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In the area of motion planning, considerable work has been done on guarding problems, where "guards", modelled as points, must guard a polygonal space from "intruders". Different variants of this problem involve varying a number of factors. The guards performing the search may vary in terms of their number, their mobility, and their range of vision. The model of intruders may or may not allow them to move. The polygon being searched may have a specified starting point, a specified ending point, or neither of these. The typical question asked about one of these problems is whether or not certain polygons can be searched under a particular guarding paradigm defined by the types of guards and intruders. In this thesis, we focus on two cases of a chain of guards searching a room (polygon with a specific starting point) for mobile intruders. The intruders must never be allowed to escape through the door undetected. In the case of the two guard problem, the guards must start at the door point and move in opposite directions along the boundary of the polygon, never crossing the door point. At all times, the guards must be able to see each other. The search is complete once both guards occupy the same spot elsewhere on the polygon. In the case of a chain of three guards, consecutive guards in the chain must always be visible. Again, the search starts at the door point, and the outer guards of the chain must move from the door in opposite directions. These outer guards must always remain on the boundary of the polygon. The search is complete once the chain lies entirely on a portion of the polygon boundary not containing the door point. Determining whether a polygon can be searched is a problem in the area of visibility in polygons; further to that, our work is related to the area of planning algorithms. We look for ways to find optimal schedules that minimize the distance or time required to complete the search. This is done by finding shortest paths in visibility diagrams that indicate valid positions for the guards. In the case of the two-guard room search, we are able to find the shortest distance schedule and the quickest schedule. The shortest distance schedule is found in O(n^2) time by solving an L_1 shortest path problem among curved obstacles in two dimensions. The quickest search schedule is found in O(n^4) time by solving an L_infinity shortest path problem among curved obstacles in two dimensions. For the chain of three guards, a search schedule minimizing the total distance travelled by the outer guards is found in O(n^6) time by solving an L_1 shortest path problem among curved obstacles in two dimensions.

In the area of motion planning, considerable work has been done on guarding problems, where "guards", modelled as points, must guard a polygonal space from "intruders". Different variants of this problem involve varying a number of factors. The guards performing the search may vary in terms of their number, their mobility, and their range of vision. The model of intruders may or may not allow them to move. The polygon being searched may have a specified starting point, a specified ending point, or neither of these. The typical question asked about one of these problems is whether or not certain polygons can be searched under a particular guarding paradigm defined by the types of guards and intruders. In this thesis, we focus on two cases of a chain of guards searching a room (polygon with a specific starting point) for mobile intruders. The intruders must never be allowed to escape through the door undetected. In the case of the two guard problem, the guards must start at the door point and move in opposite directions along the boundary of the polygon, never crossing the door point. At all times, the guards must be able to see each other. The search is complete once both guards occupy the same spot elsewhere on the polygon. In the case of a chain of three guards, consecutive guards in the chain must always be visible. Again, the search starts at the door point, and the outer guards of the chain must move from the door in opposite directions. These outer guards must always remain on the boundary of the polygon. The search is complete once the chain lies entirely on a portion of the polygon boundary not containing the door point. Determining whether a polygon can be searched is a problem in the area of visibility in polygons; further to that, our work is related to the area of planning algorithms. We look for ways to find optimal schedules that minimize the distance or time required to complete the search. This is done by finding shortest paths in visibility diagrams that indicate valid positions for the guards. In the case of the two-guard room search, we are able to find the shortest distance schedule and the quickest schedule. The shortest distance schedule is found in O(n^2) time by solving an L_1 shortest path problem among curved obstacles in two dimensions. The quickest search schedule is found in O(n^4) time by solving an L_infinity shortest path problem among curved obstacles in two dimensions. For the chain of three guards, a search schedule minimizing the total distance travelled by the outer guards is found in O(n^6) time by solving an L_1 shortest path problem among curved obstacles in two dimensions.

Drawing on newspaper, movement correspondence, and interview data, I examine the tactical selection and (in)visibility of a lesbian and gay student group, Gay Student Services (GSS), in a hostile university campus in Texas from the mid-1970s through the 1980s. GSS was formed to create a safe space for sexual minorities at Texas A & M University (TAMU) and asked university officials to recognize the group officially after physical threats of violence became real. After long delays, when TAMU administrators declined GSS's request, GSS filed a lawsuit against TAMU with the goal of achieving formal recognition. In the first chapter, I offer a brief history of GSS and introduce my thesis structure. In the second chapter, I show how early access to legal aid bolstered GSS members' understanding of their rights and encouraged their use of legal tactics. A sense of legal entitlement also encouraged GSS to pursue legal tactics in the face of administrative antagonism. The hostile campus environment also motivated GSS to utilize legal tactics instead of engaging in more traditional forms of contention, such as protest, to pursue their goal of gaining official status on campus.

ABSTRACT Visibility degradation has become one of the major problems of public concern in Kaohsiung City as well as in most of the urban areas of Taiwan in recent years due to the increasing severity of smog. This study investigated the different aspects of atmospheric visibility degradation problems in metro Kaohsiung. First of all, both the long-term and short-term variation trends of atmospheric visibility were interpreted by analyzing the past data of prevailing visibility. Secondly, the correlation of atmospheric visibility with its major causative factors (i.e. meteorological and pollutant parameters) was established. Thirdly, the relationship between visibility degradation and aerosol mass/composition was derived by using multiple linear regression techniques based on in-situ field measurements of ambient aerosols and light extinction coefficient. Finally, the effective strategies for improving the visual air quality of metro Kaohsiung were proposed based on the results of the receptor-oriented modeling. In metro Kaohsiung, the seasonal variation of atmospheric visibility from the highest to the lowest were found to be in the sequence of summer, spring, autumn and winter, with mean values of 9.1, 8.2, 5.4, and 3.4 km, respectively. A diurnal variation of visibility was observed and showed that the visibility was generally lower in the morning and higher in the afternoon. A mass light scattering efficiency of 3.6 m2 g-1 for PM2.5 and a much lower value (0.3 m2 g-1) for PM2.5-10 indicated that the visible light was mainly scattered by the fine aerosol particles. The derived multiple linear regression model of light scattering coefficient yielded the mass scattering efficiencies of 4.6 m2 g-1 for (NH4)2SO4, 6.7 m2 g-1 for NH4NO3, 3.3 m2 g-1 for total carbon, and 3.2 m2 g-1 for PM2.5-remainder with an R2 of 0.97. On average, the percentage contributions of the visibility-degrading species to the light scattering coefficient were 29% for sulfates, 28% for nitrates, 22% for total carbon, and 21% for PM2.5-remainder, respectively. Furthermore, the major component of light extinction coefficient (bext) was the scattering of light by particles (75% of bext), followed by the absorption of light by particles (20%), while the remaining 5% of bext was attributed to gases. An empirical regression model of visibility based on sulfates, nitrates, PM2.5-remainder, and relative humidity was developed. The results showed that the variation of sulfate in PM2.5 aerosols was most sensitive to visibility change among the parameters. In terms of visibility degradation sources, source apportionment results indicated that the major contributors to fine particles were motor vehicle exhaust and secondary aerosols, which contributed more than half of the visibility degradation in metro Kaohsiung. Meanwhile, the second largest contributor was secondary aerosols containing ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate. Additionally, the contribution of soil dust increased markedly from normally only 4% to 25%, owing to an impact of continental dust storm from Mainland China. The results strongly indicated that soil dust blown from the desert areas of Northern China could be transported across the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea and evidently deposited in metro Kaohsiung. Results of the correlation analysis between atmospheric visibility and emission sources revealed a similarity between the source contribution pattern for visibility impairment and the source apportionment of fine particles. It showed ammonium sulfate contributed approximately 46% of the logarithm of atmospheric visibility, while the ¡§remainders¡¨, ammonium nitrate, and elemental carbons contributed about 20%, 17%, and 17%, respectively. Accordingly, this study concluded that the most effective strategy for improving atmospheric visibility in metro Kaohsiung was to prevent the formation of secondary fine particles containing ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate.

Advertising is everywhere. But what are the benefits of marketing for company? Why do most managers start to use variety of marketing strategies to promote the visibility of brand? This study will explore the relationship between the visibility of brand and the financial performance, and to discuss the effect of market strategy on financial performance. This study mainly uses Linear Structure Relation Model (LISREL) to explore the relationship between the latent variables of brand visibility and financial performance. As a result, the study result demonstrates that company can take advantages of adverting and increased market shares to raise the visibility of brand, which will also improve the financial performance. In addition, this study also finds that the capital market liquidity has significant ¡§Full mediation¡¨ to financial performance. For investors, this study can bring them the different ideas about the effect of brand visibility to the financial performance. Marketing information can become an important indicator for investors to make decision. For managers, they can realize the real value of marketing and the contribution of marketing to financial performance from this study. Therefore, we can understand the relationship between marketing and the finance to reach the goal of maximum shareholder¡¦s value.

Thesis (M.Eng.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2001. / Bibliography: leaves 81-87.

Chacoan great houses have been described as providing "ritual" or "integrative" venues and as "monumental" in scale and in the amount of labor required for their construction. This study takes the approach that part of the function of community, monumental, or ritual structures is to transmit meaning and that an examination of visibility connections between these structures and small habitation sites in the surrounding community may provide information about the role of these messages in daily practice. Survey data from the Chacoan community at Kin Bineola, New Mexico is analyzed in a GIS environment using a model of visibility and distance developed for this project. The results show that, contrary to expectations, the great house is much less visible than a less monumental "Chacoan structure." Shrines, small structures interpreted as having a ritual function, are by far the most visible, suggesting a more complex relationship between monumentality and visibility.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, March, 1998. / Title from PDF t.p.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 25-28, 1999 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / The coverage characteristics of the GLONASS constellation is analyzed. The almanac data of GLONASS navigation message are used in the computation according to the operation of the satellites. The ground traces of the GLONASS satellites are plotted. And the probability of visible satellite number is calculated under different latitude conditions. The results are analyzed to give descriptions of the GLONASS constellation. And they are compared with those of GPS's. The conclusion is verified that GLONASS constellation provides better coverage at high latitude.