The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 on the federal civil service through the establishment of the Merit Systems Protection Board. The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 was designed to correct many of the abuses which existed under the Civil Service Commission related to appeals procedures and inefficiency within the federal government. The majority of data collected for this study were obtained from the Dallas field office of the Merit Systems Protection Board, which covers approximately 275,000 federal employees in a five-state area. Additional data, related to all of the regional field offices of the Merit Systems Protection Board, were obtained from Washington, D.C. Two research tools were used to collect data from the Dallas field office: a questionnaire and a personal interview. Three hypotheses were examined. Hypothesis I stated that the creation of the Merit Systems Protection Board has not given presiding officials any additional authority to handle or decide adverse action cases brought within their jurisdiction. Hypothesis II stated that the length of time needed to process adverse action cases has not decreased since the creation of the Merit Systems Protection Board. Hypothesis III stated that the creation of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 has made no difference in the number of adverse action cases brought by federal employees against federal agencies.

Doctor of Philosophy / This thesis traces NSW Aboriginal political activity and demands from 1909 to 1939. In examining the background to the situations of Aboriginal communities in the early 1900's, two factors appear to have been of major importance. One was the degree of compatibility between Aboriginal and rural capitalist land use. The other was the labour requirements of rural industries. There are clear indications of internal colonial economic relations continuing until at least the late 1930's. As European land use intensified regionally, Aborigines attempted to secure their position by demanding tenure over land of significance to them. Initially, the creation of reserves was as much a result of this Aboriginal demand as of white settler desires to segregate Aborigines.

Doctor of Philosophy / This thesis traces NSW Aboriginal political activity and demands from 1909 to 1939. In examining the background to the situations of Aboriginal communities in the early 1900's, two factors appear to have been of major importance. One was the degree of compatibility between Aboriginal and rural capitalist land use. The other was the labour requirements of rural industries. There are clear indications of internal colonial economic relations continuing until at least the late 1930's. As European land use intensified regionally, Aborigines attempted to secure their position by demanding tenure over land of significance to them. Initially, the creation of reserves was as much a result of this Aboriginal demand as of white settler desires to segregate Aborigines.

BTH har i dagens läge en önskan om att ha ett effektivare sätt att fästa ett arbetsstycke som kommer att bearbetas av fräsmaskinen. Det mest lämpliga alternativet anses då vara ett vakuumbord. Syftet med detta examensarbetet är att undersöka framtagning och utveckling av vakuumbord. BTH hade då också en kravlista på vad bordet skulle kunna klara av att göra. Bordet skall ha en total arbetsyta på 400 x 400 mm, den ska kunna hålla fast arbetsstycken som består av trä och plast som ska genomfräsas. Den skall även ha en skyddsbräda som skyddar bordet från förslitningar över tiden. Det undersöktes vilket material som ansågs lämpligast att skapa vakuumbordet i, hur processen att fästa arbetsstycket skulle kunna förbättras samt det bästa sättet att optimera funktioner och dimensioner på genom att ta hänsyn till bordets höjd och volym. För att uppnå det målet så kommer en undersökning utföras kring vad ett vakuumbord är, hur de fungerar och varför de är så eftertraktade. Efteråt påbörjas en idégenereringsfas där olika konceptförslag kommer granskas och utvecklas. Efter att ett koncept har valts ut så kommer modellering, beräkning och tillverkningen av prototyperna att påbörjas. Tre prototyper kommer skapas under arbetets gång och prototyperna kommer genomgå en rad olika tester för att granska prototypens sugkraftsstyrka och om de kan hantera vakuumtrycket. Efter att testerna har slutförts så ska de analyseras och utvärderas för att se om de kan utvecklas och förbättras ytterligare. Efter att prototyperna byggts, testerna och utvärderingarna slutförts så kommer det etableras om vakuumbordet fungerar eller inte. Från detta så beslutades det att plywood och MDF är de bästa materialen att bygga i, att nya fästningsmetoder testades och funkar, men uppfyllde inte alla kundens krav. Slutgiltigen så har bordets höjd optimerats på bästa sätt, men att det kan optimeras ytterligare. Med det som har tagits fram så kan rapporten visa att flera utvecklingsmöjligheter har prövats, att kraven har uppfyllts och flera idéer har föreslagits för framtida utveckling av vakuumbordet. / BTH has today a desire to have a more efficient way of attaching a workpiece that will be worked on by the milling machine. The most suitable alternative for this task is considered to be a vacuum table. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the production and development of vacuum tables. BTH also has a list of requirements for what the table should be able to do. The table will have a total work surface of 400 x 400 mm, it will be able to hold workpieces that consist of wood and plastic and it will have a protection board that protects the table from wear and tear over time. In the report it was examined which material is considered most suitable for creating the vacuum table, how the process of attaching the workpiece could be improved and the best way to optimize functions and dimensions with respect to the table's height and volume. To achieve that goal, research will be conducted on what vacuum tables are, how they work and why they are so sought after. Afterwards, an idea generation phase will begin where various concept proposals are investigated and developed. After a concept is selected, modelling, calculation and production of the prototypes will begin. Three prototypes will be created during the work and the prototypes will undergo a series of different tests to examine the prototypes suction power and whether the table can handle the vacuum pressure. After the tests the prototypes will be analysed and evaluated to see if they can be further developed or improved. When the prototype constructions, tests and evaluations are completed it should be easy to establish if the vacuum table works or not. From this it was decided that plywood and MDF are the best materials to build in, that new fastening methods were tested and worked, but did not meet all the customer's requirements. Finally, the table has been optimized in the best way, but it can be further optimized. With what has been produced the report shows that several development possibilities have been tried, that the requirements have been met and several ideas have been proposed for future development of the vacuum table.