Denna uppsats applicerar teorier om klippning på tre utvalda sekvenser med split-screen för att ta fram data om vilka av Walter Murchs kriterier för klippning oftast förekommer inom split-screen, samt vilka av Karen Pearlmans tre typer av rytm som är mest applicerbara i rytmisk klippning. Under analysen granskas även användningen av dessa kriterier och rytm för att kunna dra generella slutsatser om hur klippningen påverkar scenerna, men även hur den samverkar tillsammans med split-screen. Resultatet visar att rytm är genomgående det mest förekommande elementet inom klippningen och i samverkan med split-screenen fördjupar klipparen publiken i filmens värld. Genom kreativa stilval som inte hade varit möjliga utan flera samtidiga bilder gestaltas filmens kärna via klippningen tillsammans med split-screenen. Framtiden av split-screen är fylld av potential, både i forskning och funktion inom filmmediet. Denna uppsats menar att belysa detta underutnyttjade stilgrepp och vill inspirera filmklippare framöver.

<p> Supervised isometric handgrip training (IHG) has been shown to lower blood pressure (BP) and therefore, may be an effective non-pharmacological treatment for hypertension. The present investigation examined the efficacy of unsupervised IHG to lower BP in patients who were recently diagnosed as hypertensive. Since the mechanisms responsible for attenuating BP remain unclear, this study also investigated the concurrent effects of IHG training on the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and arterial stiffness.</p> <p>Eight participants were randomized to the experimental group and the remaining six served as controls. Lifestyle modifications to lower BP were recommended for both groups. In addition, the experimental group completed IHG three times per week for six weeks. IHG consisted of four two-minute isometric contractions at 30% maximal voluntary contraction using alternate hands, each separated by a one-minute rest period. Pre- (PRE) and post-intervention (POST), BP was measured and the ANS was assessed by baroreceptor sensitivity (BRS) and both systolic and diastolic blood pressure variability (SBPV and DBPV) and arterial stiffness was evaluated by carotid-finger pulse wave velocity (PWV). All measures were assessed during a period of supine rest and during a 60° passive tilt.</p> <p> There were no significant changes in any BP measure from PRE to POST for either the experimental or control groups. There was a non-significant trend toward decreased heart rate (p = 0.065). BRS decreased from PRE to POST in both the experimental (10.7 ± 2.4 mm Hg to 9.7 ± 2.3 mm Hg) and control groups (8.6 ± 2.1 mm Hg to 7.6 ± 1.5 mm Hg), but there was no difference between groups. SBPV LF:HF was lower at POST than PRE in both experimental (6.8 ± 1.5 to 4.6 ± 1.1) and control (3.4 ± 1.9 to 2.3 ± 0.9), but there were no other differences in any other BPV variable. There were no significant changes in PWV.</p> <p> In conclusion, unsupervised IHG did not lower resting BP in newly diagnosed hypertensive patients, so there were no improvements in autonomic indices. There was a decrease in SBPV LF:HF indicating improved sympathovagal balance, but this was likely a result of lifestyle modification rather than IHG. Future studies are necessary to determine appropriate use of IHG as a treatment for hypertension and to verify the mechanisms responsible for BP attenuation with IHG.</p> / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Involving Indigenous youth in health promotion research within the broader field of public health allows us to investigate health literacy, while promoting, protecting, and combating complex health issues. This project uses a community-engaged research approach, as well as a research workshop methodology and draws on qualitative methods to answer the following study objectives: (1) To what extent do female youth living on Six Nations Reserve No. 40 understand and engage in health promotion; (2) In what ways did a cornhusk doll workshop engage and strengthen female youth understanding on the topic of health promotion; and (3) What resources are necessary for female youth to successfully engage in health promotion. Findings were grouped into three main themes: Healthy Development, Healthy Relationships, and Healthy Policies. / Thesis / Master of Public Health (MPH)

Antagonistic interactions between competing species of bacteria are an important driver of bacterial community composition in the human gut microbiota. Of particular significance is the role of the type six secretion system (T6SS), which many species of Gram-negative bacteria use to kill competitor bacteria in a contact-dependent manner. T6SSs are syringe-like nanomachines that function to deliver antibacterial toxins into susceptible competitors. Many bacteria present in the human gut microbiota possess an extremely potent T6SS that is capable of rapidly eradicating nearby bacteria. Remarkably, however, species of beneficial bacteria that coexist in the gut are often resistant to T6SS attack by their neighbours. This resistance is mediated by bacterial immunity proteins that block the activity of the antibacterial toxins delivered by the T6SS. Intriguingly, past studies have shown that the widespread T6SS-mediated competition in the gut has led to the acquisition of repertoires of immunity genes across different bacterial strains. By examining available human gut metagenomes, I identified a putative immunity locus, named I2, in a species of gut bacteria. This locus is located downstream of its cognate T6SS toxin-encoding locus, E2, and I show when co-expressed with E2 in E. coli, it protects against E2 mediated-toxicity. Additionally, I show that four gut-derived I2 homologues bearing sequence identity levels to I2 ranging from 38% to 75% are equally capable of abrogating E2 toxicity. Using quantitative biophysical measurements, I also show that these I2 homologues physically bind E2 equally tightly pointing to the potential molecular mechanism of toxin neutralization. Lastly, through mutagenesis experiments, I found that the E2-I2 interaction is likely mediated by electrostatic forces between a small number of residues found in the interaction interface of the two proteins. Overall, these findings demonstrate that a human gut microbiome encoded type VI secretion system effector can be neutralized by divergent immunity proteins. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

No / The complexity of sustainable building maintenance environment enforces organizations to develop a standardized maintenance quality management system that can be applied in all concerned departments. This Chapter presents a novel conceptual model of a hybrid Knowledge-Based Lean Six Sigma Sustainable Building Maintenance System (Lean6-SBM). The KB model seeks to apply the Lean Six Sigma philosophy to support implementation of an ideal building maintenance system. The conceptual KB model also integrates GAP technique to support benchmarking and decision making. The proposed conceptual model is presented to show the fundamental components of the Lean6-SBM. / This work was supported by the Ministry of Defense Engineering Services 403 (MoDES—Sultanate of Oman) and the University of Bradford (United Kingdom).

Variation is inevitable in any process, so it has to be dealt with effectively and economically. Reducing variation can be achieved in assembly lines strategically and dynamically. Implementing both the strategic and dynamic variation reduction techniques is expected to lead to further reduction in the number of failed final assemblies. The dissertation is divided into three major parts. In the first part, we propose to reduce variation for assemblies by developing efficient inspection plans based on (1) historical data for existing products, or simulated data for newly developed products; (2) Monte Carlo simulation; and (3) optimization search techniques. The cost function to be minimized is the total of inspection, rework, scrap and failure costs. The novelty of the proposed approach is three-fold. First, the use of CAD data to develop inspection plans for newly launched products is new, and has not been introduced in the literature before. Second, frequency of inspection is considered as the main decision variable, instead of considering whether or not to inspect a quality characteristic of a subassembly. Third, we use a realistic reaction plan (rework-scrap-keep) that mimics reality in the sense that not all out-of-tolerance items should be scrapped or reworked. At a certain stage, real-time inspection data for a batch of subassemblies could be available. In the second part of this dissertation, we propose utilizing this data in near real-time to dynamically reduce variation by assigning the inspected subassembly parts together. In proposing mathematical models, we found that they are hard to solve using traditional optimization techniques. Therefore, we propose using heuristics.Finally, we propose exploring opportunities to reduce the aforementioned cost function by integrating the inspection planning model with the Dynamic Throughput Maximization (DTM) model. This hybrid model adds one decision variable in the inspection planning; which is whether to implement DTM (assemble the inspected subassemblies selectively) or to assemble the inspected items arbitrarily. We expect this hybrid implementation to substantially reduce the failure cost when assembling the final assemblies for some cases. To demonstrate this, we solve a numerical example that supports our findings. / Ph. D.

Recently, in the United States and worldwide, the excellence of soft skills competencies among entry-level employees has become a priority task of education. Construction employers are encountering a significant gap between the soft skills possessed by the entry level construction graduates and those needed by construction employers, thereby becoming a major challenge for both industry and academia. This research proposed a soft skills instructional curriculum that aims to increase cultivation of soft skills among construction students by exploring the soft skills needed in the construction industry and improving the soft skills educational tools in construction schools. Moreover, the research will answer broad questions such as: Which soft skills matter the most? What is the magnitude of the soft skills gap? And, how do students get help to cultivate soft skills? A stakeholders-driven exploratory embedded mixed-design research approach was adopted utilizing Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) framework. The DFSS framework is comprised of five phases: Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, and Verify. Therefore, the research defined and organized the construction related soft skills into 12 clusters. The 12 clusters were used to benchmark the soft skills clusters performance among construction graduates using a survey instrument. Simultaneously, the research identified 40 instructional strategies and then defined the relationships between each soft skills cluster and the 40 instructional strategies using structured interviews with experts from academia. The survey data was used to measure the gap in each skill cluster using Gap Score Method and prioritize them into four sets: Critical Clusters, Ideal Clusters, Lowest Priority Clusters, and Least Clusters. Then, the research implemented four Quality Function Deployment matrices using the data acquired from the survey, structured interviews, and the analysis. The four matrices were used to develop a soft skills instructional curriculum comprised of four instructional models in which each soft skills clusters set was matched with the effective instructional strategies. Finally, the research added the values of Gap Score and the value of Sigma Level for each cluster to the proposed curriculum to be used as indicators to measure the future changes in the industry's soft skills need. The proposed curriculum was shared with four experts from academia and they verified the results. It is expected that the research results will pave the road for launching any future soft skills initiatives in construction education. They revealed significant evidence of the existence of soft skills gaps among construction graduates and proposed an effective soft skills instructional curriculum. It is expected that through utilizing this curriculum, the teaching activities of construction will improve and broaden the soft skills taught in the classrooms to correlate with those needed in the marketplace. Consequently, this will help bridge the gaps between construction graduates and their employers and ultimately facilitate the recruitment of construction graduates. / Ph. D.

Distributed generation for consumer applications is a relatively new field and it is difficult to satisfy both cost and performance targets. High expectations coupled with extreme cost cutting to compete with traditional technologies make converter design difficult. As power electronics mature more opportunities arise for entry into this lucrative area. An excellent understanding of converter dynamics is crucial in producing a well performing and cost competitive system. The six-switch single-phase inverter proposed in this thesis is a prime candidate for use in single households and small businesses. Its compact size and compatibility with existing electrical standards make its integration easy. However, little work is available on characterizing the system from a controls point of view. In particular balancing the two outputs with an uneven load is a concern. This thesis uses nodal and loop analysis to formulate a mathematical model of the six-switch single-phase inverter. A non-linear time invariant model is constructed for circuit simulation; details found in real circuits are added. A hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) configuration is used for more accurate simulation. In fact, its use makes for an almost seamless transition between simulation and hardware experimentation. A detailed explanation of the HIL system developed is presented. The system is simulated under various load conditions. Uneven loads and lightly loaded conditions are thoroughly examined. Controllers are verified in simulation and then are tested on real hardware using the HIL system. DC bus disturbance rejection and non-linear loads are also investigated. Acceptable inverter performance is demonstrated without expensive current sensors or high sampling frequency. / Master of Science

The purpose of this study is to provide a ready reference that may be the basis for helping teachers develop a detailed program to meet some common social and emotional difficulties of six-year-old children. An analysis of the findings and opinions of clinical psychology and educational authorities pertinent to this problem should yield conclusions and recommendations which may be objective enough to lead to a better understanding of the six-year-old child.

Yes / This paper presents the development of a Knowledge-Based System (KBS) to support the implementation of Lean Six Sigma (L6σ) principles applied to enhance Quality Management (QM) performance within a Healthcare Environment. The process of KBS building has been started by acquiring knowledge from experts in field of L6σ and QM in healthcare. The acquired knowledge has been represented in a rule-based approach for capturing L6σ practices. These rules are produced in IF….THEN way where IF is the premise and THEN is the action. The produced rules have been integrated with Gauging Absence of Pre-requisites (GAP) technique to facilitate benchmarking of best practice in a healthcare environment. A comprehensive review of the structure of the system is given, detailing a typical output of the KBS. Implementation of L6σ principles to enhance QM performance in a Healthcare Environment requires a pre-assessment of the organisation’s competences. The KBS provides an enhanced strategic and operational decision making hierarchy for achieving a performance benchmark. This research presents a novel application of a hybrid KBS with GAP methodology to support the implementation of L6σ principles to enhance QM performance in a healthcare environment.