The investigation has taken starting point in the Swedish school history by a look back at the last three curricula and its rating system in order to see the differences and similarities between them. Furthermore, the focus was on the implementation of lgr11 and how it has worked out both on the national and local levels, with the help of, among other things Imsens "five faces of the curriculum" and Lipsky theories of grassroots bureaucrats. The aim of the study was to investigate teachers' perceptions of differences in teaching and assessment in grades 7-9, during the changeover from Lpo94 both on lgr11. The questions developed for this purpose was: How do teachers say that their teaching changed in conjunction with curriculum change? Has there been a refocusing about the concept of knowledge in the curriculum shift, and if so, how? How the assessment and grading did change with the curriculum change? Data collection has been made using a quantitative survey with qualitative elements. The survey consisted of 10 questions that everyone faces the transition to lgr11. The questions were directed towards the concept of knowledge, grades, assessment, workload and teaching more.   The survey responses indicate that many teachers have found the transition to lgr11 relatively smooth, but the workload was heavy before the new system has been incorporated. Regarding implementation, the survey shows that it worked well with the staff but they feel that many students and parents are still in the thinking learning that was dominant in Lpo94. The criticism that clearly emerged was against the grading system, not against the new knowledge that the students are assessed after or new assessment methods introduced. The criticism is instead directed toward how the grading system is constructed, many teachers had wanted to see the knowledge requirements for all stages and not only for E, C and A. In addition, many teachers now think that their subject demands more of the students and that there now bigger focus on really understand the subject matter the teaching is built around, which they believe was not the case in Lpo94. / Syftet med undersökningen var att undersöka lärarnas uppfattningar om skillnader i undervisning och bedömning i årskurs 7-9, i samband med övergången från lpo94 till lgr11. Frågeställningarna som tagits fram till detta syfte var: Hur menar lärarna att deras undervisning förändrats i samband med läroplansskiftet? Har det skett en omfokusering vad gäller ”kunskapsbegreppet” i och med läroplansskiftet, och i så fall hur? Hur har bedömning och betygsättningen förändrats i och med läroplansskiftet?   Undersökningen har tagit avstamp i den svenska skolans historia genom en tillbakablick på de tre senaste läroplanerna och dess betygssystem för att kunna se skillnader och likheter dem emellan. Vidare har fokus lagts på implementeringen av lgr11 och hur den gått till på nationell respektive lokal nivå, detta med hjälp av bl.a. Imsens ”fem ansikten av läroplanen” samt Lipskys teori om gräsrotbyråkrati. Datainsamlingen har gjorts med hjälp av en kvantitativ enkätundersökning med kvalitativa inslag. Enkäten bestod av 10 frågor som alla vetter mot omställningen till lgr11. Frågorna var riktade mot betyg, bedömningen, arbetsbelastning och undervisning med mera.   Enkätsvaren visar att många lärare på skolan där undersökningen ägt rum funnit omställningen till lgr11 relativt smidig, men att arbetsbelastningen varit tung innan det nya systemet blivit inarbetat. Vad beträffar implementeringen visar undersökningen att det fallit väl ut hos personalen men de upplever att många elever och föräldrar fortfarande är kvar i de tankebanor och kunskapssyn som var dominerande i lpo94. Den kritik som tydligast framkom riktade sig mot betygssystemet, och inte mot den nya kunskapssyn som eleverna bedöms efter eller de nya bedömningsmetoder som införts. Betygssystemet har kritiserats för att lärare velat se kunskapskrav för alla stegen och inte bara för E, C och A. Vidare anser många lärare att deras ämne nu kräver mer av eleverna och att det nu är större fokus på att verkligen förstå stoffet undervisningen byggs runt, vilket de anser inte var fallet i lpo94.

By use of interview data, this thesis investigates how two moral points of view, the Conventional and Radical, held by study participants relate to: 1) factors that influence ethics; 2) role models of a self-defined well-lived life; 3) factors that help and hinder participants from living their well-lived life; and, 4) experience of pressures to compromise and freedom to live out their ideals within organizations. A longitudinal analysis is applied comparing participant moral point of view as students, to participant perceptions since entering the workforce as university graduates. The results show differences and similarities within the four areas of interest based on moral point of view. The implications of finding differences in participant perceptions based on moral point of view are discussed, and areas for future research are offered.

The purpose of this study is to examine how the internationalization process in small firms impacts their resource base renewal. The relationships between organizational learning, dynamic capabilities, operational capabilities and resources are empirically examined to determine the impact of internationalization on changes to the firm’s resource base. The empirical analysis follows a multiple case study research methodology and is based on in depth case studies of four internationalized professional service firms in Ontario. Cases include born-global and born-again global firms, exemplifying both location-based and knowledge-based services. The study finds evidence supporting the relationships between internationalization, organizational learning and planned change via dynamic capabilities, as well as internationalization, organizational learning and ad hoc problem solving. Findings also suggest that the firms’ repetitive use of ad hoc problem solving when faced with similar situations leads to the creation of dynamic capabilities. This research adds to the existing body of literature on services, international entrepreneurship and strategy by responding to a call for empirical examination of organizational learning within the RBV and DC constructs. Furthermore, it also applies a novel theoretical framework with which to examine the impact of small firm internationalization and their strategic renewal. By doing so, this thesis extends the RBV and DC perspectives to small service firms. Findings demonstrate a need to further continue this research path to gain greater understanding of the change processes that occur during the evolution of the firm’s resource base, as pertains to small knowledge-intensive service firms.

A megawatt class electron linear accelerator (e-linac) will be constructed at TRIUMF as part of the new ARIEL facility which will produce rare ion beams for the study of nuclear structure and astrophysics, and material science. The 50MeV, 10mA, continuous wave e-linac will drive gamma ray induced fissioning of a Uranium target for the production of neutron rich beam species. View Screens located at a number of places along the e-linac beam-line will acquire two dimensional images of the transverse electron beam profiles, providing measurements of the size, position, and shape of the incident e-linac beam. The design of the View Screens will be presented, based on design studies and simulations performed to evaluate the performance of the View Screens under various operating conditions. These studies include GEANT simulations of the energy loss and scattering of the electron beam as it passes through the scintillation and Optical Transition Radiation beam targets, the subsequent thermal response of the targets, and a ray tracing optics simulation to optimize the configuration of the imaging optics. Bench test have been performed on the resulting optics design to evaluate the imaging characteristics, verifying fulfillment of the design requirements. Construction of a prototype View Screen device is currently underway, with beam tests scheduled for Fall 2011. A total of 14 View Screens will be constructed and installed along the e-linac beam-line. / Graduate

Astronomy large-scale surveys require instrumentation to minimize the time required to complete observations of large sections of the sky. Optimizing receiver systems has been achieved through reducing the system temperature primarily by advances in low-noise amplifier technology to a point that the internally generated noise is now fast approaching the quantum limit. Instead, reflector-coupled focal plane arrays are now used to increase the field of view (FoV) by employing either multi-element horn feeds or phased array feeds. Widely spaced (2-3 wavelengths diameter) horn feeds inefficiently sample the available focal plane radiation, thus requiring multiple imaging passes. Alternatively, a more efficient method is to use a narrow element (0.5 wavelengths diameter) phased array feed with a beamformer to produce overlapping beams on the sky, fully Nyquist sampling the focal plane with a single pass. The FoV can be further increased with additional phased array feed (PAF) antenna-receiver modules adding to the contiguous fully sampled region. A 5 x 5 K-band (18 - 26 GHz) single polarization modular PAF incorporating an antenna array of planar axially symmetric elements is designed, simulated, manufactured and tested. Each narrow width tapered slot antenna element has an independent receiver chain consisting of a cryogenic packaged monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) GaAs amplifier and a packaged MMIC down converting mixer. Synthesized beams and beamformer characteristics are presented. The PAF imaging system performance is evaluated by survey speed and compared to the industry standard, the single pixel feed (SPF). Scientifically, K-band is attractive because it contains numerous molecular transitions, in particular the rotation-inversion lines of ammonia. These transitions are excited in dense gas, and can be used to directly measure kinetic temperatures and velocities of protostars throughout the Galaxy. Depending on the line detected, gas of different temperatures can be probed. It is concluded that even with a higher system temperature, a PAF with sufficient number of synthesized beams can outperform a SPF in imaging speed by more than an order of magnitude. / Graduate

The concept of dynamic capability (DC) is receiving significant attention from scholars in strategy and organisation research. However, most of the research is conceptual in nature. In this thesis, the process of how DCs are created in two firms is examined using the grounded theory methodology (GTM) with the aim of developing a substantive theory of DC creation. Data were collected using theoretical sampling, and unstructured and semi-structured interviews. These data were then analysed using the constant comparison method to identify and explain the process through which DCs are created. The findings from the study reveal that DCs are created through continuous internal activities such as in-house innovation, human resource activities (HRAs), and external activities with partners through collaboration and acquisitions. Firms learn from these activities, which lead to changes in the static organisational capabilities and the development of higher order capabilities, the DCs. From this study, a framework has been developed for considering and managing the process of creating DCs at a strategic level. The framework explains the reasons why these firms develop and renew their DCs, identifies the key resources required, and examines the activities through which DCs are developed and renewed. The framework is both iterative and simultaneous. Implications for academics and practitioners are discussed, and limitations and directions for future research are outlined.

The main purpose of the thesis is: on the basis of an analysis and interpretation of Plato's Dialogues, to describe his personal characteristics in its relation to his pedagogic reality, and, on the basis of these descriptions, to analyse and interpret his teaching methods as a result of two different processes. The scientific perspectives of the thesis are inspired by hermeneutic philosophy of history and especially by the theories of Paul Ricoeur and Hans-Georg Gadamer. Furthermore, the perspective is grounded on three concepts of pedagogics, by the help of which both explicit and implicit pedagogic processes are analysed. In order to interrelate the interpretations some analytical and interpretational models have been used, based on Ricoeur's mimesis concept and his theory of narrative identity. The final interpretations maintain that a particular line runs through Plato's teaching, and that its goal is intellectual autonomy and a change in the pupil's whole view of the world, which implies a fusion between intellect and existential experience. This line shows that Plato teaches in both a sensual and spiritual dimension and that these processes, though contrasted, function in parallel. The goal of intellectual autonomy demonstrates how Plato breaks with his culture and by doing so recommends solitude - something quite revolutionary in an age when the group, a strong sense of community and of being one of Us sets its stamp on everyones mentality. An interpretation of the Symposium shows how any change in world view calls for a combination of existential experience and thought. The main principal features in Plato's teaching methods are presented as preparation, change, liberation and wisdom.

Recovery of human pose from videos has become a highly active research area in the last decade because of many attractive potential applications, such as surveillance, non-intrusive motion analysis and natural human machine interaction. Video based full body pose estimation is a very challenging task, because of the high degree of articulation of the human body, the large variety of possible human motions, and the diversity of human appearances. Methods for tackling this problem can be roughly categorized as either discriminative or generative. Discriminative methods can work on single images, and are able to recover the human poses efficiently. However, the accuracy and generality largely depend on the training data. Generative approaches usually formulate the problem as a tracking problem and adopt an explicit human model. Although arbitrary motions can be tracked, such systems usually have difficulties in adapting to different subjects and in dealing with tracking failures. In this thesis, an accurate, efficient and robust human pose tracking system from a single view camera is developed, mainly following a generative approach. A novel discriminative feature is also proposed and integrated into the tracking framework to improve the tracking performance. The human pose tracking system is proposed within a particle filtering framework. A reconfigurable skeleton model is constructed based on the Acclaim Skeleton File convention. A basic particle filter is first implemented for upper body tracking, which fuses time efficient cues from monocular sequences and achieves real-time tracking for constrained motions. Next, a 3D surface model is added to the skeleton model, and a full body tracking system is developed for more general and complex motions, assuming a stereo camera input. Partitioned sampling is adopted to deal with the high dimensionality problem, and the system is capable of running in near real-time. Multiple visual cues are investigated and compared, including a newly developed explicit depth cue. Based on the comparative analysis of cues, which reveals the importance of depth and good bottom-up features, a novel algorithm for detecting and identifying endpoint body parts from depth images is proposed. Inspired by the shape context concept, this thesis proposes a novel Local Shape Context (LSC) descriptor specifically for describing the shape features of body parts in depth images. This descriptor describes the local shape of different body parts with respect to a given reference point on a human silhouette, and is shown to be effective at detecting and classifying endpoint body parts. A new type of interest point is defined based on the LSC descriptor, and a hierarchical interest point selection algorithm is designed to further conserve computational resources. The detected endpoint body parts are then classified according to learned models based on the LSC feature. The algorithm is tested using a public dataset and achieves good accuracy with a 100Hz processing speed on a standard PC. Finally, the LSC descriptor is improved to be more generalized. Both the endpoint body parts and the limbs are detected simultaneously. The generalized algorithm is integrated into the tracking framework, which provides a very strong cue and enables tracking failure recovery. The skeleton model is also simplified to further increase the system efficiency. To evaluate the system on arbitrary motions quantitatively, a new dataset is designed and collected using a synchronized Kinect sensor and a marker based motion capture system, including 22 different motions from 5 human subjects. The system is capable of tracking full body motions accurately using a simple skeleton-only model in near real-time on a laptop PC before optimization.

In recent years there has been significant progress in increasing the scope, accuracy and flexibility of 3D photography methods. However there are still significant open problems where complex optical properties of mirroring or transparent objects cause many assumptions of traditional algorithms to break down. In this work we present three approaches that attempt to deal with some of these challenges using a few camera views and simple illumination. First, we consider the problem of reconstructing the 3D position and surface normal of points on a time-varying refractive surface. We show that two viewpoints are sufficient to solve this problem in the general case, even if the refractive index is unknown. We introduce a novel ``stereo matching'' criterion called refractive disparity, appropriate for refractive scenes, and develop an optimization-based algorithm for individually reconstructing the position and normal of each point projecting to a pixel in the input views. Second, we present a new method for reconstructing the exterior surface of a complex transparent scene with inhomogeneous interior. We capture images from each viewpoint while moving a proximal light source to a 2D or 3D set of positions giving a 2D (or 3D) dataset per pixel, called the scatter-trace. The key is that while light transport within a transparent scene's interior can be exceedingly complex, a pixel's scatter trace has a highly-constrained geometry that reveals the direct surface reflection, and leads to a simple ``Scatter-trace stereo'' algorithm for computing the exterior surface geometry. Finally, we develop a reconstruction system for scenes with reflectance properties ranging from diffuse to specular. We capture images of the scene as it is illuminated by a planar, spatially non-uniform light source. Then we show that if the source is translated to a parallel position away from the scene, a particular scene point integrates a magnified region of light from the plane. We observe this magnification at each pixel and show how it relates to the source-relative depth of the surface. Next we show how calibration relating the camera and source planes allows for robustness to specular objects and recovery of 3D surface points.

By use of interview data, this thesis investigates how two moral points of view, the Conventional and Radical, held by study participants relate to: 1) factors that influence ethics; 2) role models of a self-defined well-lived life; 3) factors that help and hinder participants from living their well-lived life; and, 4) experience of pressures to compromise and freedom to live out their ideals within organizations. A longitudinal analysis is applied comparing participant moral point of view as students, to participant perceptions since entering the workforce as university graduates. The results show differences and similarities within the four areas of interest based on moral point of view. The implications of finding differences in participant perceptions based on moral point of view are discussed, and areas for future research are offered.