Managing safety at a nuclear power plant is about a complex system with demanding technology under time pressure where the cost of failure is exceptionally high. Swedish nuclear power plants have over the last few years introduced Pre-job Briefing and other so called Human Performance Tools to advert errors and strengthen control. By using the Systemic Resilience Model different views of safety are taken to understand the origin of the signals that leads to a Pre-job Briefing, and how the signal is interpreted, re-interpreted, and presented. The study took place at a Swedish nuclear power plant and included four days of observations and 20 interviewees. The thematic analysis shows a similarity between mentioned origins of Pre-job Briefings and the intended use of Pre-job Briefing. Characteristics of a High Reliability Organisation is shown in practice by a culture of that one will to have a Pre-job Briefing is enough, that sharp end workers is used as a valuable resource for safety and a systematic support to screen jobs over time without influencing non-job related factors. The signals acted upon matched well with the intended, and personnel get several opportunities to evaluate the signals together, striving for best possible circumstances. The Systemic Resilience Model was successfully applied together with a thematic analysis, which strengthens its validity as a holistic model that combines different views of safety in one coherent model. SyRes allowed to present additional themes, leaving the question at what stage SyRes is optimally implemented in a thematic analysis.

Savant syndrome is a rare condition in which some people have extraordinary talents despite some serious mental or physical disability. It is a syndrome with remarkable features, standing in stark contrast to a person’s overall character. The term savant, or idiot savant, describes a person who, in spite of low intelligence, has a skill in some specific narrow area. Savants can have a specific talent in, for instance, music, art, calendar calculation or foreign language but whatever the specific talent is, it is always connected to extraordinary memory. Savant syndrome seems to be also connected to autism or autistic characteristics. In this paper I aim to give a clear description of the savant syndrome and explain its connection to autism. Further, I present how specific theories try to describe the causes of savant syndrome, and connect the theories to results of empirical research in order to give an overall view of the syndrome’s appearance. I will also compare the theories and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses with respect to the discoveries and progress that has been made within the area of savant syndrome research.

L'objet de cette thèse est le couplage entre des nanocristaux luminescents et des nanostructures métalliques. Ces structures présentent nombre d'intérêts dans un large panel d'applications de par l'apparition de modes électromagnétiques de surface (dénommés plasmons) que l'on contrôle via la géométrie de ces structures. Dans cette thèse, j'étudie deux types de nanostructures métalliques différentes : les plasmons « long-range» et les nanoantennes plasmoniques.Dans un premier temps je me suis intéressé à une géométrie qui couple deux plasmons propagatifs en deux modes hybrides au travers d'une fine couche de métal pour former des plasmons à forte longueur de propagations. En couplant des nanocristaux luminescents à ces modes, la répartition en énergie de l'émission dans les différents canaux de désexcitation disponibles a été étudiée. J'ai aussi montré que le métal pouvait augmenter leur taux d'émission spontanée d'un facteur 1,7. La contribution non négligeable des modes de guide conventionnels à l'émission dans ces structure a également été mise en évidence.Dans un second temps, j'ai étudié la potentielle utilisation de nanoparticules métalliques comme nanoantennes pour exalter et rediriger l'émission spontanée. La structure sera composée d'un dimère métallique créant un «point chaud » placé à proximité d'un plot métallique permettant la redirection. Des calculs FDTD montrent qu'une géométrie en pilier permet à la fois des pertes faibles (<10%), une forte augmentation de la cadence d'émission(>x80), une redirection de la lumière et ouvre la possibilité de multiplexage directif en longueur d'onde de l'information. Ces structures présentent l'avantage d'être compatibles avec les techniques modernes d'élaboration en couche mince. Des réalisations préliminaires ont alors été présentées / The object of this thesis is the coupling between luminescent nanocristals and metallic nanostructures. These structures show numerous interest in a large variety of applications thanks to the apparition of electromagnetic surface wave known as plasmons whose properties are tailored with the geometry of these structures. In this thesis, two types of geometry will be adressed : the long-range plasmons, and plasmonic nanoantennas. In a first time, the study focuses on a geometry in which two propagative surface plasmons are coupled through a thin metal film; creating a new type of plasmons with extended propagation lenghts. By coupling the emission of nanocristals in such a geometry, the energy repartition in the different desexcitation channels available has been adressed. The viccinity of the metal has also proved to increase the spontaneous decay rate up to 1.7. The non trivial contribution of conventional waveguide modes has also been demonstrated. In a second time, the potential of using metallic nanoparticles in a pillar geometry as nanoantennas to enhance and redirect the spontaneous emission has been investigated. The structure is composed of a metallic dimer creating a hotspot on top of which another metallic nanoparticles has been placed. FDTD simulations has shown that this kind of geometry can lead to few loss (<10%), a strong enhancement of the emission rate (>x80), a redirection of the emission and paves the way to wavelenght multiplexing possibilities. Besides, these structures present the advantage to be compatible with modern thin film elaboration techniques. Preliminary realisations have then been introduced

The abstract of the diploma thesis "Positive Formulas for Some Substructural Logics" by Pavel Truhlar We will examine which distributive substructural logics, as defined in the book of Restall "An Introduction to Substructural Logics" have the same positive fragment with and without the weak excluded middle axiom. The main result of this diploma thesis is that some substructural logics have this property. We repeat the basic notions as described in the Restall's book, especially the consecution, natural deduction, frame semantics, Hilbert system. We will use the soundness and completeness theorems. We also will use the equivalence of natural deduction systems and Hilbert systems. All these important theorems are in the above mentioned Restall's book. We make the proof of our main result in the next part. We will use the semantics of frames, similarly as de Jongh and Zhao in the article "Positive Formulas in Intuitionistic and Minimal Logic". We will define the top model. After, we define the construction which converts a model to the top model. We define for each formula the positive part of it; this is the formula, which behaves the same way on the top models as the original formula. We use Hilbert type calculus to formulate our main theorem. We prove our main result using the deduction theorem for certain...

The thesis examines the practice of corruption in the Palestinian Authority (PA) from the period of its establishment until the death of Arafat. Palestinian elite formation from the late Ottoman period until the establishment of the PA was assessed in order to identify the elites that came into power in the PA and the political cultures they came to espouse. The two primary elite groups’ (Outsider elites and Insider counter-elites) conflicting political cultures were assessed in how they influenced the decision making process, the construction, and exhibited institutional behaviour of the PA. With the signing of the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (Oslo Accords) on the 13th of September, 1993 between the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the Government of Israel it established the Palestinian Authority as the government in transition for the Palestinians. The agreements conferred the governing power and leadership role to the PLO Outsider elites (under Arafat). Due to the secret nature and asymmetrical power relation by which the negotiations and agreements were conducted and signed between the PLO Outsider leadership and the Government of Israel, which excluded inputs from Palestinian Insider elites, the culminating PA structure came to exhibit institutional weakness with certain neo-patrimonial behaviour. The political framework by which the Oslo Accords constructed the PA and influenced by international actors warranted institutional-weakness. Moreover, as external actors’ demands for the PA to deal with the declining Peace Process, and address political and security issues increased, PA corruption behaviour became more apparent and proliferated which became indicative of its fundamental problem in that it lacked statehood, lacked authority and legitimacy, and thus resorted to neo-patrimonial and repressive methods to govern. This neo-patrimonial political culture of Arafat and his governing Outsider elites used corruption as a PA political tool for survival thus suppressing a nascent democratic political culture of the Insiders and consequently led to an institutionalisation of corruption in the PA.

本教學實驗旨在探討如何教導國中生認識英語弱化音。筆者身為英語母語人士經常看到即使有十年或二十年學習經驗的英語學習者，仍舊無法完整了解母語人士講述的內容，原因就是弱化音與連音所造成的困擾，本研究藉著教導學生具備相關辨識能力，希望了解學生對這樣學習的成果與反應。 研究首先施行前測，取得比較基準，接著設計並在課堂實施了七個節次的教學，包括四堂連音、三堂弱化母音。課後再施行後測。前後測比較之下並無顯著統計差異。但是針對學生所作的問卷調查發現，學生覺得學到了聽力技巧與能力有所進步。此外協同教師在訪談中也表示，此教學對學生的聽力技巧與能力有所助益。 根據本次研究經驗，筆者提出教學建議，認為教授國中生弱化音與連音確有必要，也期待這樣的教學應該盡早提供，而非等到高中或大學，以免為時已晚。 / This study looks at teaching reduced sounds to junior high school students. It started with the premise that even people who have studied English for ten or twelve years still cannot understand online materials spoken by native speakers of English. The reduced sounds and linked sounds baffle them. This study investigated the student reaction to hearing reduced vowels. A pretest was administered to establish a baseline. Four contractions and three reduced vowels were presented in the lessons. Then a post-test was given. The statistics showed no measurable change between pretest and post-test scores. However there are other ways to measure progress. In the survey given with the post-test, a number of students responded that they felt they had learned listening skills, and that their listening comprehension had improved. There were also interviews with co-teachers. These interviews also bore out that teachers felt the students’ listening comprehension had improved. The writer, as an active participant in the study, feels that teaching reduced sounds in junior high school is worthwhile. One should present more reduced sounds and linked words early on, and not wait until senior high school or university.

Micro-assembly processes suffer from some breaches due to the continuing trend towards an increase in the production capabilities as well as in the size reduction of the components manipulated. Usual manipulating schemes have reached their limit and capillary forces constitute a valuable alternative strategy.<p><p>The goal of this work is to describe the dynamics of liquid bridges in the application of micro-assembly processes. The description is obtained using the Kelvin-Voigt model, with a spring, a damper, and a mass connected in parallel, supported by numerical simulations, analytical approximations and experiments.<p><p>The works is divided into three parts. First we present important aspects of microfluidics, as well as the constitutive equations and an overview of numerical approaches used to describe fluid flow problems with moving interfaces.<p><p>The second part is devoted to the capillary rise case, intended to validate and to compare the numerical approaches to analytical laws and experimental results. The implementation of the slipping and the dynamic contact angles is discussed.<p><p>The last part focuses on the dynamics of the liquid bridge. The liquid bridge is confined between two circular and parallel plates and presents an axial symmetry. The description reveals that the stiffness depends on the surface tension and on the shape of the air/liquid interface, the damping coefficient depends on the viscosity and the volume of liquid and the equivalent mass depends on the density and the volume.<p> / Doctorat en Sciences de l'ingénieur / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This dissertation is an attempt to analyse and investigate ways of responding to the poor UPCSA missional approach to Zimbabwean society. The desire to write this dissertation was born out of the experience of working for the past six years as an ordained minister of this denomination in the Presbytery of Zimbabwe, there are six congregations with the right to call a minister, thirty grant receiving and fifteen preaching stations in the whole country which is serviced by thirteen ministers, including probationers. The UPCSA has a total of four thousand five hundred and ninety seven members not counting Sunday school children. The dissertation seeks to survey the history of how the people in the Presbytery of Zimbabwe came to be some of fewer memberships as compared to other denominations in the country. It will focus on colonial and post –colonial events, which led to evangelizing the nation. The spiritual weakness which the people of Presbytery of Zimbabwe (POZ) experience is a product of the evangelism mode of missional approach to society and the failure to contextualize the Good-News. This dissertation considers the possibility of how to correct this state of affairs. Spiritually weak people have been destroyed precisely because they have reduced them to products. How to understand the context and achieve that change is the central issue which the writer addresses in this dissertation. / Dissertation (MA Theol)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Church History and Church Policy / unrestricted

Magister Legum - LLM

The presence of both narcissism and social capital in the digital social networking site Facebook is altering the dynamic of relationship development. Therefore, the central research question directing this study is as follows: What role do narcissistic personality traits play in bridging social capital on Facebook? From this, two sub-questions are raised: 1) What are the motives for users to express narcissistic traits through Facebook? 2) How is narcissistic-motivated activity influencing social capital development through Facebook? Guiding this thesis are concepts of social tie relationships (as they apply to narcissism), and digital social networks. An exploratory study of in-depth interviews was utilized to conduct such research. A key objective in this thesis is understanding motive and purpose for generating social capital in an online environment. The findings from this study suggest Facebook is a facilitator for the expression of narcissistic traits. As a result, this is influencing the disconnected and questionable value of digital social capital.