Thesis (M.F.A.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 1984. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Poverty is a widespread phenomenon within the coloured community of South Africa. In 1976 the Theron Commission reported on coloured poverty and recommended widespread reform to the apartheid system to incorporate coloureds into social and economic life on an equal footing with whites. The commission was of the opinion that the poorest 40% of coloureds lived in a state of chronic community poverty. This conclusion was based on the culture of poverty approach, which states that negative external factors and an internal process of self-perpetuation can sometimes combine to cause a povertysyndrome. The original culture of poverty approach was widely misinterpreted and criticised and consequently lost much of its support. However, if properly understood, the approach can still be used effectively. Since the Theron commission made a healthy reinterpretation of this approach it also provides a good theoretical framework to analyse coloured poverty. The socio-economic position of coloureds has improved markedly since the era of the Theron commission. Total fertility rates and infant mortality rates declined, while life expectancy increased. The educational status of coloureds increased considerably. There is, however, still a large disparity between rural and urban coloureds. The per capita income of coloureds almost doubled in this period. This rise in income can be attributed to an improvement in occupational status (which was in turn influenced by an improvement in educational status) as well as a decrease in wage discrimination. In spite of the overall improvement in the socio-economic position of coloureds, poverty rates did not decrease significantly since the era of the Theron Commission. Although poverty is still more widespread in rural areas, there has been a relative improvement in the socioeconomic position of rural coloureds and agricultural labourers. This has partly been caused by the urbanisation of the rural poor. Coloured poverty is, however, still at much lower levels than black poverty. Since the era of the Theron Commission the culture of poverty has been positively influenced by several factors: racial discrimination in public education and other social spending decreased, levels of education improved and contributed to the rise in per capita income, social work has become better focussed and is provided on a more equal basis and the socio-political emancipation of coloureds were achieved with the rise of a democratic society. However, it seems that the good economic growth rates during the 1960's and early 1970's provided the biggest thrust to the upward socio-economic mobility of coloureds and played a more important role than the Theron report or any other socio-political changes. It can be concluded that the culture of poverty as it existed at the time of the Theron report has weakened considerably and that the approach should therefore not be used as the basic model to describe the socio-economic position of poor coloureds any more. Current anti-poverty measures should be focussed on job creation, community building and education. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Armoede is 'n wydverspreide probleem in die kleurlinggemeenskap van Suid- Afrika. In 1976 het die Theron Kommissie ondersoek ingestel na kleurling armoede en hulle het drastiese veranderinge aan die apartheidstelsel voorgestel om die sosio-ekonomiese vooruitgang van kleurlinge te verseker. Die kommissie het aangevoer dat die armste 40% van die kleurlingbevolking in 'n toestand van chroniese gemeenskapsarmoede verkeer. Hierdie gevolgtrekking is gebaseer op die kultuur van armoede teorie, wat veronderstel dat In armoedesiklus kan ontstaan wanneer daar 'n wisselwerking is tussen negatiewe omgewingsfaktore en In interne proses van selfvoortplanting deur middel van die gesin. Die oorspronklike kultuur van armoede benadering was onderhewig aan verskeie misinterpretasies en kritiek en het derhalwe baie aanhang verloor. Tog kan die kultuur van armoede teorie steeds met vrug aangewend word indien dit korrek toegepas word. Aangesien die Theron Kommissie die oorspronklike teorie op In gesonde manier geherinterpreteer het, verskaf dit 'n goeie teoretiese raamwerk waarbinne kleurlingarmoede ondersoek kan word. Die sosio-ekonomiese posisie van kleurlinge het In merkwaardige verbetering getoon sedert die era van die Theron Kommissie. Fertiliteitskoerse en suigelingsterftekoerse het afgeneem, terwyl lewensverwagting toegeneem het. Die onderwyspeil van kleurlinge het ook drasties verbeter, alhoewel daar steeds In groot gaping is tussen landelike en stedelike kleurlinge. Die per capita inkomste van kleurlinge het amper verdubbel in die periode. Die verhoging kan toegeskryf word aan In verhoogde beroepstatus (wat weer deur verbeterde onderwyspeile beïnvloed is) sowel as laer vlakke van loondiskriminasie. Ten spyte van die algehele verbetering in die sosio-ekonomiese posisie van kleurlinge, het armoedevlakke sedert die Theron era nie noemenswaardig verminder nie. Alhoewel armoede steeds wydverspreid is in landelike gebiede, het daar In relatiewe verbetering in die sosio-ekonomiese posisie van landelike kleurlinge en die plaaswerkersgemeenskap plaasgevind. Dit is deels veroorsaak deur verstedeliking van arm landelike inwoners. Kleurling armoede is egter steeds op 'n baie laer vlak as swart armoede. Sedert die era van die Theron Kommissie is die toestand van chroniese gemeenskapsarmoede deur verskeie positiewe faktore beïnvloed: rassediskriminasie ten opsigte van onderwys en ander sosiale besteding het verminder, vlakke van onderwys het verbeter en het bygedra tot 'n verhoging in per capita inkome, sosiale werk is beter gefokus en word op 'n meer gelyke skaal verskaf en met die demokratiseringsproses is die sosio-politiese emansipasie van kleurlinge verkry. Tog lyk dit of die goeie ekonomiese groei van die sestigerjare en vroeë sewentqerjare 'n groter invloed op die opwaartse sosioekonomiese mobiliteit van kleurlinge gehad het as die Theron verslag en ander sosio-politieke veranderinge. Die gevolgtrekking kan gemaak word dat die kultuur van armoede soos dit gemanifesteer het in die tyd van die Theron verslag in so 'n mate verswak het dat die benadering nie meer gebruik moet word as die basiese model om die sosioekonomiese toestand van arm kleurlinge te beskryf nie. Dit beteken egter nie dat daar nie nog steeds akute armoedeprobleme in sekere dele van die kleurlinggemeenskap bestaan nie. Huidige armoede-verligtingsbeleid moet fokus op werkskepping, gemeenskapsbou en onderwys.

American Civil War officer preparation activities were rooted in the broader practices of antebellum military education as applied at West Point, other military academies, and the state militia system. The arrival of black troops in the Union Army led to a radical, if temporary, transformation in the Army's process for the selection and preparation of officers—but only for the white officers who served with black regiments. Overtly political or casual processes of the early Civil War were replaced in many cases by formal examinations and the centralized review of results, operating in parallel with more traditional political patronage systems of appointment. This study uses the experiences of officers from several black infantry regiments, and particularly the 41st U.S. Colored Infantry from the East and the 100th U.S.C.I. from the West, to illustrate how leaders for black units were chosen, prepared, examined, commissioned, and continued their military education. It focuses on the experiences of the officers, along with the contextual environments of antebellum education, slavery, racism, tactics, and bureaucracy in which they served. / Ph. D.

Polymer hydrogel films change their properties in response to environmental change. This remarkable phenomenon results in many potential applications of polymer hydrogel films. In this thesis colored thermo-sensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) hydrogel film was prepared by firstly synthesizing polymer latex and secondarily crosslinking the nanoparticles and casting the polymers onto glass. The shape-memory effect has been observed when changing the environmental temperature. The temperature-dependent of turbidity of polymer hydrogel film was measured by HP UVVisible spectrophotometer. This intelligent hydrogel might be used in chemomechanical systems and separation devices as well as sensors. Polymer adsorption plays an important role in many products and processes. In this thesis, surfactant-free three-dimensional polystyrene (PS) nanoparticle network has been prepared. The infrared spectroscopy and solubility experiment are performed to prove the crosslinking mechanism, also the BET method was used to measure the adsorption and desorption of polystyrene network. The BET constant (C) is calculated (C=6.32). The chemically bonded polymer nanoparticle network might have potential applications as catalyst or used for chromatographic columns.

M.A. (Psychology) / The general aim of this study is to determine the effect of the residential environment (comprising the community, neighborhood and residential unit) on the quality of life of Coloureds living in Mitchells Plain, Elsies River and other parts of the Cape Town metropolitan area. For the purpose of this study, "quality of life" is described as the satisfaction or dissatisfaction experienced with the physical and social environment and economic conditions in general ...

Dans cette thèse nous explorons différentes facettes des modèles de tenseurs aléatoires. Les modèles de tenseurs aléatoires ont été introduits en physique dans le cadre de l'étude de la gravité quantique. En effet les modèles de matrices aléatoires, qui sont un cas particuliers de modèles de tenseurs, en sont une des origines. Ces modèles de matrices sont connus pour leur riche combinatoire et l'incroyable diversité de leurs propriétés qui les font toucher tous les domaines de l'analyse, la géométrie et des probabilités. De plus leur étude par les physiciens ont prouvé leur efficacité en ce qui concerne l'étude de la gravité quantique à deux dimensions. Les modèles de tenseurs aléatoires incarnent une généralisation possible des modèles de matrices. Comme leurs cousins, les modèles de matrices, ils posent questions dans les domaines de la combinatoire (comment traiter les cartes combinatoires d dimensionnelles ?), de la géométrie (comment contrôler la géométrie des triangulations générées ?) et de la physique (quel type d'espace-temps produisent-ils ? Quels sont leurs différentes phases ?). Cette thèse espère établir des pistes ainsi que des techniques d'études de ces modèles. Dans une première partie nous donnons une vue d'ensemble des modèles de matrices. Puis, nous discutons la combinatoire des triangulations en dimensions supérieures ou égales à trois en nous concentrant sur le cas tridimensionnelle (lequel est plus simple à visualiser). Nous définissons ces modèles et étudions certaines de leurs propriétés à l'aide de techniques combinatoires permettant de traiter les cartes d dimensionnelles. Enfin nous nous concentrons sur la généralisation de techniques issues des modèles de matrices dans le cas d'une famille particulières de modèles de tenseurs aléatoires. Ceci culmine avec le dernier chapitre de la thèse donnant des résultats partiels concernant la généralisation de la récurrence topologique de Eynard et Orantin à cette famille de modèles de tenseurs. / In this thesis manuscript we explore different facets of random tensor models. These models have been introduced to mimic the incredible successes of random matrix models in physics, mathematics and combinatorics. After giving a very short introduction to few aspects of random matrix models and recalling a physical motivation called Group Field Theory, we start exploring the world of random tensor models and its relation to geometry, quantum gravity and combinatorics. We first define these models in a natural way and discuss their geometry and combinatorics. After these first explorations we start generalizing random matrix methods to random tensors in order to describes the mathematical and physical properties of random tensor models, at least in some specific cases.

Neste trabalho, foram realizados diversos experimentos para a criação controlada de nanoestruturas superficiais produzidas por Laser pulsado de femtossegundo em Titânio e em aço inoxidável, ambos utilizados para fins cirúrgicos e industriais. Os parâmetros alterados nos experimentos foram a Fluência do laser, a taxa de sobreposição de pulsos, polarização do feixe e atmosfera de processamento. A vantagem na utilização do laser de femtossegundo para essas aplicações é a possibilidade de ser criar tais estruturas sem que haja aquecimento crítico do material, evitando assim, a criação de óxidos ou nitretos superficiais, já que esses a formação desses materiais superficiais pode afetar o desempenho industrial e cirúrgico dos materiais. Após o entendimento dos parâmetros de irradiação na formação das nanoestruturas, foram propostas três aplicações possíveis para a superfície resultante do processamento com laser: Superfícies coloridas, que podem ser utilizadas em personalização de peças; Superfícies escuras, que podem ser utilizadas na marcação e tipagem de peças; e um Micro Aquecedor, que pode ser utilizado no controle de temperaturas dentro de circuitos microfluídicos. / In this work, several experiments were carried out for the controlled creation of surface nanostructures produced by femtosecond laser pulses in Titanium and stainless steel, both used for surgical and industrial purposes. The altered parameters in the experiments were the laser Fluence, the overlap pulses rate, the beam polarization and processing atmosphere. The advantage of using femtosecond laser for such applications is the possibility of creating the nanostructures without critical heating of the material, thus avoiding the creation of surface oxides or nitrides, since the formation of such surface materials may affect the industrial and surgical materials performance. After the understanding of the irradiation parameters in the formation of the nanostructures, three possible applications were proposed for the surface resulting from the laser processing: Colored surfaces, which can be used in personalization of parts; Dark surfaces, which can be used in parts marking; and a Micro Heater, which can be used to control temperatures inside microfluidic circuits.

The Akai EWI4000s is the most recent model of the EWI (Electric Wind Instrument) family, first conceived by Nyle Steiner in the late 1970’s. A relatively young electronic instrument, the EWI lacks a complete, organized publication explaining how to fully utilize its technical and expressive devices. Furthermore, no instructional aid exists to explain the parameters of the Vyzex computer editor used to create and manipulate the onboard sound bank of the EWI4000s. The purpose of this study is to inform the reader of how the EWI4000s came to fruition, to develop a complete technical and expressive method for learning to play the EWI4000s, and to create a musically based manual for using the Vyzex computer editor. Using text, diagrams, and musical examples, the method acquaints the reader with the EWI’s internal and external controls by explaining their functions using musical terms easily understood by the common musician. Additionally, new notation is created to constrain the EWI’s seven-octave range exclusively within the treble clef staff making it easier to compose and read EWI music without excessive clef changes and musical octave markings. The new notation also develops symbols to dictate use of the EWI’s expressive devices such as pitch bend, glissando, octave doubling, and harmonization.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1970. / Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

This dissertation studies the colored Jones polynomial of knots and links, colored by representations of simple Lie algebras, and the stability of its coefficients. Chapter 1 provides an explicit formula for the second plethysm of an arbitrary representation of sl3. This allows for an explicit formula for the colored Jones polynomial of the trefoil, and more generally, for T(2,n) torus knots. This formula for the sl3 colored Jones polynomial of T(2,n)$ torus knots makes it possible to verify the Degree Conjecture for those knots, to efficiently compute the sl3 Witten-Reshetikhin-Turaev invariants of the Poincare sphere, and to guess a Groebner basis for the recursion ideal of the sl3 colored Jones polynomial of the trefoil. Chapter 2 gives a formulation of a stability conjecture for the coefficients of the colored Jones polynomial of a knot, colored by irreducible representations in a fixed ray of a simple Lie algebra. The conjecture is verified for all torus knots and all simple Lie algebras of rank 2. Chapter 3 supplies an efficient method to compute those q-series that come from planar graphs (i.e., reduced Tait graphs of alternating links) and compute several terms of those series for all graphs with at most 8 edges. In addition, a graph-theory proof of a theorem of Dasbach-Lin which identifies the coefficient of q^k in those series for k=0,1,2 in terms of polynomials on the number of vertices, edges and triangles of the graph is given. Chapter 4 provides a study of the structure of the stable coefficients of the Jones polynomial of an alternating link.The first four stable coefficients are identified with polynomial invariants of a (reduced) Tait graph of the link projection. A free polynomial algebra of invariants of graphs whose elements give invariants of alternating links is introduced which strictly refines the first four stable coefficients. It is conjectured that all stable coefficients are elements of this algebra, and experimental evidence for the fifth and sixth stable coefficient is given. The results are illustrated in tables of all alternating links with at most 10 crossings and all irreducible planar graphs with at most 6 vertices.