International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 26-29, 1998 / Town & Country Resort Hotel and Convention Center, San Diego, California / A real-time telemetry simulator of the IUS spacecraft has recently entered operation to train Flight Control Teams for the 1aunch of the AXAF telescope from the Shuttle. The simulator has proven to be a successful higher fidelity implementation of its predecessor, while affirming the rapid development methodology used in its design. Although composed of COTS hardware and software, the system simulates the full breadth of the mission: Launch, Pre-Deployment-Checkout, Burn Sequence, and AXAF/IUS separation. Realism is increased through patching the system into the operations facility to simulate IUS telemetry, Shuttle telemetry, and the Tracking Station link (commands and status message).

Through practice-led research this thesis will explore the phenomenology of interactions between the digital 'other', and the lived experience of the subject through real-time video performance practice. It challenges the assumption that the digital video image is merely or simply other to the subject and aims to re-position the 'other' as an integral part of self where we perform the other. It does this by drawing on Jacques Lacan's Mirror Stage and claims that through digital performance we can suspend divisions between the self and the digital other. By being immersed within the real-time video image the thesis argues we re-enter the Mirror Stage and become captivated within the digital counterpart. Through a disruption in the proprioception of the body there is a crossover of the actual self and digital other which are suspended in each other. Through the use of Head Mounted Display Systems in the work In[bodi]lmental it is claimed that the actual body can In[body] the other subject as part of self. The thesis argues that the digital other is a component of self mediated through new digital technologies to be understood as an augmented self. Therefore it is through an In[bodied] Mirror Stage we momentarily access the loss of the Lacanian real encountered through the uncanny experience. This investigation has been conducted in the form of four digital performance projects defined as Inter-Reactive Explorations I-REs (i-iv).The I-REs were subjected to critical analysis and reflection using a variety of disciplines including: psychoanalysis, philosophy, the study of perception, phenomenology, and ethnography. The methodological framework for this research has been coined 'auto-ethnophenomenology'; a mixed-method approach utilizing auto-ethnography and the phenomenological lived experiences of informants. This model has enabled both the 'I' of the researcher and the other to be equally represented from both first person and third person perspectives. The symbiotic relationship between the theory and the practice is exemplified through the phenomenology of interactions between the digital 'other', and the lived experience of the subjects supported by the writings of Sigmund Freud, Jacques Lacan, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Drew Leder and Rane Willerslev.

In today’s fast-paced industry where fight for market share is fierce and reaching the market ahead of competition imperative, product development is a target for lead-time reductions. In this context, in product development in stage-gate processes, decisions need to be made even though knowledge and information are scarce and flawed. The challenge is how to support the decisions that are made in light of uncertainty and ambiguity. The thesis moves from analysing the role of the stage-gate process within the aerospace industry. The stage-gate process was more than a decision making mechanism, and instead a mechanism that facilitated communication, discussion and knowledge sharing between team members, as well as supported knowledge creation and shaping of the boundaries between people’s different perceptions of the knowledge base. However, the communicative and negotiative function of the stage-gate was highly dependent on the ability of the participating individuals to reflect on the status and quality of the available knowledge assets used throughout the process. To make this reflective activity an explicit part of the stage-gate practice, this thesis proposes the application of a knowledge maturity concept at the gates to raise the decision makers’ awareness of the status of the knowledge assets handled at the decision point. The knowledge maturity concept considers three basic dimensions: input, method/tool and experience/expertise in assessing the knowledge base maturity. The scale is intended to act as a boundary object, facilitating the knowledge creation process by highlighting the current status of the knowledge base and making stakeholders aware of the nature of the project’s uncertainties and ambiguities. In the knowledge maturity concept, its purpose is to support design teams at the gates in taking appropriate action, mitigating risk and focusing their efforts on improving the knowledge assets where it is needed most, regarding the situation at hand and, finally, to make more confident decisions.The thesis was developed within the EU FP6 VIVACE (Value Improvement through a Virtual Aeronautical Collaborative Enterprise) and EU FP7 CRESCENDO (Collaborative and Robust Engineering using Simulation Capability Enabling Next Design Optimisation) projects, and within the Faste Laboratory, a VINNOVA Excellence Centre involving partners from the Swedish manufacturing industry.

La présente étude a comme objectif d'évaluer l'impact du stage pratique comme situation d'apprentissage dans le développement de l'identité professionnelle. Le cadre conceptuel fait référence à une perspective interactionniste où transige une dialectique entre le sujet et le monde de la socialisation professionnelle: donc, d'une identité négociée en fonction des valeurs du milieu d'éducation et des intérêts de l'individu. Des mesures de ce construit sont prises en compte avant et après la réalisation du stage, puis sont comparées au construit collectif associé aux milieux de stage. Le choix méthodologique s'est porté vers la méthode Q qui s'avère une approche compatible avec l'étude des systèmes de valeurs des individus (Stephenson, 1953). Ainsi, la technique du Q-Sort consiste en une priorisation impliquant un tri d'énoncés de nature qualitative. Le traitement statistique permet ensuite d'examiner l'interrelation d'attitudes individuelles privilégiées par un groupe de répondants. L'échantillon se compose de stagiaires en milieux de garde du collégial (n= ll), de niveau universitaire (n=12) et d'éducatrices (n=81 ) provenant du Québec, de la France, de la Belgique et du Mali. Le Q-sort se compose de 79 énoncés distribués selon une répartition quasi-normale à choix forcés dans sept catégories. L'analyse statistique porte sur les matrices inversées de données afin d'évaluer le degré de rapprochement entre les individus dans la priorisation des valeurs en se basant sur les corrélations et les analyses factorielles. Les résultats mettent en évidence le degré de rapprochement entre les systèmes de valeurs des éducatrices québécoises et ceux des intervenants des autres pays. Quant à l'impact du stage sur les étudiantes, celui-ci se traduit par un éloignement, un rapprochement ou un maintien aux valeurs des éducatrices des milieux de garde. L'étude démontre qu'il s'avère possible d'évaluer l'impact de la formation pratique sur les valeurs liées à l'identité professionnelle tant sur le plan qualitatif que quantitatif.

This analysis examines the impact that personal characteristics like gender, race, years participating in the labor force, education, and previous entrepreneurship have on the amount of funding a startup receives from venture capital investors. Data for the analysis is taken from online venture capital database, Crunchbase, and includes investments made by venture capitalists between the years of 2002 and 2014. Findings from the regression analysis conclude that gender, the number of years a founder has been in the labor force, and a founder’s education background are significant determinants of the amount of funding a company receives in funding rounds. In addition, the sector the company falls under and the venture capital firms that the company seeks investment from are both significant determinants of the amount of funding received by the company and the founder.

Hydraulic main stages for off highway machines have usually electromagnetic driven pilot valves. You rarely find stepper motor driven pilot systems that are directly positioning the main spool in the sectional control valve. The presented concept shows the development of an actuator in a unique setup to fulfill the requirements of most off- highway applications. Precise positioning, strength, speed and fail safe requirements were the main goals of the concept. The concept has a two phase BLDC transversal flux motor with a single gear stage transmission. The software and control unit are specially designed for this electric motor setup. On a test bench some results of the first samples reveal the technical potential of this concept. The development of the actuator was done in-house of Thomas Magnete GmbH (mechanical, electronical, and software development).

Thesis (DPhilAgric)--Stellenbosch University, 2002 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa is one of the worlds leading producers of chicory (Cichorium intybus L.). Most of the chicory produced is used locally for the production of instant coffee. Witloof chicory, or Belgian endive, however, is a vegetable crop grown from the root of Cichorium intybus L. var. foliosum. This is done by placing the mature taproot in a controlled, dark environment after vernalization and supplying it with water and nutrients by means of hydroponics. Witloof chicory is new to the South African market and is only produced on a limited scale. Nonetheless, seeing that chicory is successfully grown on a large scale for the coffee industry it seemed reasonable to investigate the cultivation of this essentially unknown vegetable locally. The focus of this study was on the evaluation of new witloof production techniques during the second stage of witloof (chicon) cultivation, also called 'forcing'. To this end, locally grown witloof chicory roots were used in all trials. In order to establish the effects of several irrigation methods on lateral root formation and chicon quality, witloof chicory roots were forced using the conventional means of hydroponic irrigation as well as ebb-and-flood and aeroponic irrigation. Lateral root formation was significantly increased when either ebb-and-flood or aeroponic irrigation was applied compared to that obtained with the conventional method. This increase in lateral root formation was, however, to the detriment of chicon quality (QI), possibly as a result of competition for limited carbohydrate reserves. In an attempt to optimize the aeroponic irrigation method, roots were forced in non-vertical positions. Placing roots horizontally during forcing resulted in a significantly lower marketable chicon yield than where roots were placed vertically. The loss in yield was probably brought about by an increased fallout percentage rather than by a decrease in chicon production. Considering the pivotal role that sucrose plays in the development of the chicory head, sucrose was applied exogenously to the root before and/or during forcing. Dry matter chicon yield was negatively effected by exogenously applied sucrose. This could have been due to an increased incidence of fungal or bacterial infections or causative of roots absorbing less water resulting in the inability of the plant to utilize the applied sucrose during chicon development. Fungal and bacterial infections are known to have a detrimental effect on witloof chicory production. An environmentally friendly product for disease control, 'Desogerme SP®', was used to contain or reduce infection. Irrigation of roots with 'Desogerme SP®' containing nutrient solution increased chicon yield by 31%. From this study it became clear that some new production techniques applied had the potential of improving lateral root formation or quality during growth. However, the conventional way of irrigation remains the most effective compared to the other techniques applied, but could possibly be improved to some extent by incorporating 'Desogerme SP®' either as a pretreatment or in the nutrient solution. A breakthrough was made with the development of the quality index (QI). The ongoing limitation of statistically analyzing quality data of chicons sorted according to quality-classes was overcome by making use of this tool. Despite the fact that the index was developed specifically for use on witloof, it is has the potential of being applied to quality data of a wide variety of crops. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Suid Afrika is een van die wêreld se grootste produsente van sigorei (Cichorium intybus L.). Die meeste plaaslik geproduseerde sigorei word vir die produksie van kitskoffie benut. Witloofsigorei, of Belgiese "endive", is egter 'n groentegewas wat vanaf die wortel van Cichorium intybus L. var. foliosum gekweek word. Dit word gedoen deur die volwasse penwortel na vemalisasie in 'n gekontroleerde, donker omgewing te plaas en met 'n hidrokultuurstelsel van water en voedingselemente te voorsien. Witloof is nuut op die Suid Afrikanse mark en word net op beperkte skaal geproduseer. Aangesien sigorei suksesvolop groot skaal vir die koffieindustrie geproduseer word, blyk dit logies om die moontlikhede te ondersoek om hierdie relatief onbekende groente plaaslik te kweek. Die fokus van hierdie studie was gerig op die evaluasie van nuwe produksietegnieke gedurende die tweede fase van witloofproduksie, wat ook as forsering bekend is. Plaaslik gekweekte witloof sigoreiwortels is vir alle eksperimente gebruik. Die invloed van 'n verskeidenheid besproeiingsmetodes is op sywortelproduksie en witloof krop-kwaliteit ondersoek. Witloofwortels is geforseer deur van 'n konvensionele hidrokultuur-stelsel gebruik te maak wat met 'n ebb-en-vloed en 'n lugsproei sisteem vergelyk is. Sywortel-produksie was betekenisvol hoër waar ebb-en-vloed of lugsproei sisteme toegepas is. Hierdie verbetering in sywortel-ontwikkeling was egter tot nadeel van krop-kwaliteit, vermoedelik as gevolg van die allokasie van koolhidrate na sywortels, eerder as na die groeipunt. In 'n poging om die lugsproei besproeiingsmetode te verbeter en om swamsiektes te verminder, is wortels in nie-vertikale posisies geforseer. Wortels wat gedurende forsering horisontaal ingetafel was, het 'n betekenisvol laer opbrengs van bemarkbare kroppe getoon as wortels wat vertikaal geplaas was. Die verlies aan opbrengs kon toegeskryf word aan 'n verhoging van afval, aangesien geen betekenisvolle afname in vars krop-gewig gevind is nie. Aangesien sukrose 'n belangrike rol in die ontwikkeling van die witloofkrop speel, is sukrose voor en tydens forsering aan die wortels toegedien. Droë materiaal krop-opbrengs is negatief deur die toediening van sukrose beïnvloed. Dit kon moontlik as gevolg van 'n verhoogde voorkoms van swam- of bakteriese infeksies gewees het of 'n aanduiding wees dat behandelde wortels minder water geabsorbeer het en die toegediende sukrose nie kon gebruik gedurende krop-ontwikkeling me. Swam- en bakteriese infeksies is bekend vir hul negatiewe uitwerking op witloofproduksie. 'n Omgewingsvriendelike middel, 'Desogerme SP®' is gebruik om siektes te beheer ofte verminder. Wortels wat met 'n 'Desogerme SP®' bevattende voedingsoplossing besproei is, het 'n 31% verhoging in krop-opbrengs getoon. Uit data wat gedurende hierdie studie ingesamel is, blyk dit duidelik dat sommige van die nuwe produksietegnieke wel die potensiaal het om sekere planteienskappe te verbeter. In geheel gesien bly die konvensionele metode van besproeiing die mees effektiewe, wanneer dit vergelyk word met die ander wat getoets is. Die konvensionele metode kan moontlik verbeter word as 'Desogerme SP®' as 'n vooraf-behandeling of as deel van die voedingsoplossing geïnkorporeer word. 'n Deurbraak is met die ontwikkeling van 'n kwaliteitsindeks (QI) gemaak. Ernstige beperkings word met statistiese ontledings van kwaliteitsdata ervaar waar kroppe volgens kwaliteitskiasse gesorteer word. Hierdie probleme is met behulp van die QI oorkom. Ongeag die feit dat die indeks spesifiek vir gebruik by witloof ontwikkel is, het dit die potensiaal om toepassing te vind by 'n wye reeks landboukundige produkte.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South African theatre and especially Afrikaans theatre has become increasingly dependent on the annual arts festivals. These events only last for a week at a time and most productions are unable to make the move to a larger, more commercial urban venue, and are therefore unable to survive beyond the festival. In addition to being lost to future audiences, little attempt is made to keep record of these productions, which makes research surrounding festival productions very problematic. Television has the ability to make audio-visual records of events and to showcase them to a large audience. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of translating theatre to television for the purpose of expanding the potential audience of Afrikaans theatre productions, while simultaneously making audio-visual records of these events. After the possibilities had been examined, the study began to construct a proposed mode of operation for a season of Afrikaans theatre on television. International trends in the practice of translating theatre to screen were examined which included film and television adaptions of stage plays and live recordings of stage plays. The most significant initiative the study encountered was the NT Live (National Theatre Live) project that records live performance on the stages of the National Theatre, while simultaneously transmitting them live in high definition to cinemas across the globe. The study then shifted its focus to South Africa where it determined what had been done in the practice of translating theatre to screen in this country. The struggle to obtain sufficient and easily accessible information on local examples proved that there is an overall lack of theatre documentation and archiving in South Africa. It also found that South Africa did not have an equivalent to a project such as the NT Live. After discovering that there have been South African television endeavours that involved the recording of live performance, the study used the NT Live initiative as case study in constructing a South African model for television. While constructing a proposed mode of operation for a series of Afrikaans theatre on television, it was indicated how these recordings could serve as a documentation process and research resource for productions. Three possible models for translating theatre to television were constructed to better determine what the possibilities were in terms of the content and format of such a series. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Suid-Afrikaanse teater en veral Afrikaanse teater, is besig om al hoe meer afhanklik van die jaarlikse kunstefeeste te word. Dié geleenthede duur gewoonlik net ‘n week op ‘n slag en vir meeste produksies is dit nie moontlik om ‘n speelvak in die groter, kommersiële teaters in die stede van die grond af te kry nie en dus het die produksies nie ‘n lewe ná die fees nie. Verder gaan moontlike gehore ook verlore en word daar nie veel van ‘n poging aangewend om die produksies te dokumenteer nie, wat navorsing rondom feesproduksies baie problematies maak. Televisie het die vermoë om oudio-visuele rekords van gebeure te maak, sowel as om hierdie gebeure aan ‘n groot gehoor bloot te stel. Die hoofdoelstelling van hierdie studie was om die moontlikheid van ‘n verplasing van teater na televisie te ondersoek, met die doel om Afrikaanse teaterproduksies se potensiële gehoor te verbreed en terselfdertyd oudio-visuele rekords van hierdie produksies te maak. Nadat die studie die moontlikheid ondersoek het, het dit ‘n voorgestelde modes operandi vir ‘n seisoen van Afrikaanse teater vir televisie begin konstrueer. Die studie het internasionale tendense in die praktyk van die verplasing van teater na die groot en klein skerm ondersoek. Die voorbeelde het film- en televisieverwerkings van verhoogstukke, sowel as lewendige opnames van verhoogproduksies ingesluit. Die merkwaardigste inisiatief wat die studie teëgekom het, is sekerlik die NT Live (National Theatre Live) projek, wat lewendige opnamens van toneelopvoerings op die National Theatre se verhoë in London maak en terselfdertyd hierdie opnames lewendig in “high definition” uitsaai na film-teaters regoor die wêreld. Daarna het die studie die fokus verskuif na Suid-Afrika om te probeer vasstel wat al in hierdie land gedoen is in die verplasing van teaterproduksies na die skerm. Die gebrek aan maklik-verkrybare en toeganklike inligting het dit duidelik gemaak dat daar ‘n algehele gebrek aan teaterdokumentasie en die bewaring daarvan is. Die studie het ook ontdek dat Suid-Afrika nie iets soortgelyks aan die NT Live inisiatief het nie. Nadat daar televisieprojekte ontdek is wat wél in een of ander manier die opname van lewendige opvoerings behels, het die studie besluit om die NT Live inisiatief as gevallestudie te gebruik om ‘n Suid-Afrikaanse model vir televisie te skep. In die proses om ‘n moontlike produksieproses vir ‘n seisoen van Afrikaanse teater of televisie te definieer, het die studie ook probeer vasstel hoe hierdie tipe opnames kan dien as ‘n dokumentasieproses en navorsingsbron vir produksies. Drie moontlike modelle vir die verplasing van teater na televisie in reeksvorm is geskep om ‘n beter idee te kry van wat die moontlikhede in terme van die inhoud en formaat van so ‘n reeks is.

Over the past three decades, economic reforms have brought about dramatic changes in China. The wave of structural and economic reforms regarding the State-owned Sector (SOS), and the surge of the Non-State-owned Sector (NSOS), have influenced returns in the labor market, such as the returns concerning human capital and political capital in urban China. Presumably, the NSOS would be more marketed-oriented compared to the SOS, and it would have different returns concerning political capital, as represented by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) membership. This is likely because the NSOS would not value Party membership as much as the SOS does. The question of how Party membership is rewarded in the two sectors might also change with the development of the two ownership sectors, as more time passes since the establishment of the economic reforms. I examine whether CCP members display any earnings advantage in these two sectors, and I also explore how such an advantage might have changed over time. Unlike most of the previous studies that have focused on earnings in urban China, I treat Party membership affiliation and ownership sector selection as being endogeneous. I apply the Mlogit -OLS two-stage selection correction estimation proposed by Lee (1983) and discover evidence which suggests that Party membership serves as a proxy for both political and productive skills. A flat Party premium in the SOS and a decreasing Party premium in the NSOS suggest that the Party card served a similar function in the payment scheme present in the SOS during this three year span, whereas the NSOS valued political capital by a decreasing amount over time. The evidence presented in my dissertation indicates that economic reforms tend to mitigate the earning advantage of Party members that occurs as a result of unequal treatment based on Party membership. This evidence suggests that CCP membership is losing its earning power, at least in the NSOS. In addition, the CCP members sacrifice the benefits previously possessed in the adaptation to the transformed economic environment in urban China. However, the rewards to other forms of human capital have increased over time.

Some oil and gas companies are drilling and developing fields in the Arctic Ocean, which has an environment with sea ice called ice floes. These companies must protect their platforms from ice floe collisions. One proposal is to use a system that consists of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and docking stations. The AUVs measure the under-water topography of the ice floes, while the docking stations launch the AUVs and recharge their batteries. Given resource constraints, we optimize quantities and locations for the docking stations and the AUVs, as well as the AUV scheduling policies, in order to provide the maximum protection level for the platform. We first use an queueing approach to model the problem as a queueing system with abandonments, with the objective to minimize the abandonment probability. Both M/M/k+M and M/G/k+G queueing approximations are applied and we also develop a detailed simulation model based on the queueing approximation. In a complementary approach, we model the system using a multi-stage stochastic facility location problem in order to optimize the docking station locations, the AUV allocations, and the scheduling policies of the AUVs. A two-stage stochastic facility location problem and several efficient online scheduling heuristics are developed to provide lower bounds and upper bounds for the multi-stage model, and also to solve large-scale instances of the optimization model. Even though the model is motivated by an oil industry project, most of the modeling and optimization methods apply more broadly to any radial detection problems with queueing dynamics. / text