This thesis examines how the concept and act of collection describes a relationship with the material world that clashes with Marxist traditions. Tracing how collected objects behave semiotically, this work defends the idea that one's relation to collected objects necessitates their complete possession in order to delimit the cycling of one's singularity, between "I" and the "Other;" and, at the level of community, the collected objects (e.g., in a museum) additionally show how we attempt to make an "oeuvre" of the world. This thesis demonstrates that the death of the collector exposes an irreconcilable disjunction between the object's meaning—which disappears with the arrival of the collector's death—and the object's shell, which is left as a witness or reminder of the incommensurability of human singularity and finitude. The museum is therefore understood as an attempt to overcome the limited realities of this objective shell, generating an infinite circulation of sense, or of a life that never quite ends. / Graduate

This work focuses on the concept of sustainable propellant collection. The concept consists of gathering ambient gas while on-orbit and using it as propellant. Propellant collection could potentially enable operation in very-low Earth orbits without compromising spacecraft lifetime. This work conducts a detailed analysis of propellant collection from a physics perspective in order to test the assertions of previous researchers that propellant collection can dramatically reduce the cost of propellant on-orbit. Major design factors for propellant collection are identified from the fundamental propellant collection equations, which are derived in this work from first principles. A sensitivity analysis on the parameters in these equations determines the relative importance of each parameter to the overall performance of a propellant-collecting vehicle. The propellant collection equations enable the study of where propellant collection is technically feasible as a function of orbit and vehicle performance parameters. Two case studies conducted for a very-low Earth orbit science mission and a propellant depot-type mission serve to demonstrate the application of the propellant collection equations derived in this work. The results of this work show where propellant collection is technically feasible for a wide range of orbit and vehicle performance parameters. Propellant collection can support very-low Earth operation with presently available technology, and a number of research developments can further extend propellant-collecting concepts' ability to operate at low altitudes. However, propellant collection is not presently suitable for propellant depot applications due to limitations in power.

Due to advances in capacity, speed, and economics, NAND-based flash memory technology is increasingly integrated into all types of computing systems, ranging from enterprise servers to embedded devices. However, due to its unpredictable up-date behavior and time consuming garbage collection mechanism, NAND-based flash memory is difficult to integrate into hard-real-time embedded systems. In this thesis, I propose a performance model for flash memory garbage collection that can be used in conjunction with a number of different garbage collection strategies. I describe how to model the cost of reactive (lazy) garbage collection and compare it to that of more proactive schemes. I develop formulas to assess the schedulability of hard real- time periodic task sets under simplified memory consumption models. Results show that I prove the proactive schemes achieve the larger maximum schedulable utilization than the traditional garbage collection mechanism for hard real-time systems in flash memory.

Thesis (M.S.)--George Mason University, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jan. 18, 2008). Thesis director: Elizabeth White. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Computer Science. Vita: p. 152. Includes bibliographical references (p. 150-151). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, June, 1999. / Title from PDF t.p.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, November, 1988. / Title from PDF t.p.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Univ., 2004. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Report (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1994. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 64-65). Also available via the Internet.

Dissertation (Ph.D.) -- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 2008. / Vita. Bibliography: p. 138-152.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, March, 1993. / Title from PDF t.p.