Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 1984. / BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The chief sector of the South African fishing industry, demersal trawling is in a state of uncertainty that brings its competitiveness and long term developnent into question. The Hake (Merluccius capensis and Merluccius paradoxus) resource, which accounts for 70% of the landed catch, has finally started on the expected road to recovery and it is anticipated that this will proceed shortly for a nunber of years. During 1983 comfort was derived from the resulting rise in catch per unit effort rates and a significant improvement in the average size of fish landed. This, together with lower fuel prices and increased operating efficiences, enable the industry to operate at lower expenditure. Unfortunately, a second successive reflection of the T.A.C. (Total Allowable Catch ) of 12% in 1983 meant that gains in productivity were not fully reflected in reduced landed costs. This year (1984) the T. A. C. was increased by 4,8% which only marginally improves the already poor situation. More serious difficulties can be traced to adverse market developments. The price of fish has fallen in real terms (see Table 1.1 below) over a number of years. However, in 1983, the industry experienced a startling fall in prices, the severity of which may be gauged from the fact that actual prices realised were roughly equal to those of 1981. (Bross, 8 May, 1984) This pattern is continuing through 1984 - as is seen in Table 1 .1, an extract from Irvin & Johnson financial results .

No description available.

<p>Modulation of neural activity with electrical stimulation is a widespread therapy for treating neurological disorders and diseases. Two notable applications that have had striking clinical success are deep brain stimulation (DBS) for the treatment of movement disorders (e.g., Parkinson's disease) and spinal cord stimulation (SCS) for the treatment of chronic low back and limb pain. In these therapies, the battery life of the stimulators is much less than the required duration of treatment, requiring patients to undergo repeated battery replacement surgeries, which are costly and obligate them to incur repeatedly the risks associated with surgery. Further, deviations in lead position of 2-3 mm can preclude some or all potential clinical benefits, and in some cases, generate side-effects by stimulation of non-target regions. Therefore, despite the success of DBS and SCS, their efficiency and ability to activate target neural elements over non-target elements, termed selectivity, are inadequate and need improvement.</p><p>We combined computational models of volume conduction in the brain and spine with cable models of neurons to design novel electrode configurations for efficient and selective electrical stimulation of nervous tissue. We measured the efficiency and selectivity of prototype electrode designs in vitro and in vivo. Stimulation efficiency was increased by increasing electrode area and/or perimeter, but the effect of increasing perimeter was not as pronounced as increasing area. Cylindrical electrodes with aspect (height to diameter) ratios of > 5 were the most efficient for stimulating neural elements oriented perpendicular to the axis of the electrode, whereas electrodes with aspect ratios of < 2 were the most efficient for stimulating parallel neural elements.</p><p>Stimulation selectivity was increased by combining two or more electrodes in multipolar configurations. Asymmetric bipolar configurations were optimal for activating parallel axons over perpendicular axons; arrays of cathodes with short interelectrode spacing were optimal for activating perpendicular axons over parallel axons; anodes displaced from the center of the target region were optimal for selectively activating terminating axons over passing axons; and symmetric tripolar configurations were optimal for activating neural elements based on their proximity to the electrode. The performance of the efficient and selective designs was not be explained solely by differences in their electrical properties, suggesting that field-shaping effects from changing electrode geometry and polarity can be as large as or larger than the effects of decreasing electrode impedance.</p><p>Advancing our understanding of the features of electrode geometry that are important for increasing stimulation efficiency and selectivity facilitates the design of the next generation of stimulation electrodes for the brain and spinal cord. Increased stimulation efficiency will increase the battery life of IPGs, increase the recharge interval of rechargeable IPGs, and potentially reduce stimulator volume. Greater selectivity may improve the success rate of DBS and SCS by mitigating the sensitivity of clinical outcomes to malpositioning of the electrode.</p> / Dissertation

The aim of this research is to expand the framework of contemporary conflict resolution by constructing a complementary relationship between Western epistemologies and a Buddhist epistemology. Despite its evolution and development through self-reflexivity and self-critique, contemporary conflict resolution established upon Western epistemologies has confined the understanding of human mind to social/cultural orientations and left a comprehensive and qualitative analysis of the potential of individual human mind underdeveloped. Buddhist epistemology, the central theme of which is to address human suffering that is mainly psychological and subjective, makes a critical analysis of human subjectivity in terms of how it can be become a root cause of suffering including conflict and how it can be addressed by gaining an insight into the social/cultural construction of human subjectivity. The argument of the thesis is that when a socially/culturally-oriented view of human mind and a deeper and more profound view of human mind are combined together, we can engage in a qualitatively richer and deeper analysis of the psychological and subjective dynamics of conflict resolution.

published_or_final_version / Physics / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / abstract / Physics / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Over the last decade, a number of reinforced concrete bent caps within Houston, Texas have exhibited premature concrete damage (cracking, spalling and a loss of material strength) due to alkali-silica reaction (ASR) and/or delayed ettringite formation (DEF). The alarming nature of the severe surface cracking prompted the Houston District of the Texas Department of Transportation to initiate an investigation into the structural implications of the premature concrete damage. Specifically, an interagency contract with the University of Texas at Austin charged engineers at Ferguson Structural Engineering Laboratory to: 1. Establish the time-dependent relationship between ASR/DEF deterioration and the shear capacity of affected bridge bent caps. 2. Develop practical recommendations for structural evaluation of in-service bridge bent caps affected by ASR and/or DEF. To accomplish these objectives, six large-scale bent cap specimens were fabricated within the laboratory. Four of the specimens (containing reactive concrete exposed to high curing temperatures) represented the most severe circumstances of deterioration found in the field. The remaining two specimens (non-reactive) provided a basis for the comparison of long-term structural performance. All of the specimens were subjected to a conditioning regimen meant to foster the development of realistic ASR/DEF-related damage. Resulting expansions were characterized over the course of the study through a carefully-planned monitoring program. Following a prolonged exposure period, three of the six bent cap specimens (representing undamaged, mild, and moderate levels of deterioration) were tested in shear. Observations made over the course of each test captured the service and ultimate load effects of ASR/DEF-induced deterioration. Six shear-critical spans were tested prior to this publication: three deep beam and three sectional shear tests. The remaining six shear spans (contained within the remaining three specimens) were retained to establish the effects of severe deterioration through future shear testing. Subsequent analysis of the expansion monitoring and shear testing data provided much needed insight into the performance and evaluation of ASR/DEF damaged bent structures. The results ultimately formed a strong technical basis for the preliminary assessment of a damaged bent structure within Houston, Texas. / text

本研究旨在探討台灣高中學生學習英語字彙時所使用之學習策略，除了解各種不同字彙學習策略的使用頻率情形，找出較常和較少使用之字彙學習策略，探求字彙學習策略的使用和字彙成就表現的關係外，並找出字彙成就高者和字彙成就低者對學習策略使用之不同處，藉此，俾能提供老師有效教學及學生有效學習字彙之依據。 本研究以271位高三學生為調查對象，研究工具為字彙學習策略問卷和字彙測驗。分析方法主要採量化分析，包括描述性統計、皮爾遜積差相關分析及獨立樣本t檢定。 本研究結果如下：(一)最常使用的是認知策略，最少使用的是社會策略。(二)學生偏愛機械記憶或與拼字及發音有關之策略。(三)學生的策略使用和其字彙成就表現有明顯相關。(四)字彙學習成就較高者與字彙成就學習較低者在策略使用上亦有明顯差異。高字彙學習成就者較喜重複念誦記憶單字的策略，並傾向於有上下文的情境中學習單字；低字彙學習成就者偏愛重複書寫的策略，並傾向學習孤立的單字。 / This study investigated the vocabulary learning strategies used by senior high students in Taiwan. The aim was (a) to investigate the frequencies of different vocabulary learning strategies use; (b) to find out the most and the least frequently used strategies; (c) to explore the relationship between strategy use and vocabulary size; and (d) to identify the differences in strategy use between good and poor learners. A total of 271 senior high students in northern Taiwan participated in the study. A vocabulary learning strategies questionnaire and a Vocabulary Levels Test were administered to the participants as instruments. The collected data were analyzed by using SPSS version 10.0, including descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlations, and independent-samples t-tests. The results are summarized as follows. (1) Cognitive strategies were reported as the most frequently used strategies while metacognitive and social strategies the least frequently used strategies. (2) Students favored strategies related to “rote repetition” or “the form of a word.” (3) Students’ strategy use was significantly correlated with their vocabulary size. (4) There was a significant difference in strategy use between good and poor learners. Good learners tended to learn words in context while poor learners tended to learn words in isolation. The findings of the study suggest that teachers should introduce students to a variety of vocabulary learning strategies, especially deep strategies and strategies related to context.

Les modèles de prévision opérationnelle du temps résolvent numériquement les équations de la mécanique des fluides en calculant l'évolution de champs (pression, température, humidité, vitesses) définis comme moyennes horizontales à l'échelle des mailles d'une grille (et à différents niveaux verticaux). Les processus d'échelle inférieure à la maille jouent néanmoins un rôle essentiel dans les transferts et les bilans de chaleur, humidité et quantité de mouvement. Les paramétrisations physiques visent à évaluer les termes de source correspondant à ces phénomènes, et apparaissant dans les équations des champs moyens aux points de grille. Lorsque l'on diminue la taille des mailles afin de représenter plus finement l'évolution des phénomènes atmosphériques, certaines hypothèses utilisées dans ces paramétrisations perdent leur validité. Le problème se pose surtout quand la taille des mailles passe en dessous d'une dizaine de kilomètres, se rapprochant de la taille des grands systèmes de nuages convectifs (systèmes orageux, lignes de grain). Ce travail s'inscrit dans le cadre des développements du modèle à mailles fines ARPÈGE ALADIN, utilisé par une douzaine de pays pour l'élaboration de prévisions à courte échéance (jusque 48 heures). Nous décrivons d'abord l'ensemble des paramétrisations physiques du modèle. Suit une analyse détaillée de la paramétrisation actuelle de la convection profonde. Nous présentons également notre contribution personnelle à celle ci, concernant l'entraînement de la quantité de mouvement horizontale dans le nuage convectif. Nous faisons ressortir les principaux points faibles ou hypothèses nécessitant des mailles de grandes dimensions, et dégageons les voies pour de nouveaux développements. Nous approfondissons ensuite deux des aspects sortis de cette discussion: l'usage de variables pronostiques de l'activité convective, et la prise en compte de différences entre l'environnement immédiat du nuage et les valeurs des champs à grande échelle. Ceci nous conduit à la réalisation et la mise en œuvre d'un schéma pronostique de la convection profonde. A ce schéma devraient encore s'ajouter une paramétrisation pronostique des phases condensées suspendues (actuellement en cours de développement par d'autres personnes) et quelques autres améliorations que nous proposons. Des tests de validation et de comportement du schéma pronostique ont été effectués en modèle à aire limitée à différentes résolutions et en modèle global. Dans ce dernier cas l'effet du nouveau schéma sur les bilans globaux est également examiné. Ces expériences apportent un éclairage supplémentaire sur le comportement du schéma convectif et les problèmes de partage entre la schéma de convection profonde et le schéma de précipitation de grande échelle. La présente étude fait donc le point sur le statut actuel des différentes paramétrisations du modèle, et propose des solutions pratiques pour améliorer la qualité de la représentation des phénomènes convectifs. L'utilisation de mailles plus petites que 5 km nécessite enfin de lever l'hypothèse hydrostatique dans les équations de grande échelle, et nous esquissons les raffinements supplémentaires de la paramétrisation possibles dans ce cas.

<p>Abstract</p><p>Today sheet metal forming is used to make a variety of mass production because it has a high production rate. One of the biggest concerns in sheet metal forming is wear of the tool in form of galling. Galling in sheet metal forming is characterised by an increased tool surface roughness, unstable friction in the forming process and undesirable scratches on the final products.</p><p>Several ways of ranking materials resistance to galling exist today but only ASM G98 is standardised. Nevertheless, some different methods developed for ranking tool materials’ tendency to galling have also been developed.</p><p>The aim of this thesis is to develop and improve the Uddeholm Tooling Tribo Test rig located at Uddeholm Tooling AB. The rig, which is a variation of cylinder-on-cylinder test equipment, was improved with a new tool holder, a utilization of the real sheet material counter face and a new data acquisition system and software. The galling was detected using scratches on the sheet, metallographic analysis of the material adhered on the tool specimen, monitoring of coefficient of friction and the standard deviation of the coefficient of friction.</p><p>The obtained results show difficulties with ranking of tool materials in terms of galling resistance under non-lubricated conditions. The tool steels tested were SVERKER21 and UNIMAX. AISI304-10, DC04 and DOCOL1000DP sheets were used. Additionally a low friction coating of BalinitC on SVERKER21 was also included. All specimens of the tool steels showed signs of galling on every run, only the low friction coating showed a transition in behaviour of friction coefficient corresponding to galling initiation. The standard deviation of the coefficient of friction increased at low loads. A decrease of the test loads led to stability loss of the system detected by an increase in the standard deviation of the coefficient of friction. This might happen because the Kistler platform is originally designed for larger loads. Although, the test rig does not work properly in its present state, the concept looks promising.</p>