Geographic profiling (GP) was originally developed to solve the problem of information overload when dealing with cases of serial crime. In criminology, the model uses spatial data relating to the locations of connected crimes to prioritise the search for the criminal's anchor point (usually a home or workplace), and is extremely successful in this field. Previous work has shown how the same approach can be adapted to biological data, but to date the model has assumed a spatially homogenous landscape, and has made no attempt to integrate more complex spatial information (eg, altitude, land use). It is this issue that I address here. In addition, I show for the first time how the model can be applied to conservation data and - taking the model back to its origins in criminology - to wildlife crime. In Chapter 2, I use the Dirichlet Process Mixture (DPM) model of geographic profiling to locate sleep trees for tarsiers in dense jungle in Indonesia, using as input the locations at which calls were recorded, demonstrating how the model can be applied to locating the nests, dens or roosts of other elusive animals and potentially improving estimates of population size, with important implications for management of both species and habitats. In Chapter 3, I show how spatial information in the form of citizen science could be used to improve a study of invasive mink in the Hebrides. In Chapter 4, I turn to the issue of 'commuter crime' in a study of poaching in Savé Valley Conservancy (SVC) in Zimbabwe, in which although poaching occurs inside SVC the majority of poachers live outside, showing how the model can be adjusted to reflect a simple binary classification of the landscape (inside or outside SVC). Finally, in Chapter 5, I combine more complex land use information (estimates of farm density) with the GP model to improve predictions of human-wildlife conflict.

This thesis is a study of the size effect. Improvements on both theoretical work and experimental design are involved in this thesis. The theoretical section focuses on the grain size effect, while the experimental section is related to the micro-foil bending test. Both classic experimental data and theories for the Hall-Petch relationship are reviewed comprehensively. The fitting of the datasets show that the inverse square-root dependence and simple inverse expressions are equally good. The fully Bayesian analysis strongly suggests that the latter is correct. Since the physical mechanism underlying the simple inverse dependence is a general size effect, the precise description of the Hall-Petch effect is that it is a manifestation of the general size effect, instead of having its own special character. Improvements on the classic Stolken and Evans' micro-foil bending experiments are also carried out in this thesis. The smart design of the new equipment eliminates the big risk of error in the classic experiment. By using the new device, precise datasets from the elastic region through the yield point and to high plastic strain area can be obtained. The initial results correspond well with the old published data.

Genome size (GS) is a fundamental trait influencing cellular, developmental and ecological parameters, and varies c. 2400- fold in angiosperms. This astonishing range has the potential to influence a plant's nutrient demands, since nucleic acids are amongst the most phosphate and nitrogen demanding cellular biomolecules, and hence its ability to grow and compete in environments where macronutrients are limited. Angiosperm GS are strongly skewed towards small genomes, despite the prevalence of polyploidy in the ancestry of most if not all angiosperm lineages. This thesis examines the hypothesis that large genome sizes are costly to build and maintain and that angiosperm species with large GS are constrained by nitrogen and phosphate limitation. It untangles the interactions between GS, polyploidy and competition in plant communities, and examines how herbivory and GS play a role in plant productivity, measured as above-ground biomass. The hypothesis that large GS are costly was approached by analysing: 1) plant communities growing under different macronutrient conditions at the Park Grass Experiment (Rothamsted, UK); 2) plant communities under different conditions of macronutrient limitation and insect, mollusc, and rabbit herbivory at Nash's Field in Silwood Park (UK); and, 3) Ellenberg's indicator values which represent the realised niche of a species in terms light, water, and soil fertility. Support for the hypothesis was found in all experiments. The range of analyses show that angiosperm plants with large genomes (e.g. 1C-value > 5 pg) are indeed under greater macronutrient limitation in comparison to plants with small genomes, and that it is polyploid plants with large GS which are the most competitive when macronutrient resources are plentiful. In terms of herbivory, the key finding is a highly significant negative association between GS and rabbit herbivory. A species' realised niche for soil fertility was found to show a positive association with its GS. Overall the thesis shows that angiosperm GS plays a central role in plant community composition and responses to macronutrient conditions, and potentially on higher ecosystem processes through associations at different trophic levels.

The first chapter assesses the impact of the cohort size on labour market outcomes. Using exogenous variation and micro-level data for France, the UK and the US, we study the effect of supply shocks measured at different ages on unemployment rates and wages during a cohort's life cycle. The results from an IV estimation show that the largest magnitude of the effects is found when the cohort size is measured at age 25. The impact of both wages and unemployment rates are temporary, however, both decreasing with time. The second chapter analyses the effects of large inflows of foreign students on English undergraduates. Our results confirm previous findings that there is no overall effect, but we identify changes in the distribution of natives. We find that top performing English students are crowded in by foreign students. It is also mainly English-born males, natives who do not have English as their mother tongue and those of Asian ethnic origins that are crowded in by foreign students. In chapter three, we aim to understand the short-term effects of changes in the level of the tuition fees charged by English universities on students' geographic mobility. Our results suggest that the increase in tuition fees in 2006/07 charged by English universities led students to enrol into universities that are closer to home, with a larger effect experienced by men and White students. Moreover, we find that students are less likely to move to universities located in rich areas.

O presente estudo visa dar luz sobre fenômenos ainda pouco explorados que ocorrem durante a estratificação em leitos de jigagem, bem como sobre novas possibilidades de aplicação da técnica. Por meio de testes com misturas de agregados em jigues hidráulico e pneumático descontínuos, foi pela primeira vez examinada a ocorrência de convecção granular em jigues. Os fatores envolvidos em sua formação e a influência sobre a estratificação foram analisados em detalhes. Do mesmo modo, foi examinada a influência da granulometria do leito sobre a estratificação em jigues pneumáticos e a possibilidade de uso do mesmo como um equipamento multi-separador. Os resultados revelam a existência de um fluxo ordenado e estacionário de partículas durante a pulsação do leito, ascendente na porção central e descendente nas bordas do jigue, de modo similar ao fluxo convectivo descritos na literatura para leitos vibrados mecanicamente. Este fluxo convectivo gerou uma distorção no rearranjo do leito estratificado, dando origem a um perfil horizontal de estratificação no qual as partículas leves se concentraram nas bordas e as partículas densas se concentraram preferencialmente na zona central dos estratos. Com base nos resultados, um mecanismo de formação do fluxo convectivo e um modelo preditivo do rearranjo do leito foram propostos. Observou-se também que a diminuição da granulometria e o aumento da distribuição de tamanho dos constituintes do leito teve um efeito positivo sobre a estratificação. Os resultados sugerem que isto pode estar em parte relacionado a maior compactação do leito quando da presença de partículas de menor tamanho. Também, resultados experimentais demonstraram a possibilidade de uso do jigue pneumático para realizar a operação conjunta de separação de materiais rochosos e não rochosos em um único estágio. O desempenho global na remoção de contaminantes não-rochosos foi similar ao de separadores pneumáticos e sistemas de "sorting" automático descritos na literatura. Ainda, a quantidade inicial de contaminantes no sistema teve um efeito desprezível sobre o desempenho. Os resultados obtidos, em particular aqueles relacionados à convecção granular, fornecem novas perspectivas a respeito dos fenômenos envolvidos na estratificação em jigues. Ainda, benefícios práticos podem ser extraídos a partir dos resultados da análise do efeito da granulometria sobre a estratificação e do uso de jigues pneumáticos como multi-separadores. / This study aims to shed some light on some unclear phenomena that occurs during particle stratification in jigs as well as on new possibilities of application of jigging technique. For the first time, the occurrence of granular convection in jigging beds was analyzed by considering the case of hydraulic and pneumatic jigs operating with mixtures of aggregates. The elements involved in the pattern formation and its influence on bed stratification were analyzed in detail. The influence of particle size distribution on bed stratification and the possibility of using pneumatic jigging as a multi-separator were also examined. The experimental results reveal the existence of a steady, ordered flow of particles over bed pulsation, in which particles move upward in the center of the jig bed and downward along the walls of the jig container, similarly to the circulation patterns reported in the literature. The convection gave rise to a distortion in the particle rearrangement, engendering the formation of a horizontal stratification profile in which light particles tended to be concentrated along the walls while dense particles tended to be concentrated preferentially in the center portion of the strata. On the basis of the experimental results, a mechanism of pattern formation and a prediction model were proposed. The results also revealed that the decrease of the particle size and the increase in the particle size distribution had a positive influence on stratification extent. It was suggested by the results that this behavior can be related to the higher bed compaction due to the presence of smaller particles in the bed. Also, experimental results indicated the technical feasibility of the combined use of pneumatic jigging for the removal undesired non-stony materials together with the bed stratification in only one single stage. The reported separation efficiency in the removal of low-density materials was comparable to those of air classifiers and automatic sorting systems. Also, the initial content of contaminants seemed to have a negligible effect on the separation performance. The results obtained, in particular those related to the granular convection, provides new perspectives about the phenomena involved in stratification by jigging. Moreover, practical benefits can be obtained from the results about the influence of particle size on bed stratification and about the usage of pneumatic jigging for multi-separation.

Antalet kraftiga människor ökar i Sverige enligt Statistiska Centralbyrån. Behovet av kläder i större storlekar har därmed blivit mer utbrett. KappAhl har sedan 1997 haft en kollektion vid namn XLNT som vänder sig till detta marknadssegment. XLNT är idag ett relativt känt och inarbetat varumärke som har vuxit stadigt. För att förbättra kollektionen ytterligare vill KappAhl göra en vidareutveckling av XLNT. Syftet med denna uppsats var att undersöka hur KappAhl ska kunna utveckla och förbättra XLNT kollektionen. För att uppfylla syftet har vi kartlagt de befintliga konkurrenterna H&M, Lindex, Åhléns samt Ellos och deras motsvarigheter till XLNT. Vi har genom kvalitativa undersökningar utrett vad kunderna anser om varumärket i sin helhet med allt ifrån inriktning till varuvisning och marknadsföring. Vidare har vi studerat ett antal marknadsstrategier som är av betydelse för KappAhl och XLNT. I undersökningen kom vi bland annat fram till att konkurrensen mellan KappAhl och ovanstående företag är hård då deras plus-size sortiment inte skiljer sig så mycket från varandra. Vid de kvalitativa intervjuerna framgick det att kunderna är relativt nöjda med XLNT. Vad som framförallt efterfrågas är bättre passformar, kläder med ett tuffare uttryck samt att KappAhl ska visa upp och marknadsföra sin plus-size kollektion. Vi poängterar även vikten av tydlig segmentering, differentiering och positionering. Avslutningen delger förslag till hur KappAhl kan förbättra XLNT med allt ifrån design, marknadsföring och kundrelation. / Program: Textil produktutveckling och entreprenörskap

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, 1982. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND SCIENCE. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Mark V. Parish. / M.S.

Materiais complexos como porcelanas e porcelanatos tem suas propriedades maximizadas quando atingem altas densidades finais após a sinterização. Contudo, a sua formulação contém no mínimo quatro matérias- primas diferentes, sendo o caulim a maior parte, mas também contendo quartzo e feldspatos. A granulometria final da mistura é controlada por uma única etapa de moagem de todos os materiais misturados. O objetivo deste trabalho foi obter combinações de diferentes granulometrias de ortoclásio, albita e quartzo com uma única granulometria de caulim através de cálculos de máximo empacotamento com o objetivo de alcançar a máxima densidade a cru, mantendo-se uma única composição química final. Os resultados mostraram que utilizando o conceito de empacotamento de partículas e otimizando a distribuição granulométrica foi possível obter corpos de prova com maiores densidades finais, menor retração final, além de reduzir a temperatura de queima, o que impacta diretamente no custo de produção. / Complex materials such as porcelain and porcelain stoneware have maximized their properties when they reach high final densities after sintering. However, formulations contain at least four different raw materials, where the kaolin is the major constituent, but also quartz and feldspars. The final particle size of the mixture is controlled by a single step milling of all materials. The attempt of this paper is to make different combinations of particles size distributions of orthoclase, albite and quartz with a single particle size of kaolin by calculation of maximum packing in order to achieve maximum density crude keeping same final chemical composition. The results showed that using the concept of particle packing and optimizing the particle size distribution was possible to obtain specimens with higher density end, the lower total shrinkage, in addition to reducing the firing temperature, which directly impacts the cost of production.

No description available.

This thesis is dedicated to determination of cost of equity capital. The main objective is to evaluate whether the cost of equity may, in its calculations, vary depending on the size of a company. The means for achieving the results can be comparison of calculations of cost of equity by model with historical returns actually achieved. This is what many empirical studies are focused on. A partial goal of this paper is to analyze the results of selected studies and their mutual comparison. Relevant theoretical explanations will be also presented.