Although academic interest in TQM increased substantially in the last decade, still the gap in the literature is hardly surprising given that research and theory in TQM implementation are still at a very early stage in the West. To-date, there are only a handful of empirical researches reported in the literature that have attempted to identify what constitute as constructs of TQM that can be manipulated to effectively implement TQM. All but very few are studies done in developed economies. Moreover, knowledge of TQM in developing economies is almost totally lacking. Against this backdrop, this researcha ddressesth e identified gaps in the literature on TQM. Thus this thesis focuses on the effective implementation of total quality management in Palestine, a developing economy, through an empirical investigation of critical quality factors. The research methodology involves combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies to identify the key quality factors cited in the literature and considered by consultants and experts as essential to successful TQM implementation. The research design also included: Lan empirical investigation to assessth e level of TQM awarenessa nd understandingi n the Palestinian context, 2. determining which key quality factors are critical to successful implementation using a survey questionnaire, 3. determining what tactics and techniques are used in addressing and implementing these critical quality factors by Palestinian organisations, using semi-structured interviews, 4. determining the prerequisites of effective TQM implementation in the pre-launch stage using in depth interviews. By complementing and integrating the findings, an implementation framework was constructed with the support of the knowledge acquired from the literature review. A simple and practical step by step with implementation guidelines framework aiming at assisting Palestinian organisations in planning on effective implementation of TQM was constructed. The research findings indicate that top management commitment and involvement, employee commitment and involvement, managing by customer-driven system and processes and continuous performance improvement, are essential to effective implementation of TQM. This implies that Palestinian organisations recognise and implement the same critical quality factors found in Western countries. The proposed framework is built around four major constructs that relate to top management commitment, employee commitment, customer-driven system and processes, and continuous improvement. It emphasises an implementation approach of top-down deployment and bottom-up participation focussing on businessp rocessesth at add value to customers atisfaction. In conclusion, this empirical research revealed that TQM could be implemented in the developing economies (such as Palestine) as Palestinian organisations subscribe to the same quality factors as those found in the developed economies.

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Today's modern aerospace systems exhibit strong interdisciplinary coupling and require a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach. Analysis methods that were once considered feasible only for advanced and detailed design are now available and even practical at the conceptual design stage. This changing philosophy for conducting conceptual design poses additional challenges beyond those encountered in a low fidelity design of aircraft. This thesis takes some steps towards bridging the gaps in existing technologies and advancing the state-of-the-art in aircraft design. The first part of the thesis proposes a new Pareto front approximation method for multiobjective optimization problems. The method employs a hybrid optimization approach using two derivative free direct search techniques, and is intended for solving blackbox simulation based multiobjective optimization problems with possibly nonsmooth functions where the analytical form of the objectives is not known and/or the evaluation of the objective function(s) is very expensive (very common in multidisciplinary design optimization). A new adaptive weighting scheme is proposed to convert a multiobjective optimization problem to a single objective optimization problem. Results show that the method achieves an arbitrarily close approximation to the Pareto front with a good collection of well-distributed nondominated points. The second part deals with the interdisciplinary data communication issues involved in a collaborative mutidisciplinary aircraft design environment. Efficient transfer, sharing, and manipulation of design and analysis data in a collaborative environment demands a formal structured representation of data. XML, a W3C recommendation, is one such standard concomitant with a number of powerful capabilities that alleviate interoperability issues. A compact, generic, and comprehensive XML schema for an aircraft design markup language (ADML) is proposed here to provide a common language for data communication, and to improve efficiency and productivity within a multidisciplinary, collaborative environment. An important feature of the proposed schema is the very expressive and efficient low level schemata. As a proof of concept the schema is used to encode an entire Convair B58. As the complexity of models and number of disciplines increases, the reduction in effort to exchange data models and analysis results in ADML also increases. / Ph. D.

Text in Afrikaans / Die doel van die navorsing is om die individu se aanpassing tydens integrasie te ondersoek. 'n Gedragsprofiel vir aanpassing word in die literatuuroorsig voorgestel volgens sin van koherensie as konstruk van die salutogenese paradigma. Empiries word die lewensorientasievraelys as psigometriese instrument gebruik om sterkte van sin van koherensie te bepaal. K walitatiewe onderhoude, gegrond op fenomenologiese beginsels, word gebruik om aanpassing kwalitatief te evalueer. In die navorsingsontwerp is daar sprake van verkennende, beskrywende en verklarende navorsing en nie-waarskynlikheidsteekproeftrekking word gebruik. Kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe resultate word gekoppel ten einde inteme geldigheid op kontekstuele vlak te verseker. Bevindinge toon dat betekenisvolheid van die integrasieproses die vemaamste verskil maak tussen aanpassing en nie-aanpassing. Verstaanbaarheid binne grense van die onmiddellike omgewing en hantering van instrumentele eise sonder om die fokus op emosionele parameters te plaas, fasiliteer verdere aanpassing. Relevante sleutelwoorde is aanpassing, stres, patogenese, salutogenese, sin van koherensie, verstaanbaarheid, hanteerbaarheid, betekenisvolheid, fenomenologie en triangulasie. / The aim of this research is to study individual coping during integration. A behavioural profile for coping is proposed in the literature study based on sense of coherence, a construct of the salutogenesis paradigm. Empirically the psychometric instrument, orientation to life questionnaire, is used to determine the strength of sense of coherence. Qualitative interviewing, based on phenomenological principles, is used to evaluate coping qualitatively. In the research design there are signs of exploratory, descriptive and explanatory research and nonprobability sampling is used. Quantitative and qualitative results are combined to ensure internal validity on a contextual level. Findings showed that meaningfulness of the integration process is the major difference between coping and not coping. Comprehensibility within the boundaries of the immediate environment and the management of instrumental demands without focusing on the emotional parameters, facilitate further coping. / Industrial Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

Martin Ivarsson, manager and part owner at Landeryd’s Mechanical Workshop (LMW), Landeryd, Sweden, initiated this project. This because of a new released ISO 9001 version that LMW has to implement before the 15th of September 2018 to remain certified. Since LMW is ISO 9001:2008 certified the project members only needed to identify the differences among the 2015 and 2008 version to see what LMW has to do to get certified. There are approximately 1.1 million ISO 9001 certificates issued worldwide. An ISO 9001 certification increase organizations ability to satisfy customer needs and customers can rely on that the products and services provided are of consistently good quality. ISO 9001 can also work as a tool to streamline the organization’s processes and make them more efficient. Since the ISO 9001 is reviewed every five year it helps organizations to keep current in an ever- changing world. Landeryd’s Mechanical Workshop has been ISO 9001 certified since 2002 and the “ISO- think” is deeply rooted within the company. LMW is a small owner-controlled company with only 18 employees. ISO 9001:2015 is applicable on different kinds of organizations in various scales. Comparing to previous versions of ISO 9001 the new version is more adaptable. This makes it more beneficial for the organizations but harder for the auditors that certifies. One major conclusion is that LMW will have more freedom of document handling with the new ISO version. This report highlights LMW’s status today in accordance to the new ISO 9001 version, and estimates how much effort that is needed for a successful revision. Readers of this report will benefit from the results, since much is applicable on all types of organizations or companies.

Baigiamajame magistro darbe nagrinėjama paprasto skylėto daugiakampio skaidymo į dalis, kurių viršūnių skaičius neviršyja nustatyto skaičiaus problema. Apibrėžiamas uždavinys ir jo svarba. Apžvelgiami egzistuojantys skaidymo algoritmai, padedantys išspręsti uždavinį, bei jų realizacijos. Pateikiamos trianguliacijos ir padalinimo į apytiksliai iškilius daugiakampius algoritmų modifikacijos, jų privalumai ir trūkumai. Įvertinamas šių modifikuotų algoritmų sudėtingumas. Eksperimentinėje dalyje pateikiami skaičiavimo eksperimentų rezultatai, jų analizė ir palyginimas su teoriniais algoritmų sudėtingumo įverčiais. Remiantis skaičiavimo eksperimentų rezultatais pateikiamos išvados ir siūlymai. / This study deals with decomposition of simple polygon with holes into components so that every piece does not exceed some defined number of vertices. We define the problem and its appliances. Existing studies and algorithms for polygon decomposition are covered. We propose modifications of polygon triangulation and approximate convex decomposition algorithms. Also the complexity analysis of both algorithms is made. In the experimental part of the work results of computing experiments are presented, analyzed and compared to the theoretical complexity bounds.

Šiame darbe nagrinėjami netiesiniai daugdarų atpažinimo metodai ir daugiamačių duomenų projekcijos metodai. Siūloma jais spręsti keliais laisvės laipsniais besisukančio objekto orientacijos radimo problemą. Aprašomi MDS, Trianguliacijos, Sammon, RPM, mRPM, CCA, PCA, LLE, LE, HLLE, LTSA, SMACOF ir Isomap metodai. Su kai kuriais iš jų atliekami web-kamera gautų galvos atvaizdų tyrimai. Isomap algoritmo pagrindu sukuriama programinė įranga ir su ja taipogi atliekami galvos orientacijos tyrimai. / This paper deals with Analysis of non-linear manifold learning methods and multidimensional data projection methods. It is proposed use them in solving problem of detection of orientation of object, moving in few degrees of freedom. Methods described: MDS, triangulation, Sammon, RPM, mRPM, CCA, PCA, LLE, LE, HLLE, LTSA, SMACOF and Isomap. Some of them are used to analyze head images acquired by webcam.. Application is created which is then used to analyze head orientation by implementing Isomap method.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate lexical replacement processes from several complementary perspectives. It does so through three studies, each with a different scope and time depth. The first study (chapter 3) takes a high time depth perspective and investigates factors that affect the rate (likelihood) of lexical replacement in the core vocabulary of 98 Indo-European language varieties through a multiple linear regression model. The chapter shows that the following factors predict part of the rate of lexical replacement for non-grammatical concepts: frequency, the number of synonyms and senses, and how imageable the concept is in the mind. What looks like a straightforward lexical replacement at a high time depth perspective is better understood as several intertwined gradual processes of lexical change at lower time depths. The second study (chapter 5) narrows the focus to seven closely-related Germanic language varieties (English, German, Bernese, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, and Icelandic) and a single semantic domain, namely color.  The chapter charts several lexical replacement and change processes in the pink and purple area of color space through experiments with 146 speakers. The third study (chapter 6) narrows the focus even more, to two generations of speakers of a single language, Swedish. It combines experimental data on how the two age groups partition and label the color space in general, and pink and purple in particular, with more detailed data on lexical replacement and change from interviews, color descriptions in historical and contemporary dictionaries, as well as botanical lexicons, and historical fiction corpora. This thesis makes a descriptive, methodological and theoretical contribution to the study of lexical replacement. Taken together, the different perspectives highlight the usefulness of method triangulation in approaching the complex phenomenon of lexical replacement.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka vilken roll lärarna ger till läromedlet i matematik i deras geometriundervisning i årskurs tre. För att svara på studiens syfte, har en triangulering av två metoder genomförts. Den ena metoden är innehållsanalys och den andra är semistrukturerad intervju. Resultaten visar att lärarna ger sitt matemaikläromedel en central roll i geometriundervisningen i årskurs tre. Resultaten visar också att de resurser lärarna använder sig av i sin geometriundervisning är uppgifter i elevernas arbetsböcker, illustrationer, begreppsförklaringar och att lärarna använder sig av lärarhandledningen som inspiration eller stöd i sin undervisning i geometri. Studiens resultat stödjer tidigare forskning inom användandet av matematikläromedel och även tidigare forskning inom geometriundervisning. / The purpose of this study is to examine what role the teachers give to the textbooks in their geometry-teaching in third grade. A triangulation has been made between two methods to fulfill the purpose of the study. One method is content analysis and the second one is semi-structured interview. The results shows that the textbooks are given a huge role from the teachers in the geometry-teaching in third grade. The results also shows that the resources the teachers use in their geometry-teaching is assignments in the pupils’ textbooks, illustrations, explanations, and that the teachers use the teachers’ manual as an inspiration or as support in their geometry teaching. The result of this study supports previous research within the use of textbooks and previous research on geometry-teaching.

Os Medidores de Distância por Triangulação a Laser são sistemas optoeletrônicos destinados à medição de pequenas distâncias ou deslocamentos, sem contato físico direto. Estes equipamentos possuem um grande campo de aplicações industriais. Este trabalho descreve as diversas configurações que este equipamento pode se apresentar, discutindo suas vantagens relativas. São estudadas também as suas partes e os componentes mais indicados. O projeto detalhado de um medidor usando sensor tipo CCD, e apresentado. Algumas aplicações industriais deste modelo são relatadas e diversos métodos e sugestões de uso são apresentadas, com base nas experiências realizadas pelo autor. / Laser Triangulation Rangefinders are non-contact, optoelectronic devices for measurement of small displacements or distances. These devices offer a broad range of industrial applications. This work explains common configurations, parts and main components, comparing their advantages. A detailed project on a CCD based Laser Rangefinder is presented. Some industrial applications for that project are related, discussing practical aspects based on authors experience. Some potential applications are also suggested.