The increasing needs for computational power in areas such as weather simulation, genomics or Internet applications have led to sharing of geographically distributed and heterogeneous resources from commercial data centers and scientific institutions. Research in the areas of utility, grid and cloud computing, together with improvements in network and hardware virtualization has resulted in methods to locate and use resources to rapidly provision virtual environments in a flexible manner, while lowering costs for consumers and providers. However, there is still a lack of methodologies to enable efficient and seamless sharing of resources among institutions. In this work, we concentrate in the problem of executing parallel scientific applications across distributed resources belonging to separate organizations. Our approach can be divided in three main points. First, we define and implement an interoperable grid protocol to distribute job workloads among partners with different middleware and execution resources. Second, we research and implement different policies for virtual resource provisioning and job-to-resource allocation, taking advantage of their cooperation to improve execution cost and performance. Third, we explore the consequences of on-demand provisioning and allocation in the problem of site-selection for the execution of parallel workloads, and propose new strategies to reduce job slowdown and overall cost.

A thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements for the Degree Master of Education in the Department of Educational Foundations and Management at the University of Zululand, 2018. / When Post-Provisioning Model (PPM) was implemented in 1998, it appeared as if the need to maintain quality teaching and learning and good working conditions for educators was not taken into consideration. The conditions under which schools have been working since the implementation of the PPM do not appear to have improved curriculum implementation in schools. This has affected the management of implementation, and to a large extent the entire education system in South African schools. In this study, the researcher investigates the influence of the PPM on curriculum implementation at secondary schools in the King Cetshwayo District of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. The objectives of the study were to:  To establish how principals manage the PPM at secondary schools.  To find out the influence of the PPM in curriculum implementation at secondary schools. The quantitative approach grounded in the positivism paradigm was used to collect and interpret empirical data from principals of secondary schools in the King Cetshwayo District. The findings of the study reveal that the influence of the PPM in the management of the schools and in curriculum implementation affects the performance in all spheres of the schools in the King Cetshwayo District. The principals experience contextual problems which affect administration and curriculum implementation. The main recommendation from the study’s findings is that there is a need for the Department of Basic Education to revise the PPM in order to serve the needs of schools, particularly the previously disadvantaged schools that experience deficits in all areas of teaching and learning.

En la presente propuesta de mejora de procesos en Corporación ZAMTSU S.R.L., que es una empresa dedicada a la comercialización de instrumentos de medición industriales para el sector minero, energético y petrolero. Para la obtención de información, se realizaron entrevistas a los responsables de los procesos de venta y calibración, además se analizó una serie de registros, documentos, archivos, formatos y bases de datos, los cuales permitieron realizar un adecuado diagnóstico para establecer los problemas, sus causas y posibles soluciones. Una vez procesada la información, se llegó a la conclusión que, ZAMTSU no tenía un adecuado tratamiento para sus procesos, descuidando algunos aspectos de alta relevancia. Por otro lado, el 97% de los problemas encontrados se distribuye entre la falta de planificación en aprovisionamiento de instrumentos de medición industrial y retrasos en la calibración no conforme. Es por ello, que cualquier iniciativa o propuesta de mejora debe ir enfocada a los procesos que involucran estos problemas. El impacto económico por los procesos de calibración y ventas representa 72,412 nuevos soles de pérdida acumulada en el periodo 2013-2016, lo cual argumentó la elaboración de propuesta de mejora que se expondrá en los siguientes apartados. / For the present a proposal for process improvement for Corporation ZAMTSU S.R.L., which is a company dedicated to trade industrial measurement tools for mining, energy and oil sector. In order to obtain information, interviews were carried out with those responsible for the sales and calibration processes. In addition, a series of records, documents, files, formats and databases were analyzed, which allowed for an adequate diagnosis to establish the problems, their causes and possible solutions. Once the information was processed, it was concluded that, ZAMTSU did not have an adequate treatment for its processes, neglecting some aspects of high relevance. On the other hand, 97% of the problems found are distributed between the lack of planning in the provision of industrial measurement instruments and delays in non-conforming calibration. That is why, any initiative or proposal for improvement should be focused on the processes that involve these problems. The economic impact of the calibration and sales processes represents S/. 72,412 of accumulated loss in the period 2013-2016, which argued the elaboration of a proposal for improvement that will be discussed in the following sections. / Tesis

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第18104号 / 理博第3982号 / 新制||理||1574(附属図書館) / 30962 / 京都大学大学院理学研究科生物科学専攻 / (主査)准教授 森 哲, 教授 沼田 英治, 教授 疋田 努 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Science / Kyoto University / DGAM

Grassland birds must have accessible, nutritional prey for nestlings which Conservation Reserve Program practices like CP33—Habitat Buffers for Upland Birds may provide. In 2008—2009, I monitored dickcissel nests in and around CP33 buffers at a farm in north-central Mississippi using video cameras to capture provisioning activities. I simultaneously observed foraging flights and measured distances traveled from nests. Orthopterans were the most commonly chosen prey, and dickcissels brought larger prey items when chicks were older. But, other changes in provisioning were not significantly related to nest age as I hypothesized. Also contrary to my initial hypotheses, provisioning at nests within buffers did not differ from non-buffer nests. CRP grasslands were equivalent to other available habitats. Provisioning rate and biomass decreased when an observer was present, and male feeding increased provisioning rate. Incorporating native warm-season grasses through conservation programs can increase nesting and foraging resources for dickcissels.

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Anthropogenic noise is an increasingly prevalent global disturbance. Animals that rely on the acoustical environment, such as songbirds, are especially vulnerable to these sounds. Traffic noise, in particular, overlaps with the frequency range of songbirds, creating masking effects. We investigated the effects of chronic traffic noise on provisioning behaviors and breeding success of nesting western bluebirds (Sialia mexicana) and ash-throated flycatchers (Myiarchus cinerascens). Because anthropogenic noise exposure has the potential to interrupt parent-offspring communication and alter vigilance behaviors, we predicted that traffic noise would lead to changes in provisioning behaviors, such as fewer visits to the nest box, for each species. We also predicted the noise to negatively influence one or more metrics reflective of reproductive success, such as nest success, clutch size, number of nestlings or number of fledglings. Importantly, we were able to eliminate self-sorting among individuals with respect to noise and other possible effects of traffic, such as collisions and pollution, by experimentally introducing traffic noise into nest boxes after clutch initiation using playback systems. Our results indicate no effect of traffic noise on S. mexicana reproductive measures, despite seeing changes in provisioning behaviors suggestive of an increased stress response. However, M. cinerascens experienced fitness consequences from chronic anthropogenic noise exposure when combined with the effect of year. Despite equal clutch sizes to flycatchers in boxes with no noise exposure, noise-treated flycatcher nests experienced a reduction in hatching success and subsequent metrics, such as number of nestlings or fledglings relative to control boxes, during the first study year. The year in which we witnessed the decline in nest success for ash-throated treatment individuals coincided with a significant drought year, suggesting that combinations of multiple stressors lead to nest abandonment. In recording provisioning behaviors during the fledgling stage, no difference in provisioning was found between treatment and control ash-throated flycatcher nests. We contrast these species-specific responses to recent observational work on both species in New Mexico and other studies that have examined fitness consequences of noise. Lastly, we stress the importance of these findings in addressing current conservation practices of nest box placement with respect to roads.

My dissertation consists of three empirical essays where I analyze animal products consumption and marketing. First using cross-sectional household data, I investigate the importance of consumption from home produce (self-provisioning) and conclude that studying food consumption decisions in isolation from production is not warranted for Turkey. I develop a testing procedure incorporated into linear approximation of the almost ideal demand system (LA/AIDS) model to formally test the relevance of food self-provisioning. Studying consumption in isolation from production leads significant overestimation of rural households' responsiveness to price and income signals especially for the dairy and egg products. Second I investigate the contribution of consumption from home produce to alleviate vulnerability to undernutrition in rural areas. I find that the level, depth and severity of food poverty to be least among rural households who engage in food self-provisioning and food self-provisioning reduce vulnerability to undernutrition. Moreover, food self-provisioning is concentrated in expensive calories from vegetables and dairy so self-provisioning rural households also have a more balanced diet. Finally I investigate whether milk processing firms abuse their oligopsony power to excessively profit themselves to the expense of milk farmers and final consumers. I look for evidence whether the speed of adjustment of processed milk price is same when farm-gate milk prices increase and decrease. I find no evidence that will point out any price gauging on the part of milk processors to benefit themselves. Actually I detect a long-term downward trend in processed milk prices coinciding with new major entries to milk processing industry.

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