Abstract The opening up of the government policy and the joining of private owned operators are the results of keen competition in the entire telecommunications industry. The saturated market, low customer loyalty, plus 3G operators¡¦ seizing on a market share, and recruiting talents from competitors have forced the industry to undergo restructuring. The only way to run the business perpetually is to change the existing organization so that it can survive the turmoil and generate profits. Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once said ¡§To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often. ¡§. Therefore, operators with smaller market share (Y) choose to be on the initiative and cooperate with the operators (X) with larger market share. In this circumstance, X and Y¡¦s cooperation also proves a phenomenon of ¡§The larger will always be larger.¡¨ To ensure both sides¡¦ competitive advantage, operators X choose to proceed with merger and acquisition as well as organizational change. The result proves that operator X¡¦s decision is in the right direction. To reach a win-win result for both operators and their employees, this academic research focuses on case study of operators X, and Y. Both operators have gone through organizational change for over half a year, and it is now the most appropriate time to examine the outcomes of the change. This research applied both survey and interview methods, and the findings are: 1. The workforce in the telecom industry tends to be younger. The age group, sex and marriage distribution among operators X, X1, X2, and Y are very similar which is contributive to the change. 2. Comparing development of individual employees, solution provided by the employers, and leadership as well as employee interaction, the biggest factor that influence on the change is solution provided by the employers. 3. There are significant differences on operating procedures and management systems after the change. The differences for departments T, N, S, D, G are especially more satisfaction than that for department A. The problem analysis addressed in this pure academic study will serve as a reference for operator X when it carries out another organizational change in the future.

No description available.

No description available.

Lightweight cellular concrete (LCC) is a cement, water, and air entrained mixture that consists of 25-80% voids. The air voids reduce the material strength but also decrease the material weight. Due to its lightweight properties LCC is an attractive alternative to soil backfill for retained structures, such as mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls. Although LCC is widely used behind MSE walls, limited information exists regarding the pullout strength of MSE wall reinforcements in LCC backfill. This research attempts to fill the knowledge gap through performing pullout tests on welded wire and ribbed strip reinforcements in MSE walls to determine the pullout friction coefficient (F*), reinforcement pullout behavior, and LCC properties. A large-scale test box (10 feet wide x 12 feet long x 10 feet high) supported by a steel resisting frame, was constructed, and filled with LCC backfill. Both the west and east MSE wall faces consisted of concrete walls. The west wall was supported by 16 ribbed strip reinforcements, while the east wall was supported by nine short, welded wire reinforcements. After backfilling the MSE wall, pullout tests were performed of the 12 ribbed strip reinforcements and all nine welded wire reinforcements. To determine different pullout friction coefficients (F*), different surcharge loads were applied through LCC self-weight, concrete reaction beams, and hydraulic jacks at the top of backfill. After performing the pullout tests on the large-scale test box, additional pullout tests were performed in two smaller (10 feet wide x 6 feet deep x 30 in. tall) MSE walls, each containing four ribbed strip reinforcements to determine the F* of ribbed strip reinforcements at moderate surcharge pressures. Results from these tests produced F* recommendations for ribbed strip and welded wire reinforcements. Additionally, a total of 130 LCC cylinder specimens were used to identify LCC material properties. Results of these tests show that the unconfined compressive strength of LCC is greatly dependent on the cast and cured unit weight, as well as the sample maturity. Comparing the UCS results to other work reveals a wide variation of UCS versus cured density, even though the same ASTM standard was applied for all tests. An equation for the secant modulus of LCC was created using UCS data from this thesis and other research conducted at Brigham Young University (BYU). Direct shear tests were also conducted on LCC cylinders cut to fit the confinement of a direct shear machine. The direct shear test results from this thesis agree with other research conducted at BYU.

No description available.

In this dissertation, a study is conducted to develop a probability based load and resistance factor design criterion for structural members considering the local conditions of Turkey. The Advanced First Order Second Moment (AFOSM) procedure is utilized as the probabilistic method of analysis. Various sources of uncertainties associated with concrete compressive strength, yielding and ultimate strength of reinforcing steel bars and the dimensions of beams, columns and shear walls are analyzed and quantified. The resistance statistics for different failure modes of different types of reinforced concrete structural members are computed by using the resistance parameters within the framework of reliability analysis. Structural load effects of dead, live, wind, snow and earthquake loads are analyzed considering the uncertainties in these loads. For different load combinations, the safety levels corresponding to the current design practice are evaluated in terms of the reliability indexes for reinforced concrete beam, column and shear wall design in flexure and shear, and also column design in combined action of flexure and axial load. Depending on this evaluation and the reliability index values reported from other countries, target reliability indexes are selected for different load combinations and different failure modes of structural members. Finally, a new set of load and resistance factors corresponding to selected target reliabilities and levels of uncertainties are proposed for each different failure modes of the structural members considered in this study, separately.

Au cours de ma thèse, j’ai développé et mis en place de nouvelles méthodes utilisant les récentes technologies du séquençage à très haut débit, des outils bioinformatiques et du «reciprocal allele-specifique RNA interference » (rasRNAi) dans l’objectif d’identifier les facteurs génétiques et non génétiques responsables de la résistance du moustique Anopheles gambiae aux parasites du paludisme murin Plasmodium berghei. J’ai mis en place une stratégie d’identification des polymorphismes dans les lignées résistantes et sensibles afin de sélectionner des marqueurs génétiques pour de futures analyses génétiques et lister les gènes polymorphiques. J’ai contribué à l’élaboration de nouvelles sondes ARN double-brin (dsRNAs) allèle spécifique pour la méthode du rasRNAi en identifiant le processus de découpage du dsRNA injecté chez des moustiques par l’analyse des petits ARNs séquencés issus du dsRNA injecté. J’ai élaboré un pipeline pour identifier la composition du microbiote des lignées sensibles et résistantes dans le but de les comparer. / During my PhD, I developed and implemented new methods and tools using the latest technologies of the Next Generation Sequencing, bioinformatics tools and the « reciprocal allele-specific RNA interference » (rasRNAi) method with the aim of identifying genetic and non-genetic factors responsible for the resistance of the mosquito Anopheles gambiae to the mouse malaria parasites Plasmodium berghei. I have implemented a strategy for identifying polymorphisms in the resistant and susceptible lines to (1) select genetic markers for future genetic analysis and (2) list the polymorphicgenes. I contributed to the development of a new allele-specific dsRNA probe for the rasRNAi method by identifying how mosquitoes process the injected dsRNA by the analysis of sequenced small RNAs from the injected dsRNA. I developed a pipeline to identify the microbiota composition in susceptible and resistant lines in order to compare them.

No description available.

L’objectif général de cette recherche doctorale est l’étude des déterminants de l’intégration pédagogique des technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC) par les professeurs à l’Université de Ouagadougou (UO). Cela nous a conduit à étudier respectivement les compétences technologiques des professeurs, les facteurs de résistance contraignant l’intégration pédagogique des TIC par ces professeurs, l’acceptation et les usages spécifiques des TIC par les professeurs. Ce travail s’est bâti autour des concepts théoriques sur les usages éducatifs des TIC, les compétences technopédagogiques, les facteurs de résistance, l’acceptation des TIC et l’intégration pédagogique des TIC. Ces concepts se sont inscrits dans les cadres d’analyses des modèles d’intégration des TIC par les professeurs et des modèles d’acceptation et d’utilisation d’une nouvelle technologie. La stratégie d’analyse des données s’est construite autour des approches descriptives et analytiques notamment au moyen de l’utilisation de la psychométrie et/ou de l’économétrie des modèles à variables dépendantes limitées. Utilisant la recherche quantitative, le recrutement de 82 professeurs par avis de consentement à participer, a permis de collecter les données sur la base de questionnaires dont la majeure partie est bâtie autour de questions à échelle de Likert. L’étude des compétences technologiques des professeurs a permis d’une part, de dresser un portrait des usages des TIC par les professeurs. En effet, les usages les plus répandus des TIC dans cette université sont les logiciels de bureautique, les logiciels de messagerie électronique et de navigation dans Internet. Elle a aussi permis de faire un portrait des compétences technologiques des professeurs. Ceux-ci utilisent à la fois plusieurs logiciels et reconnaissent l’importance des TIC pour leurs tâches pédagogiques et de recherche même si leur degré de maîtrise perçue sur certaines des applications télématiques reste à des niveaux très bas. Par rapport à certaines compétences comme celles destinées à exploiter les TIC dans des situations de communication et de collaboration et celles destinée à rechercher et à traiter des informations à l’aide des TIC, les niveaux de maîtrise par les professeurs de ces compétences ont été très élevés. Les professeurs ont eu des niveaux de maîtrise très faibles sur les compétences destinées à créer des situations d’apprentissage à l’aide des TIC et sur celles destinées à développer et à diffuser des ressources d’apprentissage à l’aide des TIC malgré la grande importance que ceux-ci ont accordée à ces compétences avancées essentielles pour une intégration efficace et efficiente des TIC à leurs pratiques pédagogiques. L’étude des facteurs de résistance a permis d’ériger une typologie de ces facteurs. Ces facteurs vont des contraintes matérielles et infrastructurelles à celles liées aux compétences informatiques et à des contraintes liées à la motivation et à l’engagement personnel des professeurs, facteurs pouvant susciter des comportements de refus de la technologie. Ces facteurs sont entre autres, la compatibilité des TIC d’avec les tâches pédagogiques et de recherche des professeurs, l’utilité perçue des TIC pour les activités pédagogiques et de recherche, les facilités d’utilisation des TIC et la motivation ou l’engagement personnel des professeurs aux usages des TIC. Il y a aussi les coûts engendrés par l’accès aux TIC et le manque de soutien et d’assistance technique au plan institutionnel qui se sont révelés enfreindre le développement de ces usages parmi les professeurs. Les estimations des déterminants de l’acceptation et des usages éducatifs des TIC par les professeurs ont montré que c’est surtout « l’intention comportementale » d’aller aux TIC des professeurs, « l’expérience d’Internet » qui affectent positivement les usages éducatifs des TIC. Les « conditions de facilitation » qui représentent non seulement la qualité de l’infrastructure technologique, mais aussi l’existence d’un soutien institutionnel aux usages des TIC, ont affecté négativement ces usages. Des éléments de recommandation issus de ce travail s’orientent vers la formation des professeurs sur des compétences précises identifiées, l’amélioration de la qualité de l’infrastructure technologique existante, la création d’un logithèque, la mise en œuvre d’incitations institutionnelles adéquates telles que l’assistance technique régulière aux professeurs, l’allègement des volumes horaires statutaires des professeurs novateurs, la reconnaissance des efforts déjà réalisés par ces novateurs en matière d’usages éducatifs des TIC dans leur institution. / The general objective of this doctoral research is the study of the determinants of the pedagogical integration of information and communication technology (ICT) by teachers at the University of Ouagadougou (UO). This led us to study respectively the technological skills of teachers, the resistance factors forcing the integration of ICT by these teachers together with the driving forces of ICT acceptance and ICT educational uses by teachers at this university. This work is built around theoretical concepts of educational uses of ICT, techno pedagogical competences, factors of resistance to ICT use, acceptance and use of ICT and pedagogical integration of ICT. These concepts are included in frameworks for analysis of ICT integration models by teachers and acceptance and use of new technology models. The strategy of data analysis is built around descriptive and analytical approaches, including the use of psychometrics and / or econometrics models with limited dependent variables. Using quantitative research, the recruitment of 82 professors of this university by a notice of consent to participate to the survey, has allowed collecting data on the basis of questionnaires, most of which being built around Likert scale questions. The study of teachers’ technological skills enables on the one hand, to portray a picture of ICT use by teachers. The most common ICT uses at the University of Ouagadougou are the office software, software for email and Internet browsing. On the other hand, it allows a portrait of teachers’ technological skills. They use many softwares and most of them recognize the importance of ICT to their teaching duties and research, but their degree of perceived control on some of ICT applications remains at very low levels. The teachers presented very high control over the skills to exploit ICT in situations of communication and collaboration and also those intended to seek and process information using ICT. These skills reflect their use of electronic means of communication and search engines and the importance that teachers attach to these ICT applications. Moreover, despite the great importance that teachers give to some advanced skills in ICT, they were found at very low levels of mastery of these skills which are those to create learning situations in using ICT and those intended to develop and disseminate learning resources using ICT. Although teachers already use and combine several applications of ICT, their current level of technology skills and teaching does not allow them to effectively use these technologies in their teaching practices. They must necessarily acquire these essential advanced skills. The study of resistance factors helped to establish a typology of these factors. They range from material and infrastructural constraints to those related to computer skills and the availability of support and technical assistance at the institutional level to promote the use of ICT applications in education. It also assessed the compatibility of ICT with teaching duties and research faculty, the perceived usefulness of ICT for educational activities and research facilities, the motivation and / or personal commitment of teachers to use ICT and the influence of social conditions on such uses. There are also the costs of ICT access (Internet and computer equipment), which have shown a negative influence on teachers and violating the development of these educational uses of ICT. The empirical assessment of determinants of acceptance and educational uses of ICT by teachers reveals that, it is mainly the teachers’ "behavioural intention" to go to ICT and "the Internet experience" that affect positively these uses. The "facilitation conditions" that represent not only the quality of the technological infrastructure, but also the existence of institutional support to use ICT, have negatively affected these practices. The elements that can improve educational uses of ICT in the university have been identified from the results of this research: these recommend the teachers’ training on specific identified skills, the improvement of the quality of the existing technological infrastructure, the creation a software library, the implementation of adequate institutional incentives such as regular technical assistance to teachers, the reduction of statutory hourly volumes to innovative teachers, the recognition of the efforts already made by these innovative educational uses of ICT within their institution.

L’objectif général de cette recherche doctorale est l’étude des déterminants de l’intégration pédagogique des technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC) par les professeurs à l’Université de Ouagadougou (UO). Cela nous a conduit à étudier respectivement les compétences technologiques des professeurs, les facteurs de résistance contraignant l’intégration pédagogique des TIC par ces professeurs, l’acceptation et les usages spécifiques des TIC par les professeurs. Ce travail s’est bâti autour des concepts théoriques sur les usages éducatifs des TIC, les compétences technopédagogiques, les facteurs de résistance, l’acceptation des TIC et l’intégration pédagogique des TIC. Ces concepts se sont inscrits dans les cadres d’analyses des modèles d’intégration des TIC par les professeurs et des modèles d’acceptation et d’utilisation d’une nouvelle technologie. La stratégie d’analyse des données s’est construite autour des approches descriptives et analytiques notamment au moyen de l’utilisation de la psychométrie et/ou de l’économétrie des modèles à variables dépendantes limitées. Utilisant la recherche quantitative, le recrutement de 82 professeurs par avis de consentement à participer, a permis de collecter les données sur la base de questionnaires dont la majeure partie est bâtie autour de questions à échelle de Likert. L’étude des compétences technologiques des professeurs a permis d’une part, de dresser un portrait des usages des TIC par les professeurs. En effet, les usages les plus répandus des TIC dans cette université sont les logiciels de bureautique, les logiciels de messagerie électronique et de navigation dans Internet. Elle a aussi permis de faire un portrait des compétences technologiques des professeurs. Ceux-ci utilisent à la fois plusieurs logiciels et reconnaissent l’importance des TIC pour leurs tâches pédagogiques et de recherche même si leur degré de maîtrise perçue sur certaines des applications télématiques reste à des niveaux très bas. Par rapport à certaines compétences comme celles destinées à exploiter les TIC dans des situations de communication et de collaboration et celles destinée à rechercher et à traiter des informations à l’aide des TIC, les niveaux de maîtrise par les professeurs de ces compétences ont été très élevés. Les professeurs ont eu des niveaux de maîtrise très faibles sur les compétences destinées à créer des situations d’apprentissage à l’aide des TIC et sur celles destinées à développer et à diffuser des ressources d’apprentissage à l’aide des TIC malgré la grande importance que ceux-ci ont accordée à ces compétences avancées essentielles pour une intégration efficace et efficiente des TIC à leurs pratiques pédagogiques. L’étude des facteurs de résistance a permis d’ériger une typologie de ces facteurs. Ces facteurs vont des contraintes matérielles et infrastructurelles à celles liées aux compétences informatiques et à des contraintes liées à la motivation et à l’engagement personnel des professeurs, facteurs pouvant susciter des comportements de refus de la technologie. Ces facteurs sont entre autres, la compatibilité des TIC d’avec les tâches pédagogiques et de recherche des professeurs, l’utilité perçue des TIC pour les activités pédagogiques et de recherche, les facilités d’utilisation des TIC et la motivation ou l’engagement personnel des professeurs aux usages des TIC. Il y a aussi les coûts engendrés par l’accès aux TIC et le manque de soutien et d’assistance technique au plan institutionnel qui se sont révelés enfreindre le développement de ces usages parmi les professeurs. Les estimations des déterminants de l’acceptation et des usages éducatifs des TIC par les professeurs ont montré que c’est surtout « l’intention comportementale » d’aller aux TIC des professeurs, « l’expérience d’Internet » qui affectent positivement les usages éducatifs des TIC. Les « conditions de facilitation » qui représentent non seulement la qualité de l’infrastructure technologique, mais aussi l’existence d’un soutien institutionnel aux usages des TIC, ont affecté négativement ces usages. Des éléments de recommandation issus de ce travail s’orientent vers la formation des professeurs sur des compétences précises identifiées, l’amélioration de la qualité de l’infrastructure technologique existante, la création d’un logithèque, la mise en œuvre d’incitations institutionnelles adéquates telles que l’assistance technique régulière aux professeurs, l’allègement des volumes horaires statutaires des professeurs novateurs, la reconnaissance des efforts déjà réalisés par ces novateurs en matière d’usages éducatifs des TIC dans leur institution. / The general objective of this doctoral research is the study of the determinants of the pedagogical integration of information and communication technology (ICT) by teachers at the University of Ouagadougou (UO). This led us to study respectively the technological skills of teachers, the resistance factors forcing the integration of ICT by these teachers together with the driving forces of ICT acceptance and ICT educational uses by teachers at this university. This work is built around theoretical concepts of educational uses of ICT, techno pedagogical competences, factors of resistance to ICT use, acceptance and use of ICT and pedagogical integration of ICT. These concepts are included in frameworks for analysis of ICT integration models by teachers and acceptance and use of new technology models. The strategy of data analysis is built around descriptive and analytical approaches, including the use of psychometrics and / or econometrics models with limited dependent variables. Using quantitative research, the recruitment of 82 professors of this university by a notice of consent to participate to the survey, has allowed collecting data on the basis of questionnaires, most of which being built around Likert scale questions. The study of teachers’ technological skills enables on the one hand, to portray a picture of ICT use by teachers. The most common ICT uses at the University of Ouagadougou are the office software, software for email and Internet browsing. On the other hand, it allows a portrait of teachers’ technological skills. They use many softwares and most of them recognize the importance of ICT to their teaching duties and research, but their degree of perceived control on some of ICT applications remains at very low levels. The teachers presented very high control over the skills to exploit ICT in situations of communication and collaboration and also those intended to seek and process information using ICT. These skills reflect their use of electronic means of communication and search engines and the importance that teachers attach to these ICT applications. Moreover, despite the great importance that teachers give to some advanced skills in ICT, they were found at very low levels of mastery of these skills which are those to create learning situations in using ICT and those intended to develop and disseminate learning resources using ICT. Although teachers already use and combine several applications of ICT, their current level of technology skills and teaching does not allow them to effectively use these technologies in their teaching practices. They must necessarily acquire these essential advanced skills. The study of resistance factors helped to establish a typology of these factors. They range from material and infrastructural constraints to those related to computer skills and the availability of support and technical assistance at the institutional level to promote the use of ICT applications in education. It also assessed the compatibility of ICT with teaching duties and research faculty, the perceived usefulness of ICT for educational activities and research facilities, the motivation and / or personal commitment of teachers to use ICT and the influence of social conditions on such uses. There are also the costs of ICT access (Internet and computer equipment), which have shown a negative influence on teachers and violating the development of these educational uses of ICT. The empirical assessment of determinants of acceptance and educational uses of ICT by teachers reveals that, it is mainly the teachers’ "behavioural intention" to go to ICT and "the Internet experience" that affect positively these uses. The "facilitation conditions" that represent not only the quality of the technological infrastructure, but also the existence of institutional support to use ICT, have negatively affected these practices. The elements that can improve educational uses of ICT in the university have been identified from the results of this research: these recommend the teachers’ training on specific identified skills, the improvement of the quality of the existing technological infrastructure, the creation a software library, the implementation of adequate institutional incentives such as regular technical assistance to teachers, the reduction of statutory hourly volumes to innovative teachers, the recognition of the efforts already made by these innovative educational uses of ICT within their institution.