Thesis (M.B.A.)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2003. / "MBA professional report"--Cover. Thesis advisor(s): R. Marshall Engelbeck, Ron B. Tudor. Includes bibliographical references (p. 31-32). Also available online.

This thesis investigates Nuestra Aparente Rendición, or "Our Apparent Surrender," a literary project launched in response to narco-violence in Mexico. I consider the potential of literature to intervene on violence by elaborating a theory of fiction as a strategy of naturalization. Fiction dissembles artifice and contingency, imposing sense-making frames on the imagination. The role of fiction in politics is to work the very limits of intelligibility. It has long been held that language requires external moorings to anchor discourse to a stable place. This has been conceived, alternatively, as an idealized speech community or an intersubjective commitment to veracity, as objective truths, a privileged experience, external reality or God. In the absence of such moorings, it has been claimed that language would be a sea of unending deferral, and communication would be impossible. A theory of fiction suggests instead that the place where meaning is 'fixed' and stabilized is internal to discourse itself. Fiction works to halt the imagination, limit what is possible, and transform infinite contingency into necessity. Ultimately, I suggest that what is needed is a deepening of the rhetorical turn. It has been argued--and feared--that that the rhetorical turn devolves into relativism and renders scholarship ineffectual. Against such claims, I contend that we have not yet accounted for the effects of necessity, which is caught up with contingency in an inextricable embrace.

This article sets out to explore the hermeneutical problems in the narrative therapeutic theory of Michael White by investigating his understanding of "story" within its interpretative context. In both White's interpretative approach and his “story" are inconsistencies rooted in a meta-theoretical tension based on his account of the autonomy of a person. This tension lies between the postulation of contingency and the pressure of stability. This is shown by testing the sustainability of White's therapeutic approach against the logical consistency of the underlying theoretical and philosophical foundation. The fundamental meta-theoretical tensions are brought to the fore by means of these contradictions. / Thesis (M.A. (Philosophy))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

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This article sets out to explore the hermeneutical problems in the narrative therapeutic theory of Michael White by investigating his understanding of "story" within its interpretative context. In both White's interpretative approach and his “story" are inconsistencies rooted in a meta-theoretical tension based on his account of the autonomy of a person. This tension lies between the postulation of contingency and the pressure of stability. This is shown by testing the sustainability of White's therapeutic approach against the logical consistency of the underlying theoretical and philosophical foundation. The fundamental meta-theoretical tensions are brought to the fore by means of these contradictions. / Thesis (M.A. (Philosophy))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. / MBA Professional Report / This purpose of this Master's of Business Administration Professional Report is to deliver an enabling concept future joint expeditionary contracting execution. The Commanding General of the Joint Contracting Vommand-Iraq/Afghanistan )JCC-I/A) pioneered Effects-Based Contracting (EBC) during the Enable Civil Authority phase of Operation Iraqi Freedon to align tactical contracting efforts with the strategic objectives of the Combatant Commander's Campaign Plan. JCC-I/A accomplished this by integrating contingency contracting officers into the warfighters' operational planning cycles, linking contracting efforts with desired strategic operational effects and prioritizing contracting work based on the warfighters' main effort. This report applies components of EBC and the Systems Engineering Process (SEP), and with them, introduces the general framework for the Joint Effects-based Contracting Execution System (JEBCES), and a researcher proposed Phase-based Acquisition Capability (PBAC) to enable forward-leaning, responsive expeditionary contract support. This framework emphasizes providing the future Joint Expeditionary Contracting Force with a rapidly deployable, pre-awarded acquisition capability, creating greater efficiency and effectiveness.

Purpose- The purpose of this paper is to examine franchise relationships by using an interaction approach which involves several exchanges or actor bonds between a franchisor and franchisee, such as information, social, and cooperative exchanges, which create a long-term relationship. The objective is to provide a conceptual framework to investigate the relationship from the franchisee’s point of view since little research has been conducted from this perspective. Design/methodology/approach- This study is based on a web survey directed towards franchisees in Sweden. A total of 191 survey responses were obtained from a wide range of industries, representing a 16.2% response rate. A Pearson Correlation test was performed for the hypotheses. Findings- The findings supported all five hypotheses. The results show that 160 firms exchange information with the franchisor through an IT system. It is also evident that the majority who use IT systems are small businesses, however, this is due to the fact that the largest sample of this study consists of small firms (n=180). Research limitations/implications- Limitations of this study involve the somewhat difficulty to obtain access to a large sample of franchisees because of franchisors´ unwillingness to provide contact and email information (in some cases due to confidentiality). The majority of firms participating in the study are categorized as small organizations, a desired comparison of results from larger firms is, consequently, limited. Originality/value- The paper contributes to filling the gap within franchise relationship literature by applying an interaction approach in contrast to prior economic theories in this field of study.

The worst scenario of drilling operation is blowout which is uncontrolled flow of formation fluid into the wellbore. Blowouts result in environmental damage with potential risk of injuries and fatalities. Although not all blowouts result in disaster, outcomes of blowouts are unknown and should be studied before starting an operation. Plans should be available to prevent blowouts or provide safe and secure ways of controlling the well before the drilling operation starts. The plan should include procedures in case of any blowout incident as a proactive measure. A few commercial softwares are available in the industry for dynamic kill and transient modeling. All models are proprietary and very complex which reduces the flexibility of the program for specific cases. The purpose of this study is to develop a pseudo transient hydraulic simulator for dynamic kill operations. The idea and concept is to consider the flow of each phase as a single phase flow. The summation of hydrostatic and frictional pressure of each phase determines the bottomhole pressure during the dynamic kill operation. The simulator should be versatile and capable of handling special cases that may encounter during blowouts. Some of the main features of the proposed dynamic kill simulator include; quick and robust simulation, fluid properties are corrected for pressure and temperature, sensitivity analysis can be performed through slide bars, and capable of handling variety of wellbore trajectories. The results from the proposed simulator were compared to the result of commercial software, OLGA ABC. The results were in agreement with each other. It is recommended to apply the simulator for operations with required kill fluid volumes of one to two wellbore volumes.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of St Andrews, July 2007.

The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on March 24, 2010). Thesis advisor: Dr. Margaret Duffy. Includes bibliographical references.