Hydraulic systems represent a crucial part of the drivetrain of mobile machines. The most important drivers of current developments, increasing energy efficiency and productivity, are leading to certain trends in technology. On a subsystem level, working hydraulics are utilizing effects by improving control functions and by maximum usage of energy recovery potential. Independent metering and displacement control, partly in combination with hybrid concepts, are the dominating approaches. Traction drives gain advantage from optimized power split transmissions, which consequently are being used in a growing number of applications. On the level of components, increase of efficiency and dynamics as well as power density are important trends. Altogether, design of systems and components is more and more based on modular concepts. In this sense, among others, sensors and control elements are being integrated to actuators; electric and hydraulic technology is being merged. In order to achieve maximum efficiency and performance of the entire machine, control of hydraulics has to include the whole drivetrain and the entire mobile machine in its application. In modern words, mobile hydraulic systems are a part of cyber physical systems.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / Regional shopping centres play an important role in the South African economy, especially by providing location services to retailers (large and small) and non-retailers. One of the main value propositions of regional shopping centres is to attract a large number of customer footprint to a central location where a group of retailers can market and sell to a larger customer market. Independent retail jewellers have numerous channel options available, in South Africa the preferred channel for independent jewellery retailers is a physical retail outlet within regional shopping centres. The purpose of this research is to determine the value proposition quality of Cape Town Metropolitan regional shopping centres as a preferred location to independent retail jewellers. The location value proposition analysis was performed by evaluating a set of location criteria as prescribed by available literature. Furthermore, this research also explores the antecedents of relationships and trust between shopping centre management and independent retail jewellers. This research followed a mixed-method approach and the focus is a sample of regional shopping centres and independent retail jewellers within the Cape Town Metropolitan area. Information was gathered through interviews by using structured questionnaires, which was prepared from literature on location value assessment criteria for shopping centres, relationship management and building trust within relationships. The research shows that although regional shopping centres are the preferred channel for independent retail jewellers there are some location value proposition elements that require improvement. A key concern for shopping centre management should be the imbalance in power created by contractual agreements that mostly favour regional shopping centres. This imbalance in power negatively influences relationships and trust between shopping centre management and independent retail jewellers. Furthermore, the feedback from independent retailer jewellers is that rental costs charged for location services are miss-aligned to the value received from these services. This study is limited that it only surveyed regional shopping centre management and independent retailer jewellers within the Cape Town Metropolitan area in South Africa. The limited scope and focus of this study confines the generalisability of this study for other types of retailers and / or other metropolitan areas within South Africa. The value of this study is that it tested location criteria from international literature within the South African context and set the foundation for future research, which is currently limited in South Africa.

Due to their disproportionate risk of tenancy non-sustainment there have been concerns raised for young people making a pathway out of homelessness into independent living. Despite these concerns, there has been limited research looking at how young people experience tenancy sustainment or where they move onto after terminating a tenancy. This thesis, drawing on Bourdieu’s (1990a) theory of practice, presents a reconceptualisation of tenancy sustainment as a practice of sustaining a tenancy. The theoretical-empirical analysis is based on data collected through longitudinal research involving two waves of semi- structured interviews with 25 young people, aged 16-25, who had recently made a pathway out of homelessness into their own independent tenancies. The interdependency between a tenant and their tenancy presented young people with pressures which they developed techniques of independent living in response to in order to sustain their tenancy and make it a home. Young people not only had a particular housing position of being a tenant, they held family and education-employment positions which took part in the formation and shaping of the pressures they experienced living independently. Tenancies were not seen as an end in themselves by young people who desired, through the experience of sustaining a tenancy, increasingly independent positions within their other social positions as well. An uneven process of actually existing neoliberalism across policy areas through its influence on young people’s constellation of interdependent relations also created a dissonance within the positions held by young people fostering social suffering. Young people ending a tenancy viewed this as a ‘step backwards’ when it meant decreasing independence such as a return to supported accommodation; ambivalence where it arose from the end of a relationship; and as a move forwards, or ‘getting on with life’, when making a youth transition and housing pathway towards establishing their own family household.

ITC/USA 2011 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Seventh Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 24-27, 2011 / Bally's Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada / Current failure analysis practices use diagnostic technology developed over the past 100 years of designing and manufacturing electrical and mechanical equipment to identify root cause of equipment failure requiring expertise with the equipment under analysis. If the equipment that failed had telemetry embedded, prognostic algorithms can be used to identify the deterministic behavior in completely normal appearing data from fully functional equipment used for identifying which equipment will fail within 1 year of use, can also identify when the presence of deterministic behavior was initiated for any equipment failure.

本研究將總經理之異動分為自願性與非自願異動二種，主要探討董事會之特性與、控制股東與總經理發生非自願性異動間之關聯性，並且強調從董事會獨立性及最終控制者對董事會之控制力觀點，探討董事會解除總經理職務之決策行為。除此之外，本研究尚探討總經理異動後影響董事會選任繼任總經理之決策行為，主要從董事會之獨立性與異動前績效兩項觀點。研究樣本為民國八十八年至九十二年之台灣上市公司，探用Logit model來檢驗假說。 在總經理發生非自願性異動方面，實證結果顯示，當前期的績效愈差時，總經理發生非自願性異動的機率愈高，本研究並將董事會特性分為股權結構及董事會獨立性兩種，並加入最終控制者觀點，實證結果顯示，獨立董事的比率愈高，總經理發生非自願性異動的機率愈高，惟其結果不具統計上的重大性。總經理之持股比率佔董事全體持股比率較高時，愈容易發生總經理非自願性異動，但不具有統計上的重大性。當董事長與總經理為同一人時，較不易發生總經理非自願性異動。此外，在最終控制者方面，實證結果顯示，當控制股東席次控制權愈高時，總經理發生非自願性異動的機率愈低，控制股東的盈餘分配權與席次控制權的偏離程度愈大時，總經理發生非自願性異動的機率愈低，但不具統計上的重大性。 在繼任總經理特性與董事會特性關聯性方面，實證結果顯示，當異動前績效愈差時，董事會愈傾向於選用外部繼任者，但不具有統計上的重大性。獨立董事比率愈高，董事會愈傾向於選用外部繼任者。 　　整體而言，績效是影響我國上市公司總經理發生非自願性異動的重要原因之一，除此之外，董事長兼任總經理之情形，讓董事長有能力去阻止他們被撤換，進而降低總經理非自願性的離職機率。由於我國上市公司特殊的股權結構，使得控制股東掌控了董事會並且積極參與公司經營，造成董事會流於形式，無形中降低了董事會的監督職能，而設置獨立董事是提高董事會職能發揮的重要機制之一，在本研究中，雖未發現獨立董事的設置對於董事會的監督職能之顯著助益，但發現設置獨立董事在決定繼任者方面，能提出專業建言，使得董事會選任繼任總經理能有更廣泛的人選，而非侷限於公司內部。 / This research CEO turnover will divide into voluntary turnover and non- voluntary turnover. This research discusses the relationship among corporate performance, characteristics of board of the directors, non- voluntary CEO turnover and controlling shareholders. This research emphasizes the board of directors independence and the controlling shareholders’ controlling force over the board of directors and discusses the board of directors’ policy-making behavior of firing CEO.In addition, this research also discusses how does the board of directors appoint succeed CEO.The sample consists of all public companies listed on Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation over the four-year period 2000-2003.According to previous studies, the characteristics of the board of directors are ownership structure and independence. This research also considerate the controlling shareholders. This research provides evidence on the relationship between non- voluntary CEO turnover and corporate performance. The likelihood of non- voluntary CEO turnover is significantly negatively related to the pre-performance. Non- voluntary CEO turnover rate is low when the chairman of the board and CEO are the same person. In addition, this research provides evidence on the relationship between the board of directors independence and the characteristics of the succeed CEO.When the fraction of outside directors is high, the board of directors comparatively possibly appoints the outsider successor.

我國於2006年1月11日修正公布證券交易法，正式引進獨立董事及審計委員會制度。國內設置獨立董事制度時間尚短，正處於持續探索與完善的階段。不僅各界學者對此改革有不同看法，其實行效果亦有待檢驗。對於國內獨立董事制度未來將會如何發展，是否能夠發揮監督力量，仍有待觀察。 　　本研究以2001年至2005年之上市公司為研究對象，透過t檢定與迴歸模型分析我國獨立董事制度與監督績效之關係；檢視法令賦予獨立董事之職責是否確能發揮，並探討主管機關於2002年起積極鼓勵公司設置獨立董事是否對公司監督機制造成結構性改變。實證結果發現，獨立董事對公司重大事項能發揮監督功能，惟監督績效未如預期明顯，需有強化監督之必要；此外，公司監督機制於該制度實施前後存在結構性改變，此改變於制度實施當年度最顯著，之後隨著制度開始實施而逐漸縮小改變差距。 / The newly amended Securities and Exchange Law has stipulated the set up of independent directors and audit committee on January 11, 2006 in Taiwan. The set up of the system is only for a short time and continues to explore with the implementation. There are different views on the reform, and the efficiency has to be tested. The future development and oversight function of independent directors are needed to observe. This study examines the relationship of independent directors and monitoring effectiveness by using a sample of listed companies from 2001 to 2005. Whether the responsibilities under the Act are executed, and if there are structural changes because authorities encourage the initial public offerings set up independent directors since 2002. The results show that independent directors can play a major oversight function on major company matters, but monitoring effectiveness is not significant as expected and needs to strengthen it. In addition, there are structural changes before and after the implementation of policies, and it is most significant in 2002, after gradually smaller with time.

The problems we study in this thesis arise in computer science, extremal set theory and quantum computing. The first common feature of these problems is that each can be reduced to characterizing the independent sets of maximum size in a suitable graph. A second common feature is that the size of these independent sets meets an eigenvalue bound due to Delsarte and Hoffman. Thirdly, the graphs that arise belong to association schemes that have already been studied in other contexts. Our first problem involves covering arrays on graphs, which arises in computer science. The goal is to find a smallest covering array on a given graph <i>G</i>. It is known that this is equivalent to determining whether <i>G</i> has a homomorphism into a <i>covering array graph</i>, <i>CAG(n,g)</i>. Thus our question: Are covering array graphs cores? A covering array graph has as vertex set the partitions of <i>{1,. . . ,n}</i> into <i>g</i> cells each of size at least <i>g</i>, with two vertices being adjacent if their meet has size <i>g²</i>. We determine that <i>CAG(9,3)</i> is a core. We also determine some partial results on the family of graphs <i>CAG(g²,g)</i>. The key to our method is characterizing the independent sets that meet the Delsarte-Hoffman bound---we call these sets <i>ratio-tight</i>. It turns out that <i>CAG(9,3)</i> sits inside an association scheme, which will be useful but apparently not essential. We then turn our attention to our next problem: the Erdos-Ko-Rado theorem and its <i>q</i>-analogue. We are motivated by a desire to find a unifying proof that will cover both versions. The EKR theorem gives the maximum number of pairwise disjoint <i>k</i>-sets of a fixed <i>v</i>-set, and characterizes the extremal cases. Its <i>q</i>-analogue does the same for <i>k</i>-dimensional subspaces of a fixed <i>v</i>-dimensional space over <i>GF(q)</i>. We find that the methods we developed for covering array graphs apply to the EKR theorem. Moreover, unlike most other proofs of EKR, our argument applies equally well to the <i>q</i>-analogue. We provide a proof of the characterization of the extremal cases for the <i>q</i>-analogue when <i>v=2k</i>; no such proof has appeared before. Again, the graphs we consider sit inside of well-known association schemes; this time the schemes play a more central role. Finally, we deal with the problem in quantum computing. There are tasks that can be performed using quantum entanglement yet apparently are beyond the reach of methods using classical physics only. One particular task can be solved classically if and only if the graph &Omega;(<i>n</i>) has chromatic number <i>n</i>. The graph &Omega;(<i>n</i>) has as vertex set the set of all <i>?? 1</i> vectors of length <i>n</i>, with two vertices adjacent if they are orthogonal. We find that <i>n</i> is a trivial upper bound on the chromatic number, and that this bound holds with equality if and only if the Delsarte-Hoffman bound on independent sets does too. We are thus led to characterize the ratio-tight independent sets. We are then able to leverage our result using a recursive argument to show that <i>&chi;</i>(&Omega;(<i>n</i>)) > <i>n</i> for all <i>n</i> > 8. It is notable that the reduction to independent sets, the characterization of ratio-tight sets, and the recursive argument all follow from different proofs of the Delsarte-Hoffman bound. Furthermore, &Omega;(<i>n</i>) also sits inside a well-known association scheme, which again plays a central role in our approach.

More than half of the human population will be living in urban areas in 2008, of which 81 percent will be in poor areas of towns and cities of the developing world. Governments of most African cities are unable to provide the urgently needed sanitation facilities amongst other services. The informal sector (small independent providers) rather than externally supported efforts provide the majority of household sanitation facilities. The commonly held assumption amongst sector professionals is that partnership with the informal private sector to develop the sanitation market is a sustainable way of increasing access to improved sanitation in low-income urban areas. This research assesses the capacity of small independent providers of sanitation services (SIPS) to up scale and accelerate the delivery of improved sanitation. The thesis adds to an · improved understanding of the capacity of small independent sanitation providers to upscale the delivery of improved sanitation and answers the following questions: what is their level of knowledge, skills and experiences of various sanitation options?; what are house owners' preferences?; and what are their experiences of obtaining sanitation services from small independent providers?. The research adopted a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies in order to ensure the validity and reliability of the findings. The field work was conducted in the three municipalities in the city of Oar es Salaam, Tanzania. The thesis concludes that small independent providers have the potential to upscale the delivery of improved sanitation facilities but not without capacity building, particularly in the areas of developing appropriate sanitation technologies; appropriate enabling environment (infrastructure to support hygienic emptying and sludge disposal, and effective policy and regulatory framework) and support with demand generation. The implications of the research highlight the need to integrate any SIPS capacity enhancement and 'official' involvement in sanitation provision as part of an urban improvement programme. The recommendations from the thesis outline key support areas for the respective SIPS typologies, and the responsibilities of the various stakeholders (government, NGOs, donors) and SIPS. Potential areas of further research include development of appropriate sanitation technology for low-income urban settlements and creating an effective enabling environment.

The need for Registered Nurses (RNs) in the long-term care of older people is being questioned, particularly in the context of nursing shortages, while suggestions for 'professionalising' Care Assistant (CA) roles are emerging. Despite ongoing debates about the importance of their work, research has so far been unable to provide an evidence-base for the outcomes of the work of either RNs or CAs in UK care homes. Using a multi-method interpretive approach, adopting a structure-process-outcome framework and grounded in the philosophical hermeneutics of Hans-Georg Gadamer, this qualitative research sought to illuminate the distinct contributions made by RNs and CAs to outcomes for older people in care homes. RNs and CAs from around the UK contributed 'significant' examples of their work for Phase 1 of the study and Phase 2 comprised researcher fieldwork (observation, interviews and documentary analysis) in three care homes around England. Participants included RNs, CAs, older residents, relatives, home managers and professionals working in the homes. The findings offer a rich and detailed analysis of the realities of the work, much of which takes place 'behind closed doors' and has been described to a limited extent in the literature. They suggest that the CAs' daily support helps residents to function and to feel valued, and that close, reciprocal, family-type relationships develop. The health knowledge and clinical expertise of good RNs is critical in determining residents' health outcomes, particularly in the long-term, and RNs' 24-hour 'perceptual presence' can make life or death differences in acute or emergency situations. RNs also influence the environment, atmosphere and quality of care in the home. In the context of the literature, the findings offer new insights into the role and contribution of RNs and CAs, the outcomes of their work and the priorities of residents. The study produced new models of RN and CA roles in care homes, encompassing dimensions not previously acknowledged in the literature or their job descriptions, and a new framework within which the outcomes of care for older people could be evaluated. The research offers a positive image of work with older people in independent sector care homes.

早期獨立音樂因非歸屬在主流唱片公司旗下，因為自身資源稀少，缺乏行銷管道和預算，音樂人除了要努力以外，亦需要有運氣，才能抓到機會曝光其作品，至於要成為當代明星更是難上加難。然而，21世紀的數位時代改變整個音樂產業結構，不管是MP3技術或是網路的無遠弗屆，都直接影響到傳統音樂產業營銷模式；尤其是音樂檔案的共享讓消費者開始於線上聆聽和下載音樂，改變了傳統的音樂消費習慣，數位音樂收益也隨之上升。當音樂消費從線下轉為線上，能讓過去資源稀少的音樂人有更多的行銷管道和曝光機會；而網路也讓音樂作品更快速被全世界聽到，像是Adele、One Republic等目前當紅明星都是從過去獨立音樂創作開始，透過線上平台而曝光並崛起。反觀臺灣的音樂市場現況，卻未因應數位時代的轉變創造出更多音樂明星，而臺灣目前音樂市場上有影響力的主流明星多半仍為2000年左右出道的歌手，呈現出明星斷層問題。 為了探究以上問題，本次聚焦探討目前臺灣獨立音樂產業結構，過去臺灣獨立音樂產業相關文獻較多以單向探討為主，例如針對文化政策、大眾媒體、獨立廠牌、Live House等問題作線性研究，較少以整體產業作多向分析。而本次研究希望透過多面的交錯關係分析獨立音樂產業結構，並以Mollard （2002）所提出的文化體系來解釋決策者、創作者、中介者及群眾四大組群做各面向關係，試圖分析四大群組在獨立音樂產業的缺口，以了解臺灣目前獨立音樂與主流音樂的斷層缺口，並建構出臺灣獨立音樂文化體系運作之規則。 本研究發現，數位時代下的網路平台力量不足以帶動整個音樂市場需求，甚至有減緩創造主流的現象，包含缺乏守門機制、網路分眾、樂評需求降低等因素。另外，四大群組中的中介者則在獨立音樂文化體系中扮演最重要的角色，擔任創作者與群眾之間的橋梁，因此，如何去培養群眾對於獨立音樂的包容性和多元的聆聽習慣為必須思考的方向之一。此外，透過培養音樂市場需求刺激創作供給，讓環境能夠利於創作者成長，再加政府落實文化補助、擴增硬體建設及法規制定相關的文化政策才能真正建立穩固及永續的獨立音樂文化體系。然而，目前四大群組仍存在需填補的缺口，透過檢視四大群組的關係才能更順利鏈結人才、創作品質、傳遞文化等產業關鍵能力，進而拉近獨立音樂與主流音樂之距離，以創造下一波音樂流行的可能。