The aim of the diploma thesis is to find answers to questions connected to the symbolic construction of collective identity of the initial drug community in communist Czechoslovakia. This discourse creation of collective identity is analyzed on the basis of biographical interviews with outliving members of the then drug subculture. In the course of the terrain investigation there has been recorded a total of 34 narratives of the representatives of the two successive generations of this drug community by using the unstructured and semi-structured interview technique. For the purposes of this research, there has been analyzed 7 interviews closely connected to the beginning and the initial process of formation of drug community. By means of analysis and interpretation of the content of these biographical materials there are primarily captured the collectively shared interpretative frames of values and important identification attributes by which protagonists of the oldest generation of this community form their former collective identity. In this way is clarified how the narrators themselves re-construct and re-interpret their subjectively experienced "we" and at the same time using the symbolic resources to define borders against the non-members of this collectivity. The biographies of the...

This research project was undertaken to determine if an evaporation pan would accurately predict evapotranspiration when placed in an actual irrigated field situation. Two potato fields in Southern Idaho with different micro-climates and soil types were used in this study. The in-field evaporation pan method was compared with the gravimetric method and the Jensen-Raise and modified-Penman climatic methods. Yield and quality responses were evaluated by varying the amount of sprinkler-applied water so that three distinct moisture regimes were evaluated. It was also necessary to evaluate recent crop coefficient (Kc) curves on potatoes to see if the Kc values predicted evapotranspiration (Et) accurately when related to the evaporation pan or climatic methods. The results showed that the in-field evaporation pan method predicted Et as well as or better than the climatic methods. During July and August, the evaporation pan reading times a Kc of 0.95 predicted Et extremely well when compared with measured actual Et. Crop coefficient curves were developed for both fields by dividing measured actual Et by the evaporative pan reading. The two Kc curves were very similar for the entire growing season. Established Kccurves did not predict actual Et with accuracy or consistency. Yield and quality was definitely correlated with the amount of applied water. The dry moisture regime for both fields received 37 percent less water than the normal plots (which were watered to gravimetric and evaporation pan depletion levels) and resulted in a yield reduction of 34 percent. The quality (percent number one potatoes) was decreased by about 50 percent with reduced water.

The main concern of this study is to obtain an optimal time path of crude oil and natural gas production by controlling the pressure at the bottom of any producing well in Walton Canyon Reservoir. To achieve this goal, the following objectives were obtained: (a) an estimation of the reservoir properties at different levels of the reservoir pressure; (b) an estimation of an optimal time path of joint production using the estimated reservoir properties and the expected prices and costs in the absence and presence of severance, state, and federal income taxes, and depletion of allowances; and (c) an analysis of the changes in the rates of extraction, firms' profits, revenues to local, state, and federal governments, and welfare losses as a result of changes in tax policies. To conduct this study, an optimization model is used to maximize the present value of net revenues of firms producing oil and gas in the reservoir, subject to the available stock of oil in the ground. Cost per unit of time is discussed at three stages of production (naturally flowing, pumping, and secondary recovery or pressure maintenance). Using the assumption that all producing wells in the reservoir are at the pumping stage of production, the conclusion is made that only the operating cost is related to the bottom well-hole flowing pressure. Since the goal is to control the rates of joint production by controlling the bottom well-hole flowing pressure, the operating cost of the whole reservoir is minimized through separable programming. The non-linear cost equation is solved for the values of the bottom well-hole flowing pressure under a competitive condition in the absence of externalities. In order to estimate the optimal rates of oil and gas production, the expected prices are computed using the actual domestic prices of oil, gas, and electricity. The optimal rates of oil and gas production are obtained through dynamic programming which is applied to the optimization model using a 15 percent discount rate. However, discount rates of 10 percent and 20 percent also are used to determine the influences on the optimal production plan, allowing the production period for twenty years. The empirical results indicate that the production of oil and gas from this reservoir will be profitable in the future, using a 15 percent discount rate, prior to imposition of any taxes. The whole recoverable stock of oil by pump will be extracted within three years beginning with a higher production rate in 1998 and ending with a lower production rate in the year 2000. A 10 percent discount rate influenced the net revenue of the whole reservoir but did not change the production plan. However, the optimization model and, in particular, the production plan are affected by the 20 percent discount rate. In other words, the joint production is profitable in the early years, using a 20 percent discount rate, beginning with a higher production rate in 1982 and ending with a lower production rate in 1985. The important conclusion is that imposing various taxes and depletion allowances, while using a 15 percent discount rate, did not change the optimal time path of production from that time path, which was obtained in the absence of taxation using the same discount rate. The presence of taxation, however, affected revenues and, thereby, resulted in welfare changes in the producing firms and local, state, and federal governments.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This thesis discusses the use of film in the composition classroom. It is divided into four chapters: The Argument, The Audience, Film as a Pedagogical Tool, and The Future. Chapter One (the Argument) discusses the different ideas about using media in the classroom, and how it is good practice to do so. New ideas on teaching from education expert Ken Bain (What the Best College Teachers Do) are presented. Bain suggests that as long as the instructor is confident in his or her subject, any innovative thing they do in class is all right. Malcolm Gladwell’s ideas from The Tipping Point are applied to the classroom: the Law of the Few, Connectors, Mavens, Salesmen, the Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context. Presentations couched within a Gladwell frame can prove to be extraordinarily effective. Chapter Two (the Audience) analyzes the Millennial students, and discusses their views on learning and media. These students see learning as a commodity and view modern media with a bit of contempt. Therefore, to use media in the classroom the instructor must be innovative. Chapter Three (Film as a Pedagogical Tool) examines various different applications of film use in the classroom. It also looks in depth at using David Mamet’s films in the classroom, especially Glengarry Glen Ross, The Edge, and The Verdict, which use classical structure to persuade and argue. Chapter Four (The Future) looks at the work of Howard Gardner and his theory five minds: the Disciplined Mind, the Synthesizing Mind, the Creative Mind, the Respectful Mind, and the Ethical Mind and how we must prepare to teach to them all. In the conclusion I posit that the students of today and the students of tomorrow will require new and innovative techniques to be taught effectively, and that film is versatile and flexible enough to do it.

No description available.

No description available.

The aim in this study was to develop a model for the probability of finding active golden eagle nests during their breeding season. It was done by using environmental variables derived from expert models which were tested against empirical data. This resulted in a habitat suitability index (HSI), which in this case is assumed to indicate the probability of active nests of golden eagles. The study was conducted together with the County Administrative Board of Västernorrland with the purpose to improve golden eagle’s ecological status.To develop the model, different combinations of several explanatory variables were tested in a model selection process, where the most optimal and parsimonious model was chosen. The tested variables have earlier been shown to affect golden eagles, as slope, aspect, forest age, foraging habitat, suitable flight routes, human population density, roads, railways, power lines, wind power plants, hiking trails and clear cuts. The variables where applied in in ArcMAP at three different scales: nest scale (25 x 25 meter), proximate scale (a circle with the radius of 500 meter) and home range scale (a circle with the radius of 8253 meter). A preliminary test of the variables showed that all golden eagle nests were found in slopes with at least 5֯ degreesas well as in home ranges with human population density not more than 8 people/km2. Due to that a stratified analysis wasperformed. The variables where analysed by multiple logistic regression in R, where the occurrence of golden eagles’ nestswas compared towards random points in the landscape. All variables were also tested one by one by logistic regression. Afterperforming the multiple logistic regression, it was possible to apply its equation into ArcMap to obtain suitability maps withHSI values over Västernorrland’s county.The comparisons of different models show that it is better to combine different spatial scales in the model than only using one spatial scale. The result indicate that three different models might be the best, which all had different combinations of slope and aspect at nest scale and power lines at the proximate scale. Two of these models also include hiking trails and human population density, both at home range scale, in their equation. Since it was some unclarity about the causality between hiking trails and human population density, the conclusion was not to choose any of these as the final model. The final model was more parsimonious and had an additive effect from slope and southern aspect at the nest scale and an antagonistic effect from power lines at the proximate scale.This study clarifies that golden eagles’ habitat preferences for nesting sites during their breeding period is steep slopes (at minimum 5֯ degrees) in more southern aspects with few power lines in the proximate area surrounding the nest. Their homeranges are also situated in areas with less than 8 people/km2. The study also pinpoints a potential conflict between golden eagleand wind power planning, as golden eagles prefer steep slopes and remote areas, which also are valuable areas for wind powerplants. Golden eagles’ preference of remote areas also indicate that they might be affected by human persecution, why certainconservation effort should be focused into this issue. Out from the final model, you can find cluster in the landscape where youcan focus conservation management and restrict exploitation. Due to low number of wind power plants in the landscape, nothingcould be concluded about their effect on golden eagle in this study. An advice from the golden eagle’s perspective is to use theprecautionary principle and further plan wind power plants in areas which already have high disturbance, as for example closeto power lines or roads. The result also indicates that forest age from SLU Forest Map is not suitable for telling where to findgolden eagle nests. GIS-data over forest age would facilitate conservation management for plenty of species connected to theforest.Although good statistical results for the final model, cautions need to be taken in general, since neither population viability analysis have been included, nor changes over time in the landscape. Another issue is the low sample size, where a larger sample size would make it possible to perform profound calibration and validation of the data. To develop a more robust model, the advice is to include these into the model and use a larger sample size.

The mobile robots that are present today are struggling to deal with challenges related to localization, power supply, mobility in the real world with all sorts of obstacles and other issues. At the same time, the demand for service robots for domestic applications has been growing and predictions show that the demand will continue to grow in the future. To meet the demands and to fulfill the expectations, those challenges need to be addressed. This thesis presents the development of a ceiling mounted robot known as Ceilbot. It is a type of mobile service robot except that it works on a track attached to the ceiling. This implies that the robot operates in a structured environment with continuous power supply simplifying some of the issues mentioned above. The development of the Ceilbot includes a simplified DC motor controller development, object recognition development and an easy-to-use graphical user interface design. The developed motor controller provides flexibility for the user to change the control parameters and produces deterministic output with high repeatability when compared to a regular proportional and integral (PI) controller. The designed user interface simplifies the interaction between the user and the Ceilbot by allowing the user to send commands to the Ceilbot and displaying some status parameters for monitoring. In order to have a complete robot system for demonstration purposes, a simple manipulator using two servomotors is also developed. / <p>Validerat; 20140825 (global_studentproject_submitter)</p>

Trace elements are involved in many biological processes and serve important functions to maintain the normal development of the central nervous system (CNS). In the CNS, iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) are some of the most important elements that play critical roles as catalysts, cofactors, and structural components for many cellular enzymes and proteins. The deficiency or excess of these metals may lead to various neurological disorders. Demyelination is a condition of loss of myelin and leads to neurological diseases like Multiple Sclerosis. Myelin consists of transition metals and hence it would be interesting to study concentrations of these elements in normal and demyelinated models. X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) is a popular non-destructive technique applied in trace element studies. The principle involves exciting a sample and detecting characteristic X-rays, which provide information on elemental concentrations in the sample. In the present studies the feasibility of XRF for trace element studies was explored. A total of 120 samples of brain and spinal cord tissues were collected from Long Evans (control) and Long Evans Shaker (dysmyelinated)–an incomplete formation of myelin sheaths–rats at ages of 3 weeks and 16 weeks. The samples were excited using x-rays from an Energy Dispersive X-Ray Diffraction (EDXRF) set-up. The spectral data was collected using an Silicon Drift Detector (SDD) and the resultant data were analysed to see if statistically significant changes in concentrations were present in the samples. The results were discussed and suggestions for future work were made. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

No description available.