Computing researchers have long focused on improving energy-efficiency?the amount of computation per joule? under the implicit assumption that all energy is created equal. Energy however is not created equal: its cost and carbon footprint fluctuates over time due to a variety of factors. These fluctuations are expected to in- tensify as renewable penetration increases. Thus in my work I introduce energy-agility a design concept for a platform?s ability to rapidly and efficiently adapt to such power fluctuations. I then introduce a representative application to assess energy-agility for the type of long-running, parallel, data-intensive tasks that are both common in data centers and most amenable to delays from variations in available power. Multiple variants of the application are implemented to illustrate the fundamental tradeoffs in designing energy-agile parallel applications. I find that with inactive power state transition latencies of up to 15 seconds, a design that regularly ”blinks” servers out- performs one that minimizes transitions by only changing power states when power varies. While the latter approach has much lower transition overhead, it requires additional I/O, since servers are not always concurrently active. Unfortunately, I find that most server-class platforms today are not energy-agile: they have transition la- tencies beyond one minute, forcing them to minimize transition and incur additional I/O.

Title: The degree of influence of fitness skills on the game performance of football players aged 15-16. Objectives: Determine the degree of influence of fitness indicators on the game performance of football players (categories U17 and U16). It has been evaluated based on a questionnaire for the coaches. At the same time, the aim is to find out possible differences in fitness indicators between the categories of players U17 and U16 and possible relationships between individual fitness indicators. Methods: The research group included elite players in the U16 (15.27 ± 0.27) and U17 (16 ± 0.38) categories from the FK Dukla Praha club (n = 40). A questionnaire survey and performance measurement using a test battery were chosen as the research methods. The set of tests for evaluating fitness performance included a sprint for 5 m, 10 m and 20 m, agility test 505L and 505P, K-test and test for measuring the strength of the ending with the dominant and non-dominant foot. The questionnaire survey for the head coaches of the categories included 17 closed questions, which were answered using a 7- point rating scale. Results: For performances in fitness tests, there was always a materially significant difference in at least one category between the best and worst rated members in the sprint at 5 meters (g =...

D. Tech (Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Management Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / Only one in ten newly established business enterprises survive for longer than ten years in the business environment. The reasons behind the failures of these small enterprises include the lack of access to financing, lack of financial and managerial skills, lack of expertise, as well as economic factors such as poor sales and weak growth prospects. The new norm in industry requires organisations to have a remarkable amount of agility to survive and succeed. This is important in South African SMEs given their significant contributions to the national economy. A major research gap exists, which pertains to the scant evidence of studies that focus on the influence of organisational agility on business performance of small to medium enterprises in South Africa. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of organisational agility on business performance in small to medium enterprises in the Gauteng province. Using a quantitative approach and a cross-sectional survey research design, a structured questionnaire was administered to 564 randomly selected owner-managers of small to medium enterprises in the Gauteng province. Questionnaire items were adapted from previously validated scales. Simple descriptive statistics in the form of percentages and mean scores were utilised in testing the perceptions of respondents towards organisational agility, its sub-elements and business performance. Hypotheses were tested using the structural equation modelling approach, which was conducted after implementing a confirmatory factor analysis to test the psychometric properties of the measurement scales. The results of the study show that owners and managers of small and medium enterprises perceived that the performance of their organisations was satisfactory in terms of technology capability, collaborative innovation, organisational learning, internal alignment, organisational agility and business performance. Upon testing the hypotheses, positive and significant relationships were observed between organisational agility and its four dimensions, namely technology capability, collaborative innovation, organisational learning and internal alignment. In turn, organisational agility exerted a significant and positive influence on business performance. The results of the study imply that the performance of small to medium enterprises can be improved significantly through adjustments to organisational agility and its subdimensions. This study is important in that its results can be applied to assist small to medium enterprises to survive and succeed in today’s turbulent and tomorrow’s dynamic operational environments, where agile organisational abilities are required.

Title: Seasonal variabilityof speed and endurance skills of young elite soccer players. Objectives: Comparison of variability in speed and endurance capabilities of young elite soccer players during one season in the U-12 category based on the results of a test battery consisting of 4 tests (30 m sprint test, Agility 505 Test, Illinois test and Yo-yo intermittent recovery test level 1). Methods: Our thesis is characterized by using comparison and testing methods. We use the comparison method in the result section, in order to compare the performance of individual players by means of statistical methods. This is how we focus on each of our test exercises during all four testing phases included in seasonal macrocycle. The results: As the result of our thesis, we found out that the physical abilities of individual players and their demonstration in the performed tests improve or remain the same or statistically very similar throughout the season. We observe the highest variability in agility 505 test with a 6.96 % DL and 7.29 % NDL as well as a 25.86 % in Yo-Yo intermittent recovery level 1. According to our observations, deviations in the performance of soccer players are mainly caused by long-term and systematic training process, different training and match load of the players during the...

Masters of Science / In a world where technology is advancing at a very rapid pace, global competition has significantly increased, and this is putting pressure on software companies to produce quality software. It has therefore become critically important to manage well the implementation of software engineering projects by employing effective methods that ensure the best product is produced. The most popular software project implementation methodologies are the Traditional methods and Agile methods. This research explored these two methodologies by comparing the strength and weakness of both approaches. The research was conducted using a constructionist epistemology with a critical inquiry using the grounded theory methodology, applying both quantitative and qualitative methods to the case studies. Findings were collected through participant observation using a designed questionnaire targeting a selected sample of the study population. This sample of the population consisted of Ecommerce organizations in the Western Cape province of South Africa to establish which of the Traditional or Agile methods would best lead to the successful implementation of Ecommerce software engineering projects. The research results showed that the Agile methodology was the preferred and recommended approach. Very few participants of the research supported the Traditional approach to still be considered and used for projects with well-known end goals. An Ecommerce website prototype for a local Cape Town business was constructed as following the Agile approach to measure and validate the findings of the research. The prototype was built successfully from conception to the final delivery product and on time confirming the Agile approach as best for Ecommerce software development. In conclusion, the Agile methodology is the choice approach based on reviewed literature, the research results, and the prototype construction. These results will help in critical decision making regarding an appropriate development methodology to follow for the Ecommerce industry in the Western Cape.

Den tilltagande digitaliseringen och framväxten av flersidiga plattformar har intensifierat konkurrensen på marknaden. Vilket i sin tur försvårat e-handlarnas strategiska arbete för att upprätt hålla konkurrensfördelar. E-handlarnas innovationsförmåga utmanas och allt större uppmärksamhet har riktats mot affärsmodeller, att bli mer konsumentcentrerade samt att reagera snabbare på de förändringar som sker inom handeln för att vara konkurrens kraftiga.Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka hur svenska e-handlare arbetar med sin affärsmodell och vilka strategier de väljer att implementera för att upprätthålla konkurrensfördelar i och med ökat inträde av flersidiga plattformar. Intervjuer av två fallföretag har genomförts med teoretiska utgångspunkter i resource-based view, fenomenet Big data och value creation. Dessa intervjuer visar att insamling och analys av konsumentdata anses vara en grundläggande förutsättning för att e-handelsföretag ska kunna vara konkurrenskraftiga. Med hjälp av data kan e-handelsföretagmöta konsumenternas behov i större utsträckning. Slutligen visade även resultatet av studien att det uttrycktes en positivitet från respondenterna gällande Amazons lansering på den svenska marknaden.

Title: Relation between selected off-ice tests, somatotype and performance in on-ice Illinois Agility tests in junior ice hockey players from Czech elite category. Objective: The aim of this thesis was to verify whether the somatotype and off-ice tests are significant predictors for performance in on-ice agility tests in junior ice hockey players from Czech elite category. Methods: The research sample consisted of 32 junior hockey players (17 defenders and 15 forwards) ̅ = 17.64 ± 1.02 from Czech elite category. The Heath and Carter (1990) method for measuring of somatotype was used. The off-ice tests included Squat Jump, Countermovement Jump, Free Arm Countermovement Jump, Broad Jump, Five-Jump test, Sit and Reach, Pull-ups and off-ice Illinois Agility with (small size) ball. Further, on-ice Illinois Agility with puck and Illinois Agility without puck were used as dependent variables. The differences in performance between defenders and forwards were analysed by Aspin-Welch's two-sample T-test with Effect size (ES) Hedges's g. The degree of significance of the predictors for dependent variables in on- ice agility tests was assessed by multiple regression analysis with significance of model at the level of p<0.05 and ES described as adjusted R2 . Results: Comparison of the results achieved by...

Title: Evaluation of fundamental motor skills, specific game skills and motor abilities in young football players Objectives: The aim of this thesis is to describe the developement of specific game skills, fundamental motor skills and agility in young football players (12- 14 years) between two measurements in the course of less than two years. The next aim is to verify the correlation between fundamental motor skills and specific game skills. Methods: The main research method of this thesis was the observation method. For the practical part of the thesis the longitudinal quantitative research with empirical elements was used. The followed group was consisted of young football players in U14 age category from FC Tempo Praha (n=12). The group was repeatedly measured during the next twenty months. The level of fundamental motor skills was examinated by TGMD-2 (Test of Gross Motor Development) and the level of specific football skills was examinated by the test of leading the ball. The level of agility was examinated by the test of agility. Results: In the first measurement of TGMD-2 83,3 % of probands achieved average or below average level. In the next measurement of TGMD-2 91,3 % of probands achieved average or below average level. There was also determinated a statistically significiant...

The multi-domain operations are vaguely defined and there are a variety of interpretations. In general terms, multi-domain can be described as a means of communication between different joint forces such as land, water, air, cyber, and space. In multi-domain operations, the focus is on how those domains can integrate using technologies, methods, and planning.  By interviewing individuals with long experience in both the British and Swedish Armed Forces and conducting a literature study, the focus has been on understanding how multi-domain operations as a concept are understood, interpreted, and implemented in the respective nation’s operations today regarding the technology and organizational structure.   The results were compared with frameworks such as Federated Mission Networking (FMN) and Level of Information Systems Interoperability (LISI). The analysis shows that both the Swedish and British Armed Forces need greater interoperability. In order to have a better ability to cooperate within their forces, a more agile approach to the organization is needed that takes advantage of information and communication technologies. This can be achieved by managing different protocols through the different layers and models and by introducing a cloud service that functions as a cloud service function where the information flow is fast and easily accessible, independent of the domain.

Given the state of accelerating change in technology, globalization, and society, long-term planning has become challenging, thus improving organizational resilience to environmental change has become more important. The management problem addressed the need for strategies to improve organization resilience in the face of environmental change. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of managers to use a firm's human, financial, and technological resources to improve organizational resilience. The lived experiences of organizational leaders in addressing organizational resilience was the central research question. The conceptual framework was built on the World Economic Forum's National Resilience Beta Framework and Kotter's 8-stage process. Data collection involved interviews with 21 managers from American multinational enterprises. Collected data were sorted by use of open and axial coding techniques. The findings of this study underscored the need for leaders to make management capability a priority toward building resilient firms. Management strategies including management intent, data driven decision making, enlightened leadership, and continued building of relationships with stakeholders improved organizational resilience. In reshaping managerial effectiveness and capability, the study's findings may contribute to social change by encouraging collaboration among leaders and stakeholders to effect strategies for organizational and environmental resilience.