Multi-player interactions and vertical relationships in the U.S. containerized-import shipment market are investigated using game theory approaches. Bi-level programming problems (BLPP) are built to capture the hierarchy structure of the container shipping industry, whereas the ocean carriers (OC) are considered as the market leader. For a case study with five players from several levels of the shipment chain, 16 BLPPs are built to analyze the 32 coalition possibilities. Two routes are compared: The West Coast route (WCR) includes one terminal (P1) and one railroad (R); the East Coast route (ECR) includes a second terminal (P2) and the Panama Canal (PC). The impact of Panama Canal expansion is investigated by comparing scenarios with different assumptions of vessel size. Capacity constraints at port terminals are also analyzed by assuming different capacity levels. The grand coalition of the five players is found to be very unstable because of the unavoidable competition within the coalition; hence, following games are further created, supposing the grand coalition could not form. Model results indicate the OC prefers to form an East Coast Coalition (ECC) with East Coast players if the grand coalition could not form. Sensitivity analyses on some parameter values for the grand coalition and for the ECC bring some interesting findings. With higher cargo values, the WCR becomes more appealing because of its quicker delivery time and lower inventory costs compared with the ECR. The Panama Canal expansion will improve market power and profit shares for the East Coast players if the canal operator could increase its competitive price more than the increase of costs. Generally, a player will gain more market power if its cost could be reduced. A player's upper bound rate is a reflection of its relative market power. But in a complicated market characterized with various cooperation-competition strategies and an ambiguous definition of partners and competitors, the impact of a player's upper bound rate on the market power structure could not be easily explained. For future research, the challenge mainly lies on the large number of BLPPs that need to be constructed and solved in order to study more players.

Container technology continuously grows in popularity, and the forensic area is less explored than other areas of research concerning containers. The aim of this thesis is, therefore, to explore Docker containers in a forensic investigation to test whether data can be recovered from deleted containers and how malicious processes can be detected in active containers. The results of the experiments show that, depending on which container is used, and how it is configured, data sometimes persists after the container is removed. Furthermore, file carving is tested and evaluated as a useful method of recovering lost files from deleted containers, should data not persist. Lastly, tests reveal that malicious processes running inside an active container can be detected by inspection from the host machine.

This thesis aims to study and discover the main daily functional operations and sub-operations at typical container terminals, the terminal equipment deployed, container vessels and containerships, types of terminals, seaport logistics, seaport management, seaport performance and efficiency, and to present most of the problems that arise in the seaside and landside of terminals. It focuses on how reverse logistics can improve the management of returnable containers, and how to determine the optimum number of returnable containers. It also focuses on how to address empty container repositioning problems in maritime transportation, and how to optimize empty container movements among seaports and depots. Also, it focuses on how to optimize voyage routes for the containerships and vessels to transfer empty containers on shipping service networks. It aims to find the optimal service level, with optimal efficiency and service conditions, for the container stacking process in a seaport container terminal under the impact of synchronization and the sequence of daily operations and activities between the seaside and landside of terminals. It also investigates the problem of assignment of suitable berths to incoming vessels under different scenarios of berthing policy and priorities to discharge vessel. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Industrial and Systems Engineering / PhD / Unrestricted

Lachenalia cv. Ronina, a new flower bulb variety developed by the ARC-Roodeplaat Vegetable and Ornamental Plant Institute, has excellent characteristics as a flowering pot plant, but information on cultivation practices is limited. Temperature is the most important environmental factor regulating the growth cycle of this flower bulb, therefore three temperature regimes, representing a cool, moderate and warm winter climate, were chosen to manipulate floral development. During this study the bulb structure, development and growth were determined during the bulb preparation phase (year 1) and subsequently the morphology of the bulb was evaluated during the pot plant phase (year 2). Regarding the bulb structure and development, cultivar Ronina has a typical rhythmic, sympodial, modular growth. Bulb growth and module formation is affected by temperature. The low (L TR) and moderate (MTR) temperature regime, which represent the cool and moderate winter climate in South Africa were found to be the best temperature regimes for bulb production. The high (HTR) temperature regime caused bulbs to develop faster, but flower abortion occurred. At the end of the bulb preparation phase, daughter bulbs were observed in the axils of the leaf bases in bulbs of all three temperature regime treatments. Additional inflorescences from underdeveloped growth modules were detected in the axils of the inner leaf bases of bulbs of the high temperature regime. The bulbs as well as the roots are the main sinks for the carbohydrates, whereas the inflorescence and especially the leaves are the main source for soluble sugars. Due to the more stable temperature that was applied in the growth cabinets, the flowering date of bulbs in all three treatments flowered two months earlier than plants growing in the open. During this production phase, simultaneous flowering occurred more within bulbs that were subjected to the LTR during the bulb preparation phase. These bulbs also produced broader leaves with more spots on and better quality inflorescences with a longer keeping ability than those of the higher temperature regimes. A correlation was found between the leaf number and the number of inflorescences of plants in the pot plant phase, grown from LTR treated bulbs. The bulb fresh mass/size at the end of the bulb preparation phase cannot be used as a reliable criterion to predict the quality of the pot plant. By examining the bulb structure at the end of the bulb preparation phase, the quality of the pot plant can be predicted. / Thesis (PhD Agric (Horticultural Science))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Plant Production and Soil Science / unrestricted

Die zunehmende Relevanz containerisierter Infrastrukturen erhöht die Notwendigkeit einer tiefgründigeren Beschäftigung mit den Sicherheitsmechanismen der zugrundeliegenden Betriebssysteme. Systemaufrufe, als Schnittstelle zwischen Nutzerprozessen und privilegierten Operationen des Kernels, sind ein idealer Ausgangspunkt, um Angriffe und deren Auswirkungen einzuschränken. Bisherige Arbeiten beschäftigten sich mit Methoden zur statischen oder testbasierten, dynamischen Extraktion von Systemaufrufen aus Container Images. Beide Ansätze kommen mit Einschränkungen bezüglich ihrer Vollständigkeit. In dieser Arbeit wirdein neuer Ansatz zur Erstellung von dedizierten Seccomp-Profilen evaluiert. Grundlegend können bestimmte Systemaufrufe auf die potenzielle Verwendung anderer Systemaufrufe hindeuten. Folglich würde die Erarbeitung einer Systematisierungsstruktur den Testaufwand zur Generierung von sicheren Profilen reduzieren, indem über Gruppen dieser Struktur weitere Systemaufrufe zugelassen werden. Es wurde untersucht, inwiefern eine solche Systematisierungsstruktur, basierend auf funktionalen Kriterien, geeignet ist. Eine dementsprechende Zerlegung des Kernels hat gleichzeitig einen operativen Nutzen zur verbesserten Kontextualisierung von Ereignismeldungen und der kritischen Analyse des bestehenden Default Seccomp Profiles für Docker. Die erarbeiteten Methoden zur Erzeugung und Bewertung des hier vorgestellten Ansatzes lassen sich auf andere Systematisierungen von Systemaufrufen anwenden. Somit ließ sich experimentell auch nachweisen, dass die gewählte funktionale Gruppierung von Systemaufrufen nicht für die Extrapolation weiterer Systemaufrufe geeignet ist. Dennoch leiten sich aus dieser Erkenntnis Implikationen zur Konzeption einer adäquaten Systematisierungsstruktur ab.:1 Einleitung und Intension 1.1 Problembeschreibung 1.2 Zielstellung 1.3 Verwandte Arbeiten 2 Stand der Wissenschaft 2.1 Systemaufrufe 2.1.1 Spezifka der x86-64-Architektur 2.1.2 Arten von Systemaufrufen 2.2 Gefährdungen uneingeschränkter Systemaufrufnutzung 2.2.1 Kritische Systemaufrufe 2.2.2 Selten genutzte Systemaufrufe 2.3 Secure Computing Mode 2.4 Zwischenfazit 3 Systematisierungsansatz 3.1 Funktionale Gruppierung 3.2 Labeling kritischer und ungewöhnlicher Systemaufrufe 4 Praktische Evaluierung 4.1 Versuchsaufbau 4.2 Methodik der Beobachtung 4.3 Ergebnis 5 Zusammenfassung Literatur Abbildungsverzeichnis Tabellenverzeichnis Aufistungsverzeichnis A Anhang

The thesis is an attempt to define and design a house by utilizing modernized construction technologies. From a single cell, a man grows up into a complex creature with an independent life. A livable space for a person starts from the mother's womb, then moves on to a crib, a full-size bed, a room, and finally a house. We can say, therefore, "a living room" originates from an independent life and is created for a person. Man cannot and does not live alone. Human interactions help develop the spatial relationship among rooms in a house, and among houses in a community. Social relations, such as those found among family, friends and neighbors, define the mental and physical dimensions as they are manifested in the demarcations of rooms, halls and houses. Sadly, modernization seems to have destroyed the human basis for spatial relations, as we no longer can find these attributes in contemporary designs where elevators and stairs have replaced alleys and backyards where neighborhood children once played and housewives enjoyed socializing. Industrialized processes have allowed us to build more space more quickly, but, unfortunately, these processes have also simultaneously equalized qualities in housing design today. Because of the potential complexity of these questions, I am compelled to focus on a room or a house as the scope of the study. The aim of the thesis is therefore the study of the development of a socially and technically responsive house in the face of growth and change in an industrialized world. In Part One, I shall start with an analysis of historical precedents and the development of a working concept for the design. Part Two ponders how to use minimum materials and sizes to create maximum spaces and capacity. The final section includes the demonstration of the design process involved in the creation of a future-oriented house. / Master of Architecture

In contemporary downtown historic area renovation, conflicts between the new building and the environment always exist. To better solve the problem, a concept of Scene Container was introduced into the New Craig County Hall design, achieved by framing views from the new building towards historic scenery outside. Layered spaces with differing degrees of enclosure also help to build visual contact between new and old. / Master of Architecture

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

Includes supplemental material / Hostile acts of maritime piracy and terrorism have increased worldwide in recent years, and the global impacts of a successful attack on commercial shipping in the Straits of Malacca make it one of the most tempting target locations for maritime terrorism. In an attempt to develop a system of systems to defeat and prevent terrorism in the Straits of Malacca, this study developed three significant commercial shipping attack scenarios (Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) shipment, Ship As a Weapon (SAW), and Small Boat Attack (SBA)), and used a Systems Engineering Design Process (SEDP) to design alternative architectures that offered promising ways to defeat these attacks. Maritime Domain Protection (MDP) architecture alternatives combined five separate systems: a Land Inspection System, a Sensor System, a Command and Control, Communications, and Intelligence (C3I) System, a Response Force System, and a Sea Inspection System. Individual models for each system were developed and combined into overarching integrated architecture models to evaluate overall performance. The study results showed that solutions tended to be threat-specific, and current capabilities were mixed. While solutions were found to effectively reduce risk in all threat scenarios, these sometimes came at great expense. Alternatively, cost-effective solutions were also found for each scenario, but these sometimes gave limited performance.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 110-114).