Nesten en tredel av norske elever fullfører ikke videregående opplæring. Pøbelprosjektet AS er en privat bedrift som jobber med å hjelpe ungdom som har falt utenfor tilbake til skole eller ut i jobb, og de kan vise til gode resultat av arbeidet sitt. Denne masteroppgaven har hatt som mål å finne ut hva Pøbelprosjektet gjør som gjør at de lykkes, og om noe av det de gjør eventuelt kan la seg overføre til skolen for å forebygge frafall. Problemstillingen har vært følgende: Hva er suksessfaktorer i Pøbelprosjektet, og kan de overføres til skolen? Oppgaven ble gjennomført som en vurderende kasusstudie. Deltakende observasjon og intervju ble benyttet i datainnsamlingen. Gjennom analyse av datamaterialet ble det funnet syv suksessfaktorer, faktorer som bidrar til at deltakerne kommer seg tilbake til skolen eller i jobb. Suksessfaktorene er følgende: (1) Menneskesynet, (2) samspill – ivaretakelse versus disiplin, (3) styrke selvoppfatningen, (4) bevisstgjøring, (5) aktivisering av egenkrefter, (6) framoverfokus og (7) ansvarliggjøring. Faktorene ble sammenholdt med relevant fagteori. Sammenhengen mellom faktorene viser at Pøbelprosjektets suksessoppskrift synes å være at de styrker deltakernes selvverdsfølelse og selvtillit, hjelper dem å utvikle ansvarlighet og hjelper dem med å sette realistiske yrkesmål, med det resultat at ungdommene får motivasjon og tro på seg selv til å handle. Dette ledet i hovedsak fram mot tre mulige satsningsområder i forhold til forebygging av frafall i videregående skole: a) Å innføre relasjonskompetanse som en integrert del i lærer- og lektorutdanningen, både som en del av pensum og i forhold til lærerveiledning. b) Å ansvarliggjøre elever, blant annet ved å la dem oppleve konsekvenser, slik at de lærer å måtte svare for sine handlinger. En god lærer-elev-relasjon, samt at elevenes basale behov er tilstrekkelig dekket, er en forutsetning for denne ansvarliggjøringsmetoden. c) Å styrke karriererådgivningen i skolen. Individuell karriererådgivning på et tidlig stadium, gjerne i ungdomsskolen, vil hjelpe elever med å sette personlige mål som kan gi dem motivasjon til å fullføre skolegangen. Flere av faktorene er antatt overførbare. Hvis man velger å benytte seg av faktorene enkeltvis, kan man ikke forvente tilsvarende effekt som i Pøbelprosjektet, da faktorene forsterker hverandre når de opptrer sammen. / Nearly a third of Norwegian students do not complete upper secondary education. Pøbelprosjektet AS is a private company which helps young people who have interrupted their education to go back to school and finish their education or to find a job, and they show good results in their work. The objective for this study has been to find ways how to prevent students from dropping out of school by studying how Pøbelprosjektet helps these youngsters succeed. The problem has been as follows: What are the success factors in Pøbelprosjektet, and can they be transferred to the educational system to help preventing students from dropping out of school? The study was conducted as an evaluative case study and observation and interviews were used to collect data. The analysis gave seven success factors, factors that contribute to the youngsters coming back to school or finding work. The success factors are: (1) View of humanity, (2) interaction - caretaking versus discipline, (3) strengthening the self-perception, (4) awareness, (5) activation of forces, (6) focusing forward and (7) assuming responsibility. The factors were collated with relevant academic theory. It seems that Pøbelprosjektets success relies on the fact that they strengthen the participants' self-esteem, help them to develop responsibility and help them to set goals that are realistic. As a result of this the youngsters start believing in themselves and they get motivated into action. This led to three main aspects that could help preventing students from dropping out of school: a) Introducing relational skills as a part of the teacher education. b) Help students to learn how to take responsibility for themselves by letting them experience consequences, teaching them to take responsibility for their actions. A good teacher-student relationship and providing that the students' basic needs are adequately fulfilled are premises for this method of generating responsibility. c) See to it that all students get individual career counseling in schools. Having a personal goal can motivate students into finishing their education. Several factors are considered transferable. If one chooses to apply only one or some of the factors, one can not expect them to have the same effect as in Pøbelprosjektet, as the factors reinforce each other when acting together.

In this dissertation an in-depth study was conducted into the design, implementation and evaluation of a QPSK-based receiver structure for application in a UMTS WCDMA environment. The novelty of this work lies with the specific receiver architecture aimed to optimise the BER performance when possibly sparse data streams are transmitted. This scenario is a real possibility according to Verd´u et al [1] and Hagenauer et al [2–6]. A novel receiver structure was conceptualised, developed and evaluated in both narrowband and wideband scenarios, where it was found to outperform conventional receivers when a sparse data stream is transmitted. In order to reach the main conclusions of this study, it was necessary to develop a realistic simulation platform. The developed platform is capable of simulating a communication system meeting the physical layer requirements of the UMTS WCDMA standard. The platform can also perform narrowband simulations. A flexible channel emulator was developed that may be configured to simulate AWGN channel conditions, frequency non-selective fading (either Rayleigh or Rician with a configurable LOS component and Doppler spread), or a full multipath scenario where each path has a configurable LOS component, Doppler spread, path gain and path delay. It is therefore possible to even simulate a complex, yet realistic, COST207-TU channel model. The platform is also capable of simulating MUI. Each interfering user has a unique and independent multipath fading channel, while sharing the same bandwidth. Finally, the entire platform executes all simulations in baseband for improved simulation times. The research outputs of this work are summarised below: <ul> <li>A parameter, the sparseness measure, was defined in order to quantify the level by which a data stream differs from an equiprobable data stream.</li> <li>A novel source model was proposed and developed to simulate data streams with a specified amount of sparseness.</li> <li>An introductory investigation was undertaken to determine the effect of simple FEC techniques on the sparseness of an encoded data stream.</li> <li>Novel receiver structures for both narrowband and wideband systems were proposed, developed and evaluated for systems where possibly sparse data streams may be transmitted.</li> <li>Analytic expressions were derived to take the effect of sparseness into account in communication systems, including expressions for the joint PDF of a BPSK branch, the optimal decision region of a detector in AWGN conditions as well as the BER performance of a communication system employing the proposed optimal receiver in both AWGN channel conditions as well as in flat fading channel conditions.</li> <li>Numerous BER performance curves were obtained comparing the proposed receiver structure with conventional receivers in a variety of channel conditions, including AWGN, frequency non-selective fading and a multipath COST207-TU channel environment, as well as the effect of MUI</li></ul>. AFRIKAANS : In hierdie verhandeling word ’n in-diepte studie gedoen rakende die ontwerp, implementasie en evaluasie van ’n KPSK-gebaseerde ontvanger struktuur wat in ’n UMTS WKVVT omgewing gebruik kan word. Die bydrae van hierdie werk lˆe in die spesifieke ontvanger argitektuur wat daarop mik om die BFT werksverrigting te optimeer wanneer yl data strome versend word. Hierdie is ’n realistiese moontlikheid volgens Verd´u et al [1] en Hagenauer et al [2–6]. ’n Nuwe ontvanger struktuur is gekonsepsualiseer, ontwikkel en evalueer vir beide noueband en wyeband stelsels, waar dit gevind is dat dit beter werksverrigting lewer as tradisionele ontvangers wanneer yl data strome versend word. Dit was nodig om ’n realistiese simulasie platform te ontwikkel om die belangrikste gevolgtrekkings van hierdie studie te kan maak. Die ontwikkelde platform is in staat om ’n kommunikasie stelsel te simuleer wat aan die fisiese laag vereistes van die UMTS WKVVT standaard voldoen. Die platform kan ook noueband stelsels simuleer. ’n Aanpasbare kanaal simulator is ontwikkel wat opgestel kan word om SWGR kanaal toestande, plat duining (beide Rayleigh of Ricies met ’n verstelbare siglyn komponent en Doppler verspreiding), sowel as ’n veelvuldige pad omgewing (waar elke unieke pad ’n verstelbare siglyn komponent, Doppler verspreiding, pad wins en pad vertraging het) te emuleer. Dit is selfs moontlik om ’n komplekse, maar steeds realistiese COST207-TU kanaal model te simuleer. Die platform het ook die vermo¨e om VGS te simuleer. Elke steurende gebruiker het ’n unieke en onafhanklike veelvuldige pad deinende kanaal, terwyl dieselfde bandwydte gedeel word. Laastens, alle simulasies van die platvorm word in basisband uitgevoer wat verkorte simulasie periodes verseker. Die navorsingsuitsette van hierdie werk kan as volg opgesom word: <ul> <li>’n Parameter, die ylheidsmaatstaf, is gedefin¨ýeer om dit moontlik te maak om die vlak waarmee die ylheid van ’n datastroom verskil van ’n ewekansige stroom te versyfer.</li> <li>’n Nuwe bronmodel is voorgestel en ontwikkel om datastrome met ’n spesifieke ylheid te emuleer.</li> <li>’n Inleidende ondersoek is onderneem om vas te stel wat die effek van VFK tegnieke op die ylheid van ’n enkodeerde datastroom is.</li> <li>Nuwe ontvanger strukture is voorgestel, ontwikkel en evalueer vir beide noueband en wyeband stelsels waar yl datastrome moontlik versend kan word.</li> <li>Analitiese uitdrukkings is afgelei om die effek van ylheid in ag te neem in kommunikasie stelsels. Uitdrukkings vir onder andere die gedeelte WDF van ’n BFVK tak, die optimale beslissingspunt van ’n detektor in SWGR toestande, sowel as die BFT werksverrigting van ’n kommunikasie stelsel wat van die voorgestelde optimale ontvangers gebruik maak, hetsy in SWGR of in plat duinende kanaal toestande.</li> <li>Talryke BFT werksverrigting krommes is verkry wat die voorgestelde ontvanger struktuur vergelyk met die konvensionele ontvangers in ’n verskeidenheid kanaal toestande, insluitend SWGR, plat duinende kanale en ’n veelvuldige pad COST207-TU kanaal omgewing, sowel as in die teenwoordigheid van VGS.</li></ul></p Copyright / Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering / unrestricted