This dissertation examines the nature of luxury and luxury branded products, and the meanings attached to them. This is the first study of its kind as materials, manufacturing, sales and marketing processes are analyzed in relation to the retail environment to establish tiers of luxury relevant in today’s global market. Existing literature about the definitions and implementation of marketing strategies that impact on luxury brands (e.g. Danziger, 2005; Kapferer et al, 2009; and Okonkwo, 2007) demonstrate a lack of clarity as marketeers concentrate on adding value to mass produced products. In essence, terminology is employed, it is argued, that artificially elevates the product by attribution. The dissertation goes on to examine the complexity of the marketing tools used to add value to mass-produced products and a taxonomy of luxury is established to differentiate categories of products. Luxury is a single category that is demonstrably unstable and it is manifested in the changing landscape of the luxury brand market which is considered as part of the fashion cycle where luxury brands continue to extend their product offer to satisfy a continually growing consumer market. Branding has become increasingly important and as a result the proposed taxonomy of the luxury and luxury brands market contributes to a better understanding of the sector. Distinctions are made through the use of three Case Studies (Louis Vuitton, Prada and Tanner Krolle) to address the differences between the luxury and luxury brand markets through the analysis of products within the leather goods category. Thus this dissertation redefines concepts of luxury that are established through new materials, techniques and production methods. Existing definitions of luxury are unstable due to an ever changing cyclical market and are exacerbated by marketing, branding, advertising and mass production. It is important to remove the façade of marketing and branding, despite, or because, of them being powerful forms of communication, in order to provide a perspective that acknowledges the change and importance of fashion business methodologies to ensure business growth. At the same time it is also important to recognize the fundamental significance of luxury brand heritage and the convenient message this sends to the consumer. This work provides an important new platform for future research in terms of a more nuanced debate on luxury in all its guises. Evidence of the broad research potential of this dissertation exists, for example, in the growing demand for luxury and luxury branded products and services of the emerging economies in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries. In addition as the market changes and demands for luxury increases, luxury and luxury brand companies could use this research to connect more meaningfully to their heritage when defining new luxury goods and services. It is evident that concepts of luxury will continue to be defined as part of a complex structure of understanding and interpretation. In light of this, one must not lose sight of the importance of the knowledge of the craftsmen and women and their ability to communicate the intricacies of their skills in order to provoke and challenge the perpetuating luxury debate.

No description available.

<p>Since their rediscovery in 1995, low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes have received wide-spread attention as practical capacity-approaching code candidates. It has been shown that the class of codes can perform arbitrarily close to the channel capacity, and LDPC codes are also used or suggested for a number of important current and future communication standards. However, the problem of implementing an energy-efficient decoder has not yet been solved. Whereas the decoding algorithm is computationally simple, withuncomplicated arithmetic operations and low accuracy requirements, the random structure and irregularity of a theoretically well-defined code does not easily allow efficient VLSI implementations. Thus the LDPC decoding algorithm can be said to be communication-bound rather than computation-bound.</p><p>In this thesis, a modification to the sum-product decoding algorithm called early-decision decoding is suggested. The modification is based on the idea that the values of the bits in a block can be decided individually during decoding. As the sum-product decoding algorithm is a soft-decision decoder, a reliability can be defined for each bit. When the reliability of a bit is above a certain threshold, the bit can be removed from the rest of the decoding process, and thus the internal communication associated with the bit can be removed in subsequent iterations. However, with the early decision modification, an increased error probability is associated. Thus, bounds on the achievable performance as well as methods to detect graph inconsistencies resulting from erroneous decisions are presented. Also, a hybrid decoder achieving a negligible performance penalty compared to the sum-product decoder is presented. With the hybrid decoder, the internal communication is reduced with up to 40% for a rate-1/2 code with a length of 1152 bits, whereas increasing the rate allows significantly higher gains.</p><p>The algorithms have been implemented in a Xilinx Virtex 5 FPGA, and the resulting slice utilization andenergy dissipation have been estimated. However, due to increased logic overhead of the early decision decoder, the slice utilization increases from 14.5% to 21.0%, whereas the logic energy dissipation reduction from 499 pJ to 291 pJ per iteration and bit is offset by the clock distribution power, increased from 141 pJ to 191 pJ per iteration and bit. Still, the early decision decoder shows a net 16% estimated decrease of energy dissipation.</p>

Thesis (M.A.)--Florida State University, 2003. / Advisor: Dr. John Corrigan, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Religion. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed 5/4/04). Includes bibliographical references.

Since their rediscovery in 1995, low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes have received wide-spread attention as practical capacity-approaching code candidates. It has been shown that the class of codes can perform arbitrarily close to the channel capacity, and LDPC codes are also used or suggested for a number of important current and future communication standards. However, the problem of implementing an energy-efficient decoder has not yet been solved. Whereas the decoding algorithm is computationally simple, withuncomplicated arithmetic operations and low accuracy requirements, the random structure and irregularity of a theoretically well-defined code does not easily allow efficient VLSI implementations. Thus the LDPC decoding algorithm can be said to be communication-bound rather than computation-bound. In this thesis, a modification to the sum-product decoding algorithm called early-decision decoding is suggested. The modification is based on the idea that the values of the bits in a block can be decided individually during decoding. As the sum-product decoding algorithm is a soft-decision decoder, a reliability can be defined for each bit. When the reliability of a bit is above a certain threshold, the bit can be removed from the rest of the decoding process, and thus the internal communication associated with the bit can be removed in subsequent iterations. However, with the early decision modification, an increased error probability is associated. Thus, bounds on the achievable performance as well as methods to detect graph inconsistencies resulting from erroneous decisions are presented. Also, a hybrid decoder achieving a negligible performance penalty compared to the sum-product decoder is presented. With the hybrid decoder, the internal communication is reduced with up to 40% for a rate-1/2 code with a length of 1152 bits, whereas increasing the rate allows significantly higher gains. The algorithms have been implemented in a Xilinx Virtex 5 FPGA, and the resulting slice utilization andenergy dissipation have been estimated. However, due to increased logic overhead of the early decision decoder, the slice utilization increases from 14.5% to 21.0%, whereas the logic energy dissipation reduction from 499 pJ to 291 pJ per iteration and bit is offset by the clock distribution power, increased from 141 pJ to 191 pJ per iteration and bit. Still, the early decision decoder shows a net 16% estimated decrease of energy dissipation.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2007. / Title from title screen (viewed February 23, 2010) Degree awarded 2007; thesis submitted 2006. Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Dept. of English, School of English, Art Histoty, Film and Media, Faculty of Arts. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.

Submitted by Reginaldo Soares de Freitas (reginaldo.freitas@ufv.br) on 2016-06-27T15:42:00Z No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 224160 bytes, checksum: 7482b26ac5f3b2aee7820ab732588147 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-27T15:42:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 224160 bytes, checksum: 7482b26ac5f3b2aee7820ab732588147 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2000-08-18 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / O presente experimento avaliou o efeito da suplementação mineral “proteinada” comercial, durante o verão, a qualidade bromatológica da pastagem de “braquiária do brejo” (Brachiaria radicans) e a degradabilidade ruminal, por intermédio da técnica in situ da matéria seca (MS) e proteína bruta (PB), de alguns alimentos concentrados utilizados como suplementos. Para o estudo de terminação, utilizaram-se 24 novilhos Nelore inteiros, que receberam suplementação mineral (SM), suplementação à base de milho e farelo de trigo e uréia, Nutri-Secas (NS), e suplementação à base de farelo de trigo e de farelo de soja, Nutri-Águas (NA). Os animais apresentaram ganhos de 0,60; 0,76; e 0,88 kg/dia, com consumo de suplemento de 0,13; 0,23; e 0,20 kg/dia, para SM, NA e NS, respectivamente. A concentração de amônia ruminal foi maior para o suplemento NS; em todos os tratamentos, o pH manteve-se acima de 6,2. Para a avaliação qualitativa da Brachiaria radicans, utilizaram-se as metodologias da extrusa, do pastejo simulado e da disponibilidade total. A digestibilidade in vitro da matéria seca apresentou efeito (P<0,01) para o mês de amostragem, mas não entre as metodologias de coleta. O maior valor foi da extrusa, de 61,03, principalmente quando comparado à disponibilidade total, que apresentou os menores valores (52,49%). Os teores de PB apresentaram efeito para os métodos de amostragem (P<0,01), e não para o período de coleta, não havendo diferença entre os métodos do pastejo simulado e da extrusa. O método de disponibilidade total apresentou valor abaixo de 7%. Os teores de fibra em detergente neutro (FDN) foram influenciados pelos métodos de amostragem (P<0,01) e pelo período de coleta (P<0,05). Os valores de FDN (72,3%) e FDA (38,2%) encontrados para os métodos de amostragem mostraram que as forrageiras tropicais são ricas em parede celular. O estudo de degradabilidade ruminal da MS e PB, pela técnica in situ, foi realizado utilizando-se três novilhos inteiros fistulados no rúmen, com os seguintes alimentos: glúten de milho, polpa cítrica, farelo de soja, farelo de trigo, milho moído e farelo de amendoim, incubados em triplicata no rúmen nos tempos de 48, 36, 24, 12, 6, 3 e 0 horas. Os dados foram ajustados por regressão não-linear. A degradabilidade efetiva (DE) da MS dos alimentos foi de 29,3; 76,6; 71,3; 60,5; 59,6; e 60,8%, respectivamente, para taxa de passagem de 5%/h e da PB, 8,5; 56,1; 57,4; 67,9; 30,1; e 85,2%, para taxa de passagem de 5%/h. / The present experiment evaluates the mineral protein supplementation effects on grass of young bulls, in the rainy season period; the chemical composition of the Brachiaria radicans, and the ruminal degradation of dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) by the in situ method of some feeds as supplements. For the study of the finishing were evaluated 24 Nellore young bulls supplemented with, mineral supplement (MS), corn-wheat meal based protein supplement (NS), and wheat-soybean meal based protein supplement (NA). The animal showed average daily gain of .60, .76 and .88 kg/animal/day and supplement intake of .13, .23, and .20 kg/animal/day for the MS, NA and NS supplements respectively. The ruminal ammonia concentration was larger for the NS supplement, the pH for all treatments was maintained above 6.2. Extrusa collection, simulated grazing and total availability methods were used to evaluated the quality of B. radicans, there was effect for the month of collection (P<0.01), but not for the method for the “in vitro” dry matter disappearance, having the extrusa collection method showed the larger values (61,03%), mainly when compared with the total availability (52.49%). The CP was effect for the samples methods, but not for the month of collection there was no difference for the CP among the extrusa and simulated grazing methods, for the total availability, the values of the crude protein were under 7%. The values of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) was effect for the samples month and the collection methods, the values for the NDF (72.3%) and acid detergent fiber (38.2%) showed that the tropical forages even high in cell wall. The ‘in situ’ DM and CP degradation study was made using three rumen fistulated animals, of the following feeds: corn gluten meal, citrus pulp, soybean meal, wheat meal, ground corn and peanut meal, incubated in triplicate in the rumen, in the times of: 48, 36, 24, 12, 6, 3 and 0 hours. The data were fitted by non-linear regression. The DM effective degradation (ED) of the feeds were 29.3, 76.6, 71.3, 60.5, 59.6, and 60.8%, respectively, for a passage rate of 5%/h and the CPED were 8.5, 56.1, 57.4, 67.9, 30.1, 85.2, for the passage rate of 5%/h.

A two part project spanning four and one half years was designed to investigate a number of aspects of the natural history of Octopus dofleini in the Northeast Pacific. The tag-release recapture (Part I) involved weekly SCUBA dives, during daylight hours, at three sites on Southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. A total of 320 octopuses were sighted during 616 dives (Part I) and 151 of those octopuses were tagged or recaptured. The ratio of dives per octopus sighted was 1.93:1 and the ratio of dives per octopus tagged or recaptured was 4.08:1. A total of 98 octopuses were tagged (Part I) and 30 of those octopuses were recaptured two or more times for a recapture rate of 30.61%. Statistical analysis of data weighted to provide uniform effort showed Site 1 (Tanner Rock) to have a significantly greater number of large octopuses while Site 2 (Tozier Rock) had a significantly greater number of very small octopuses. An analysis of the data on octopus sex ratios found no significant difference between the number of males and females at each site even though there had been a significant difference in the ratio within Site 2. Analysis of data on annual distribution of octopus body weight combined with the results from the recapture of individual octopuses led to the proposal of a four year lifespan for female Octopus dofleini and an undetermined, but longer, lifespan for males of the species. An examination of the data on octopus movement showed that a peak number of small octopuses (approximately 250 g) appeared at the sites in February. The evidence showed that over the next 19 to 22 months the octopuses grew from approximately 250 grams to a pre adult body weight of 13.8 kg for males (in September) and 14.7 kg for females (in December). No octopuses between 16 and 19.5 kg were captured suggesting a movement of octopuses of that body weight away from the sites. Small numbers of octopuses weighing between 19.5 kg and 28 kg were captured mainly during the first half of the year. An analysis of octopus position data showed that Octopus dofleini does not maintain a constant distance from its nearest neighbour. Nearest neighbour distance was not significantly influenced by the size or sex of the neighbour nor by changes in water temperature. A highly significant correlation was found between estimated den volume and octopus body weight. There were no significant relationships between den surroundings, number of exits, den type and den depth when compared to den usage suggesting that Octopus dofleini is an opportunistic animal using whatever shelter of appropriate volume it discovers. The major food item at all sites as determined by midden heap contents was the Red Rock Crab, Cancer productus. An examination of the physical condition of each octopus captured revealed 21.2% of the animals had either scars or amputated arms or both. Correlations examining the relationships between water temperature and growth rate, body weight, sex and nearest neighbour distance were nonsignificant. Part 11 of the project was the physical measuring and describing of each den at each site. During the 126 SCUBA dives done another 127 octopuses were sighted. As octopuses were captured only when it was necessary to examine the inside of the den there were only 11 octopuses captured during the second part of the project. In total, 447 octopuses were sighted during 742 dives. This results in an effort per octopus sighted of 1.66 dives per octopus. / Graduate

No description available.

<p>Low-density parity-check codes have recently received much attention because of their excellent performance and the availability of a simple iterative decoder. The decoder, however, requires large amounts of memory, which causes problems with memory consumption. </p><p>We investigate a new decoding scheme for low density parity check codes to address this problem. The basic idea is to define a reliability measure and a threshold, and stop updating the messages for a bit whenever its reliability is higher than the threshold. We also consider some modifications to this scheme, including a dynamic threshold more suitable for codes with cycles, and a scheme with soft thresholds which allow the possibility of removing a decision which have proved wrong. </p><p>By exploiting the bits different rates of convergence we are able to achieve an efficiency of up to 50% at a bit error rate of less than 10^-5. The efficiency should roughly correspond to the power consumption of a hardware implementation of the algorithm.</p>