The thesis extends previous research (Pitts, 2009; Nishii and Özbilgin, 2007; Ng and Burke, 2005; Ely and Thomas, 2001; Cox, 1993; Cox and Blake, 1991) on diversity management, and the perception of employees of its effective implementation. It does so firstly by quantitatively and qualitatively analysing the organisational culture of a private institution, and secondly by proposing a model that underlines the relationship between diversity management and employees’ understanding of the organisational culture. The purpose of this research is to investigate the business case for cultural diversity in an organisation in Cyprus. It aims to contextualise issues around diversity within the current peculiar politico-economic environment, and identify the drivers as well as barriers to diversity in the company. The business case has been used to rationalise the introduction of diversity management initiatives (Johns, Green and Powell, 2012); here, the research examines the situation in a specific organisation and attempts to link diversity policies to the perceptions of employees of organisational culture and effective diversity management. The focus for the research was as follows: What does the literature say about the management of cultural diversity? What are the drivers towards the management of cultural diversity in the organisation? What are the barriers and resisting forces to the management of cultural diversity at the organisation? How can cultural diversity be managed at the organisation? More specifically, I focus on the connection between diversity, employees’ perceptions of their organisation, and their sense of organisational culture and leadership. As revealed by the research, the organisation has not established any form of diversity management policy; however, the human resources model toward human commitment that has been developed causes employees to feel that they are treated with respect, are encouraged to freely speak their opinion, and as a result cohesion and morale are enhanced. Though the organisation has established an organisational culture that promotes synergy and collaboration, still the absence of a formal diversity management policy makes the culture vulnerable to misunderstandings and misinterpretations. If the company goes for the option of not establishing a comprehensive policy of diversity, then it will be incapable of fulfilling core benefits such as creativity, increased morale and better marketing of different obligations to the public, including the protection, restoration and improvement of public health.

Effective management of heritage assets relies on decision-making which is underpinned by empirical evidence of impact of treatments on long term survival prospects of materials. Historic wrought iron presents a particular problem for conservation. It occupies a niche position between heritage and engineering, is frequently exposed to outdoor atmospheric corrosion and, in the case of bridges, gates and similar structures, may be required to perform a distinct function. Sector guidance to direct practices is based on anecdotal evidence and established methods. British Standards relate to modern steels hence application to historic ferrous metals is complicated by differences in metallurgy and lack of concession to conservation ethics. This study generates empirical evidence of the effects of five surface preparation methods and three protective coating systems on the corrosion rate of historic wrought iron samples. Immersion in sodium hydroxide solution and blasting with crushed walnut shells are found to reduce corrosion rates of uncoated wrought iron. Aluminium oxide and glass beads blasting increase corrosion rate but offer removal of contaminants and a keyed surface for coating adhesion. Flame cleaning increases corrosion rate by almost four times the uncleaned wrought iron corrosion rate. A two-pack epoxy resin coating system with polyurethane topcoat applied over substrate surfaces blasted to Sa2.5 (near white metal) and a surface tolerant single-pack alkyd coating applied over coherent oxide layers successfully prevented corrosion for almost two years in high static relative humidity environments. An alkyd system applied over Sa2.5 blasted surface does not significantly reduce corrosion rate of the uncoated substrate. A cost benefit approach to interpreting the empirical results in relation to practicalities of applying the treatments is advocated. The methods developed for standardising historic sample material and measuring oxygen consumption of coated samples as proxy corrosion rate offer scope for further work in this area. A standardised approach to testing permits correlation of test data between workers in this area to generate a database of empirical data to inform decision-making.

Thesis. 1977. Ph.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Linguistics and Philosophy. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND HUMANITIES. / Vita. / Bibliography : leaves 210-213. / Ph.D.

The corporate social responsibility (CSR) landscape in Uganda was for a long time undocumented. Additionally, Uganda, like many other low-income countries (LIC) has lacked a definitive theoretical base on which to explain what is happening around its CSR affairs. A combination of these two knowledge gaps has left scholars and practitioners wondering what exactly is happening in Uganda. The fact that there is a relatively large difference between Western countries and Uganda or other LIC (in terms of sociocultural, economic, and political-legal frameworks and environments) means that the CSR knowledge gap in Uganda needs to be closed. Hence, this thesis aims to contribute to doing so by answering the following questions: (i) What is the state of CSR in Uganda? and, (ii) How are the most important CSR issues in Uganda managed? This thesis found that the state of affairs regarding CSR in Uganda is defined neither legally, nor by any form of nationally recognized CSR framework. However, most prevailing CSR practices are characteristic of Uganda’s societal values (such as taboos, customs, and traditions). These values are rooted in Uganda’s traditional society, which means that any company intending to conduct CSR in Uganda needs to pay attention to the sociocultural issues that define a CSR beneficiary group. However, the most important CSR issues are education, healthcare, job creation, skills/entrepreneurship development, anti-corruption, agricultural and food safety, water and sanitation, infrastructure development, and environmental conservation. These issues are largely managed in the context of poverty reduction, and in a way that aligns with internationally recognized frameworks, such as the current Sustainable Development Goals (formerly Millennium Development Goals) agenda and ISO 26000 (a social responsibility guidance standard). Lastly, the most applicable theories defining CSR in Uganda are stakeholder theory and corporate citizenship doctrine.

No description available.

Synthetic efforts toward fumonisin analog were described. These are accomplished via amino acid Schiff base methodology. These efforts can be divided three major phases. First, tandem reductive alkylation with DIBAL/TRIBAL and different types of organo-lithium or Grignard nucleophiles provided threo-amino alcohol with excellent stereoselecitivites (2-27:1). The reductive alkylation utilized most hydrocarbon nucleophiles, e.g. alkyl-, vinyl-, alkenyl-, phenyl-, and dienyl-, and afforded high selectivites unless donor solvents (e.g. THF and Et2O) were used. Second, syntheses of the protected threo-γ-amino-β-hydroxy aldehydes and their stereoselectivities were introduced. The reductive alkylated threo-amino allyl alcohol was transformed via Brown’s hydroboration/oxidation protocol with 9-BBN, followed by TEMPO oxidation to give the resultant aldehydes in reasonable yields. Then, TBDPS and Schiff base protected aldehyde was coupled with phenyl- and decyl Grignard reagents to obtain predominant 3,5-anti-diols (ca. 80:20 anti:syn), characterized by ¹³C NMR analysis of Rychnovsky’s 1,3-acetonide groups. Products can be useful analogues for fumonisin and 5-hydroxy-sphingosine due to their structural similarity. Third stage involved the synthesis of C₁₁-C₂₀ fragment analog of fumonisin. Chiral auxiliaries (e.g. Evans and Myers) were administrated for stereoselective methylation, Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation in the presence of (DHQ)2PHAL catalyst was performed to form 1,2- syn-diols, and the manipulation of protection/deprotection and Finklestein reaction furnished C₁₁-C₂₀ fragment analog of fumonisin.

No description available.

Graduate / 0290

Graduate / 0290

Conventional 'hard switching' converters suffer from significant switching loss due to the simultaneous imposition of high values of current and voltage on the devices during commutation. Resonant converters offer a solution to this problem. A review of resonant circuit topologies is presented, which includes a summary of the interference problems which may occur when using power converters in the rail traction environment. Particular attention is given to the Resonant DC Link Inverter (RDCLI) which shows a great deal of pronuse using currently available devices. The frequency domain simulation of RDCLIs is discussed as a means of rapidly evaluating circuit behaviour, especially in relation to modulation strategies. A novel modulation strategy is proposed for Resonant DC Link Inverters, based on a procedure known as Simulated Annealing which allows complex harmonic manipulations such as han-nonic minimisation, to be performed. This is despite the fact that RDCLIs are constrained to use Discrete Pulse Modulation whereby switch commutations are restricted to specific moments in time. The modulation algorithms were verified by use of a low-power test rig and the results obtained are compared against theoretical values. Details of the hardware implementation are also included. A single-phase pulse-converter input stage is described which may be incorporated into the Resonant DC Link Inverter topology. This input stage also benefits from soft-sVVItching and allows four-quadrant operation at any desired power factor. A modulation scheme based on SiMulated Annealing is proposed for the pulse-converter, to achieve hannomc control whilst also synchronising with the supply wavefon-n. Practical results are presented and compared with those obtained by simulation and calculation. Finally the design of Resonant DC Link Converters is discussed and reconunendations made for the choice of resonant components based on the minimisation of overall losses. Comparisons are made between hard-switching and soft-switching converters in terms of loss and harmonic performance, in an attempt to quantify the benefits which may be obtained by the application of soft-switching.