Anne Brontë died in 1848, having written two novels, Agnes Grey (1847) and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848). Although these novels, especially The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, initially received a favourable critical response, the unsympathetic remarks of Charlotte Brontë and Elizabeth Gaskell initiated a dismissive attitude towards Anne Brontë’s work. For over a hundred years, she was marginalized and silenced by a critical world that admired and respected the work of her two sisters, Charlotte and Emily, but that refused to acknowledge the substantial merits of her own fiction. However, in 1959 revisionist scholars such as Derek Stanford, Ada Harrison and Winifred Gérin, offered important, more enlightened readings that helped to liberate Brontë scholarship from the old conservatisms and to direct it into new directions. Since then, her fiction has been the focus of a robust, but still incomplete, revisionist critical scholarship. My work too is revisionist in orientation, and seeks to position itself within this revisionist approach. It has a double focus that appraises both Brontë’s social commentary and her narratology. It thus integrates two principal areas of enquiry: firstly, an investigation into how Brontë interrogates the position of middle class women in their society, and secondly, an examination of how that interrogation is conveyed by her creative deployment of narrative techniques, especially by her awareness of the rich potential of the first person narrative voice. Chapter 1 looks at the critical response to Brontë’s fiction from 1847 to the present, and shows how the revisionist readings of 1959 were pivotal in re-invigorating the critical approach to her work. Chapter 2 contextualizes the key legal, social, and economic consequences of Victorian patriarchy that so angered and frustrated feminist thinkers and writers such as Brontë. The chapter also demonstrates the extent to which a number of her core concerns relating to Victorian society and the status of women are reflected in her work. In Chapter 3 I discuss three important biographical influences on Brontë: her family, her painful experiences as a governess, and her reading history. Chapter 4 contains a detailed analysis of Agnes Grey, which includes an exploration of the narrative devices that help to reinforce its core concerns. Chapter 5 focuses on The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, showing how the novel offers a richer and more sophisticated analysis of feminist concerns than those that are explored in Agnes Grey. These are broadened to include an investigation of the lives of married women, particularly those trapped in abusive marriages. The chapter also stresses Brontë’s skilful deployment of an intricate and layered narrative technique. The conclusion points to the ways in which my study participates in and extends the current revisionist trend and suggests some aspects of Brontë’s work that would reward further critical attention. / Thesis (DLitt)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / English / Unrestricted

This thesis deals with the role of Czech housing policy in the independence of young adults in relation to the problem of lack of adequate housing in the Czech Republic. This issue is investigated within the framework of the theoretical lifestyle concepts and the transition to adulthood. These concepts should identify the impact of lack of housing availability for young people during their life - both in the process of separation and in the transition to adulthood. The analytical part of this thesis describes the current situation on the housing market, which can be characterized by a lack of adequate housing, the main factors influencing the housing policy creation, and the tools of housing policy focusing explicitly or implicitly on young people. In the empirical part following areas are investigated: the current housing situation of young adults; the barriers that young people encounter when seeking independent housing; the position of independent housing in the life of young people; the attitude of young people towards housing policy according to their age category. The final part answers to the goals of this thesis - it evaluates the support of housing policy focused on young adults in the growing lack of housing; it describes the main barriers that young people encounter; explains the impact...

Cement production is responsible for around 7% of the global anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. More than half of these emissions are due to the unavoidable release of carbon dioxide upon thermal decomposition of the main raw material limestone. Many different options for carbon capture are currently being investigated to lower emissions, and one potential route to facilitate carbon capture could be the implementation of an electrified separate calcination step. However, potential effects on the phase composition of cement clinker need to be investigated, which is the aim of the present study. Phases of special interest are alite, belite, aluminate, ferrite, calcite, and lime.  The phase composition during clinker formation was examined through HT-XRD lab-scale experiments, allowing the phase transformations to be observed in situ. Two different methods of separate calcination were investigated, one method in which the raw meal was calcined separately, and one method where the limestone was calcined separately. The former yielded an alite amount similar to that of the reference experiments, whereas the latter method yielded a lower amount. It could, unfortunately, not be excluded that the difference was due to poor experimental conditions, and additional experiments are needed to investigate the matter further. The study does, however, indicate that a calcined raw meal might be used to produce a clinker of similar phase composition concerning major phases belite, aluminate, ferrite, alite, and free lime. A raw meal containing calcined limestone might, however, need longer residence time at clinkering temperature too obtain similar phase composition. In addition, a raw meal containing calcined limestone was observed to be carbonated to a greater extent upon reheating than a calcined raw meal. Further experiments are needed to fully understand the effects on clinker composition of an electrified separate calcination step, and several improvements to the experimental method are given in the study.

<p>Current air conditioning systems generally operate with a relatively fixed moisture removal capacity, and indoor humidity conditions are usually not actively controlled in most buildings. If we focus only on sensible heat removal, an air conditioning system could operate with a fairly high evaporating temperature, and consequently a high coefficient of performance (COP). However, to provide an acceptable level of dehumidification, air conditioners typically operate with a much lower evaporating temperature (and lower COP) to ensure that the air is cooled below its dew point to achieve dehumidification. The latent (moisture related) loads in a space typically only represent around 20-30% of the total load in many environments; however, the air conditioning system operates 100% of the time at a low COP to address this small fraction of the load. To address issues associated with inadequate dehumidification and high energy consumption of conventional air conditioning systems, the use of a separate sensible and latent cooling (SSLC) system can dramatically increase system COP and provide active humidity control. Most current SSLC approaches that are reported in the literature require the installation of multiple components or systems in addition to a conventional air conditioner to separately address the sensible and latent loads. This approach increases the overall system installation and maintenance costs and complicates the controller design. </p> <p>A sequential SSLC system is proposed and described in this work takes full advantage of readily available variable speed technology and utilizes independent speed control of both the compressor and evaporator fan, so that a single direct expansion (DX) air-conditioning (A/C) system can be operated in such a way to separately address the sensible and latent loads in a highly efficient manner. In this work, a numerical model of DX A/C system is developed and validated through experiential testing to predict the performance under varied equipment speeds and then used to investigate the energy saving potential with the implementation of the proposed sequential SSLC system. To realize the sequential SSLC system approach, various corresponding control strategies are proposed and explained in this work that minimizes energy consumption while provides active control over both space temperature and relative humidity. At the end of this document, the benefits of applying the SSLC system in a prototype residential building under different typical climate characteristics are demonstrated.</p>

Fiber-based packaging has emerged as an alternative to plastic packaging, driven by concerns regarding environmental impact and excessive usage of plastic. In response to market trends favouring circular packaging solutions, Stora Enso is preparing to introduce Papira, an innovative fiber-based cushioning packaging material, in Europe. However, assessing the practical acceptability of new materials within existing recycling systems is crucial alongside laboratory tests that analyse recyclability. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine waste paper recycling practices implemented in Europe and identify factors that should be considered when introducing a new product into the European market to provide insights that will help evaluate the positioning of Papira and provide recommendations accordingly. To accomplish this aim, after creating a conceptual framework, a combination of interviews and desk research, including analysis of academic and grey literature sources, was employed to gather valuable insights and develop a comprehensive understanding. The scope of the study focuses on paper and board waste generated by households including eight countries: Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Poland, Sweden, and the Netherlands. One of the key findings of this study is the variation observed in the practices employed within the waste paper recycling system. The implementation of the Extended Producer Responsibility system highlights the prominence of both single and multiple Producer Responsibility Organizations, while the household separate collection system involves the collection of waste through different fractions. Consequently, the fractions collected and the designated mills for separated materials play a crucial role in the mechanical sorting stage, alongside the divergence in manufacturing methods employed by mills during the material recycling phase. This underscores critical considerations that arise during the introduction of new fiber-based products. Notably, the composition and fiber content of a product significantly influence its registration within the system, thereby impacting pricing. Additionally, effective labelling is imperative to provide clear guidance to consumers regarding proper disposal methods. Moreover, the suitability of products for mechanical sorting is contingent upon ensuring that sorting technologies align with the waste composition. Lastly, the study identifies four key aspects that hold significance for recycling processes: printing inks, additives, pulping time, and fiber length. In conclusion, Papira, with its high fiber content and biobased additives, has shown promising environmental qualities. However, at the same time, it requires further recognition by the recycling system and consumers, appropriate classification in accordance with the standards, and testing by sorting facilities and recycling mills to meet industry standards and optimise its integration into the recycling system. This study highlights the importance of encompassing the monitoring of actions under the PPWR proposal, the role of consumer communication, and the imperative of maintaining consistent communication among all stakeholders. / Fiberbaserad förpackning har framträtt som ett alternativ till plastförpackning, drivet av oro överplastens miljöpåverkan och överdriven användning. Som svar på marknadstrender som främjarcirkulära förpackningslösningar förbereder Stora Enso att införa Papira, ett innovativt fiberbaseratdämpningsmaterial för förpackningar, i Europa. Att bedöma den praktiska acceptansen av nya materialinom befintliga återvinningssystem är dock avgörande, tillsammans med laboratorietester somanalyserar återvinningsbarhet. Syftet med denna studie är därför att undersöka återvinningspraxis förpappersåtervinning som tillämpas i Europa och identifiera faktorer som bör beaktas vid introduktionenav en ny produkt på den europeiska marknaden för att ge insikter som hjälper till att utvärderapositioneringen av Papira och ge rekommendationer därefter. För att uppnå detta syfte användes enkombination av intervjuer och skrivbordsforskning, inklusive analys av akademiska och grålitteraturkällor, för att samla värdefull information och utveckla en omfattande förståelse. Studiensomfattning fokuserar på pappers- och kartongavfall som genereras av hushåll i åtta länder: Belgien,Finland, Frankrike, Tyskland, Luxemburg, Polen, Sverige och Nederländerna. En av huvudresultaten av denna studie är den variation som observeras i de metoder som används inomåtervinningssystemet för pappersavfall. Införandet av det utökade producentansvarssystemet belyserbåde enskilda och flera organisationer med producentansvar, medan det separata insamlingssystemetför hushåll innebär insamling av avfall genom olika fraktioner. Följaktligen spelar de insamladefraktionerna och de avsedda fabrikerna för separerade material en avgörande roll i det mekaniskasorteringsskedet, tillsammans med skillnader i tillverkningsmetoder som används av fabrikerna undermaterialets återvinningsfas. Detta betonar viktiga överväganden som uppstår vid introduktionen av nyafiberbaserade produkter. Särskilt sammansättningen och fiberinnehållet i en produkt påverkar avsevärtdess registrering inom systemet, vilket i sin tur påverkar prissättningen. Dessutom är effektiv märkningav avgörande betydelse för att ge tydliga anvisningar till konsumenter om rätt hantering av produkten.Dessutom är lämpligheten hos produkter för mekanisk sortering beroende av att sorteringsteknikernaöverensstämmer med avfallsammansättningen. Slutligen identifierar studien fyra nyckelaspekter somär betydelsefulla för återvinningsprocesser: tryckbläck, tillsatser, pulpingstid och fiberlängd. Avslutningsvis har Papira, med sitt höga fiberinnehåll och biobaserade tillsatser, visat lovandemiljöegenskaper. Samtidigt kräver det ytterligare erkännande av återvinningssystemet ochkonsumenter, lämplig klassificering i enlighet med standarder och tester genom sorteringsanläggningaroch återvinningsverk för att uppfylla branschstandarder och optimera dess integration iåtervinningssystemet. Denna studie belyser vikten av att omfatta övervakningen av åtgärder enligtPPWR-förslaget, rollen för konsumentkommunikation och nödvändigheten av att upprätthålla enkonsekvent kommunikation bland alla intressenter.

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<p>Broadcasting correlated Gaussians is one of the cases where separate source-channel coding is suboptimal. In this dissertation, we will study the distortion region of sending correlated Gaussian sources over an AWGN-BC using hybrid digital-analog coding approach, where each receiver wishes to reconstruct one source component subject to the mean squared error distortion constraint.</p> <p>First of all, the problem of transmitting m independent Gaussian source components over an AWGN-BC is studied. We show this problem setup is closely related to broadcasting correlated Gaussian sources with genie-aided receivers. Moreover, the separate source-channel coding approach is proven to be optimal in these setups.</p> <p>Second, we consider two new scenarios and find the achievable distortion regions for both cases, where three Gaussian source components are sent to three receivers. The difference is that for the first scenario, the first two source components are correlated and they are independent of the third one while for the second scenario, the last two source components are correlated and they are independent of the first one. Inner bounds based on hybrid analog-digital coding and outer bounds based on genie-aided arguments are proposed for both cases and the optimality is proven.</p> <p>Finally, we study two cases where side information is presented at one receiver. Hybrid analog-digital coding schemes are used and the optimality is proven.</p> / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

The aim of my diploma thesis is to propose the best possibility of selling the apartment house and to elaborate variants of selling the apartment house as the unit and selling of the separate flats. The theoretical part of the diploma thesis defines the basic terms and definitions, methods used for the appraisal and bank loans are specified. The practical part is about the application of the methodical basis from the appraisal according to the price provision. The recent and future value is specified here by the means of the methods of costs appraisal, the income method and the comparative method and the price common for the credit proceeding is provided.

Thesis (M.A.)