantize quasi-Poisson structures by only using perturbative methods; in contrast to the transcendental methods employed in the previous chapter. We give two proofs of the theorem via the theory of dg operads, dg properads and dg props. We show that there is a dg prop morphism from a prop governing star-products to a dg prop(erad) governing (quasi-)Poisson structures. This morphism gives a theorem about the existence of a deformation quantization of (quasi-)Poisson structure. The proof proceeds by giving an explicit deformation quantization of super-involutive Lie bialgebras and then lifting that to the dg properad governing quasi-Poisson structures. The prop governing star-products was first considered by S.A. Merkulov, but the properad governing quasi-Poisson structures is a new construction. The second proof of the theorem employs the Merkulov-Willwacher polydifferential functor to transfer the problem of finding a morphism of dg props to that of finding a morphism of dg operads.We construct an extension of the well known operad of A∞ algebras such that the representations of it in V are equivalent to an A∞ structure on V[[ħ]]. This new operad is also a minimal model of an operad that can be seen as the extension of the operad of associative algebras by a unary operation. We give an explicit map of operads from the extended associative operad to the operad we get when applying the Merkulov-Willwacher polydifferential functor to the properad of super-involutive Lie bialgebras. Lifting this map so as to go between their respective models gives a new proof of the main theorem.

This thesis critically reflects on co-operative design workshops that I have conducted. The basic method used in these workshops draws on the participants’ embodied knowing. In the over twenty workshops that are analysed here a wide range of participants have been involved: family members, employees, persons with disabilities, and other stakeholders like manufacturers, service providers and civil servants. The topics have varied, but they have mostly been related to ICT products and services. Most of the workshops were conducted within various research projects. In order to analyse this diverse range of workshops I use several different theories and concepts. I articulate and analyse the design aspects of the activities by using established design theories and concepts. The conceptual tool design space, meaning all possible design proposals, is used for understanding the design process. I also use theories from other fields in order to analyse three different aspects of the workshops: the participants’ activities, the designers’ responsibility, and the process. To analyse the way that the participants co-operatively create knowledge, theories of interpersonal actions are used; to analyse the work done by the designer/conductor, theories of frames are used; and to analyse the process, the theory of actualisation and realisation is used. During the workshops the participants co-operatively make scenarios, props and video prototypes in order to create proposals for desired interactions with future artefacts. Contributions include accounts of critical situations during the workshops and suggested strategies for dealing with them. Some implications are relevant to the design field in general, for example the importance of a process where the participants trust each other, learn from each other and work effectively with difficult issues by creating multiple proposals that facilitate understanding of the design space. I also offer arguments about why it is better to see activities, props and prototypes as mainly constitutive rather than as only representative. Video prototypes on DVD and seven publications are included in the thesis.

Denna sociologiska C-uppsats handlar om stöd till anhörigstödjare. Den har ett hermeneutiskt förhållningsätt och data har samlats in genom kvalitativ metod. Fokus har riktats till Gislaved, Gnosjö, Vaggeryd och Värnamos kommuner (GGVV regionen). Efter kontakt med kommunernas anhörigsamordnare väcktes intresset att undersöka de olika stöden till anhörigstödjare som finns i GGVV regionen. Då stöden gått från att erbjudas i samma form till alla, till att erbjudas individuellt fanns ett intresse av att undersöka vilka stöd kommunerna erbjuder. För att få en djupare förståelse av stöden har det även undersökts vilka stöd som finns, vilka som tar emot stöden, hur gemenskapen upplevs, men även hur anhörigstödjare anser att stöden påverkar dem. Efter intervjuer, deltagande observationer samt en livshistoria fanns tillräckligt med material att analysera data med hjälp av teoretiska begrepp. De teoretiska begrepp som använts är Gemeinschaft och Gesellschaft, livsformen Främlingen samt Empowerment. Analysen visar att GGVV regionen erbjuder stöd av olika former som exempelvis träffar för anhörigstödjare, Må bra dagar och Gapet. En betydelsefull familjär gemenskap verkar innefattas på alla de olika stödformerna. Anhörigstödjarna upplever att stöden ger dem ny energi, kraft samt att de lättare att prata om sin situation med andra personer i liknande situation. Stöd vi studerat når generellt ut till en viss grupp av människor, kvinnor över 65 år och dessa kvinnor har svensk etnisk bakgrund. Dessutom erbjuder de fyra kommunerna inte samma former av stöd till anhörigstödjare. / This sociological essay is about support for relatives prop. It has a hermeneutic attitude, and data were collected through qualitative methods. The focus has been directed to the municipalities of Gislaved, Gnosjö, Vaggeryd and Värnamo (the GGVV region). Contact with relative’s supporters caused interest to examine the various relatives prop that are available in the GGVV region. As the support changed from being based on general terms to be individualized, an interest aroused to investigate what support the respective municipalities offer. To gain a deeper understanding of the support, the beneficiaries have been examined as well as the experience of the community and how the families believe that the supports affect them. Through interviews, participant observations, and a life story, sufficient material was gathered for analyzing the data using theoretical concepts. The theoretical concepts used are Gemeinschaft, Gesellschaft, The Stanger and Empowerment. The analysis shows that the GGVV region offers support for various forms of family gatherings for example, "feel good days" or "the Gapet". A significant family community seems to be included in all of the forms of assistance. The families feel that the support gives them new energy, and give them strength to talk about their situation. Unfortunately, the support we have studied only reach out to a certain group of people, women over 65, with a Swedish ethnic background. Besides four of the municipalities we reviewed do not offer the same assistance relatives prop.

In Chapter 1 I study the iterative strategy elimination mechanisms for normal form games. The literature is mostly clustered around the order of elimination. The conventional elimination also requires more strict knowledge assumptions if the elimination is iterative. I define an elimination process which requires weaker rationality. I establish some preliminary results suggesting that my mechanism is order independent whenever iterative elimination of weakly dominated strategies (IEWDS) is so. I also specify conditions under which the \undercutting problem" occurs. Comparison of other elimination mechanisms in the literature (Iterated Weak Strategy Elimination, Iterated Strict Strategy Elimination, Generalized Strategy Eliminability Criterion, RBEU, Dekel-Fudenberg Procedure, Asheim- Dufwenberg Procedure) and mine is also studied to some extent. In Chapter 2 I study the axiomatic characterization of a well-known bankruptcy rule: Proportional Division (PROP). The rule allocates shares proportional to agents' claims and hence, is intuitive according to many authors. I give supporting evidence to this opinion by first defining a new type of consistency requirement, i.e. union-consistency and showing that PROP is the only rule that satisfies anonymity, continuity and union-consistency. Note that anonymity and continuity are very general requirements and satisfied by almost all the rules that have been studied in this literature. Thus, I prove that we can choose a unique rule among them by only requiring union-consistency. Then, I define a bankruptcy operator and give some intuition on it. A bankruptcy operator is a mapping from the set of bankruptcy operators to itself. I prove that any rule will converge to PROP under this operator as the claims increase. I show nice characteristics of the operator some of which are related to PROP. I also give a definition for continuity of an operator. In Chapter 3 investigate risk-averse investors' behaviour towards a risky firm. In order to find Pareto Optimal allocations regarding a joint venture, I employ a 2-stage game, first stage of which involves a social-planner committing to an ex-post bankruptcy rule. A bankruptcy rule is a set of suggestions for solving each possible bankruptcy problem. A bankruptcy problem occurs when there is not enough endowment to allocate to the agents each of whom has a claim on it. I devise the game-theoretic approach posed in K1br1s and K1br1s (2013) and extend it further. In fact, that paper considers a comparison among 4 renowned bankruptcy rules whereas mine do not restrict attention to any particular rule but rather aim to find a Pareto Optimal(PO) one. I start with 2 agent case in order to give some insight to the reader and then, generalise the results to an arbitrary number of investors. I find socially desirable (PO) allocations and show that the same can be achieved through financial markets by the help of some well-known results.

abstract: Given the continued increase in obesity rates in the United States, there has been growing research regarding factors related to obesity. Researchers have examined biological factors, such as set point theory, as well as various psychological factors such as motivation, self-efficacy, and eating styles. Taster-type, defined as how an individual experiences the perception of taste (particularly bitterness), is a recent area of research that has explored the potential relationship between this phenomenon and obesity. The current study examined whether taster-type impacted weight loss, along with secondary measures of BMI, waist circumference, and food neophobia, as well as taster-type’s impact on these measures over time. This study also examined the potential role of taster-type as a predictor of weight loss, independent of the psychological variables of motivation, self-efficacy, and eating styles. Ninety adult participants, consisting of 64 females and 19 males were recruited for this study. They were asked to diet for four weeks; 60 finished the full four weeks and completed psychosocial measures over two time periods. They were asked to record their food using an online food journal, attend weekly meetings for weigh-ins, and were given psychoeducational materials regarding factors affecting weight loss. The results indicated that taster-type was not a significant factor in BMI or waist circumference, but taster-type did interact with time to reveal that supertasters consistently lost weight across the four week dieting period while nontasters leveled off after Week 2. Additionally, both groups increased in food neophobia from the start of the dieting period to the end of Week 4. Consistent with previous research, motivation and self-efficacy predicted weight loss; however, taster-type did not increase the prediction of weight loss across the dieting period. This effect only occurred at Week 2. By Week 4, no psychosocial variables were significant predictors of weight loss. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Counseling Psychology 2016

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e TecnolÃgico / In this dissertation, we studied the electronic properties of a graphene nanoestructure under influence of external fields. We considered the application of an uniform transversal electric field and an uniform perpendicular magnetic field. Using a nearest-neighbor Tigh-binding model, we investigated how those fields change the band structure and the local density of states (LDOS) of the system. Then, we studied the transport properties of nanostructures. We assumed ballistic transport due to the long mean free path of graphene. Through a numerical model that it consists in solving the Tight-binding Hamiltonian in real space and the combination of the boundary conditions between the central region and the reservoir, we calculated the transmission coefficients for two specifics systems: First, for a graphene ribbon under the influence of a transversal electric field in a region of finite length; Next, for a three terminal ballistic junction (JBTT) of graphene under the influence of a transversal electric field in the region immediately before the junction. / Nesta dissertaÃÃo, estudamos as propriedades eletrÃnicas de nanoestruturas de grafeno submetidas a campos externos. Consideramos a aplicaÃÃo de um campo elÃtrico uniforme transversal e um campo magnÃtico uniforme perpendicular à estrutura. Utilizando um modelo Tight-binding com hopping de primeiros vizinhos, vimos como esses campos modificam a estrutura de bandas e a densidade local de estados (LDOS) do sistema. Em seguida, estudamos as propriedades de transporte das nanoestruturas. Consideramos transporte balÃstico devido ao longo livre caminho mÃdio do grafeno. AtravÃs de um modelo numÃrico que consiste em resolver o Hamiltoniano Tight-binding no espa ̧co real e combinar condiÃÃes de contorno entre a regiÃo central e os reservatÃrios, calculamos os coeficientes de transporte para dois sistemas especÃficos: Primeiro, para uma nanofita de grafeno submetida a um campo elÃtrico transversal em uma regiÃo de extensÃo finita. Em seguida, para uma junÃÃo balÃstica de trÃs terminais (JBTT) de grafeno submetida a um campo elÃtrico transversal na regiÃo imediatamente adjacente à junÃÃo.

Some people are genetically more vulnerable to stress than others, leading them towards poorer outcomes following stressful events. Mothers' vulnerability to stress may, in turn, influence their children, leading their children towards poor outcomes as well. A biological marker of vulnerability to stress may indicate mothers who are at greater risk for experiencing parenting stress, depression, and less support of the infant's emotional development, and infants who are at greater risk for development of poor emotion regulation and behavior problems. Taste sensitivity to propylthiouracil (PROP) is proposed as a biological marker of stress vulnerability in mothers and children. This research used a bioecological approach to examine extant data from two previous longitudinal studies, both with child and mother data from maternal interviews and video-recorded observations of mother-child interaction. Participants included 121 low-income and 102 middle-income mother-child pairs who were studied for presence of the biological marker in relation to stressful life events, parenting stress, depression, and lower support of infants' emotions. Children were studied for presence of the biological marker in relation to their development of emotion regulation and their later behavior problems. Results revealed that PROP taste sensitivity, as tested in this study, is not likely to be a useful biological marker of higher vulnerability to stress. Although results flowed in the hypothesized direction, few reached statistical significance and most were of small effect size. For depression, results supported previous research, although with smaller effect sizes. In addition, results depended on the sample and source of stress. For low-income mothers the source of stress was stressful life events. For the middle-income sample the source of stress was parenting stress, specifically mother-child dysfunctional interaction. Among mothers with higher PROP taste sensitivity, those from the low-income sample reported more depression whether stressful events were higher or lower, whereas those from the middle-income sample reported more depression when parenting stress, particularly poor mother-child dyadic interaction, was higher. From both samples, mothers' parenting stress or depression at 14 months predicted children's later behavior problems when they were school-age. Children with lower PROP taste sensitivity were more emotionally regulated with their mothers. Because the results were consistent and suggestive, although not conclusive enough to warrant the use of PROP as a biological marker, future research should examine individual situational factors under which PROP taste sensitivity is related to stress vulnerability.

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