Measurements of the Hubble constantH(z) are increasingly being used to test the expansion rate predicted by various cosmological models. But the recent application of two-point diagnostics, such as Om(zi, zj) and Omh(2)(zi, zj), has produced considerable tension between Lambda CDM's predictions and several observations, with other models faring even worse. Part of this problem is attributable to the continued mixing of truly model-independent measurements using the cosmic-chronometer approach, and model-dependent data extracted from baryon acoustic oscillations. In this paper, we advance the use of two-point diagnostics beyond their current status, and introduce new variations, which we call Delta h(zi, zj), that are more useful for model comparisons. But we restrict our analysis exclusively to cosmic-chronometer data, which are truly model independent. Even for these measurements, however, we confirm the conclusions drawn by earlier workers that the data have strongly non-Gaussian uncertainties, requiring the use of both 'median' and 'mean' statistical approaches. Our results reveal that previous analyses using two-point diagnostics greatly underestimated the errors, thereby misinterpreting the level of tension between theoretical predictions and H(z) data. Instead, we demonstrate that as of today, only Einstein-de Sitter is ruled out by the two-point diagnostics at a level of significance exceeding similar to 3s. The R-h = ct universe is slightly favoured over the remaining models, including Lambda cold dark matter and Chevalier-Polarski-Linder, though all of them (other than Einstein-de Sitter) are consistent to within 1 sigma with the measured mean of the Delta h(zi, zj) diagnostics.

La mesure des distances aux galaxies proches de notre Voie Lactée a révolutionné notre compréhension de l'échelle de distance et a fourni la preuve de l'expansion de l'univers. Notamment les distances aux Petit et Grand Nuages de Magellan sont deux échelons essentiels de l'échelle des distances cosmiques. De nombreuses méthodes indépendantes (comme celle des RR Lyrae, des Céphéides ou des étoiles Red clump) ont été utilisées pour déterminer ces distances. Le but de mon travail de thèse est d'améliorer notre compréhension de la relation BSC grâce à l'interférométrie optique. Pour cela, j'ai utilisé l'instrument VEGA installé sur l'interféromètre CHARA. Cet instrument fonctionne dans le visible et bénéficie de la plus longue base du monde. VEGA a une résolution spatiale de 0.3 mas, ce qui en fait un outil idéal pour une détermination précise des diamètres des étoiles. Dans un premier temps j'ai déterminé le diamètre de huit étoiles de type OBA avec une précision moyenne de 1.5%. Ensuite j'ai combiné ces diamètres avec d'autres mesures collectées dans la littérature pour ainsi donner une nouvelle relation BSC pour ce type d'étoiles. Dans un second temps, une étude théorique de l'impact de rotation sur la relation BSC a été faite pour comprendre les effets physiques influant sur la précision de cette relation de manière à compenser la dispersion existant actuellement et ce dans le but d'améliorer encore la précision sur les distances extragalactiques. / Measuring distances separating our own Galaxy from nearby ones revolutionized our understanding of the distance scale and provided the evidence for the expansion of the universe. The distances to the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds are critical steps of the cosmic distance ladder, and they have been determined using numerous independent methods (as, RR Lyrae stars, Cepheids and "red clump" stars). The aim of my thesis work is to improve our understanding of the Surface Brightness-Color relation (SBC) using optical interferometry. For this, we use the interferometer VEGA on CHARA. This instrument operates in the visible and benefits from the baselines of the CHARA interferometer. It has a spatial resolution of 0.3 mas, which makes it an ideal tool to determine diameters of stars. At first I determined the diameter of eight OBA-type stars with an average accuracy of 1.5%. Then I combined these diameters with others collected from the literature, to determine a new SBC relation for this type of stars. In a second step, a theoretical study of the impact of the rotation on the SBC relation was made to understand the physical effects affecting the accuracy of this relation and suppress the currently existing dispersion in order to further improve the accuracy of extragalactic distances.

The concept of More Electric Aircraft, where is to utilize the electrical power to drive more or all aircraft subsystem instead of conventional combination of pneumatic, hydraulic, mechanical and electrical power, can be recalled to World War II. It has been proven to have more advantages for decades in terms of energy efficiency, environmental issues, logistics and operational maintenance. It can also enhance aircraft weight, volume and battle damage reconfigurability.Thanks to the new electronics technologies and the emergence of new materials, It becomes feasible for high power density electrical power components to drive the majority of aircraft subsystem. However, sustaining the transmission of hundreds of kilowatts of electrical power at low voltages is not feasible owing to the penalties incurred due to high cable weights and voltage drop may become critical. It is very easy to come up with the solution of the increase of voltage. However, higher voltage will introduce other problems such as the reliability of insulation coordination on the aircraft due to the increased probability of electrical discharge. For aircraft designers, it is very important to understand the rules of insulation coordination on the aircraft including determining clearance and creepage distances, and also have a clear investigation of the phenomena and mechanism of electrical discharges. Past research has identified a number of the concerns of operating electrical systems at higher voltages in an aerospace environment, especially for dimensioning of clearances. However, there is little study on dimensioning of creepage distances and relevantly flashover and electrical tracking on solid insulating material surfaces. This thesis firstly discusses the rules for determining clearances and creepage distances. The experimental validation work was done for breakdown in air gap and on the solid insulating material surfaces under dry condition so that some standard recommended values can be evaluated not only with theoretical values such Paschen's law. Suggestions of application of those standards were provided. Secondly, the complex electrical discharge under wet condition on solid insulating material surfaces was discussed. A mathematical model to predict this type of electrical failure -electrical tracking (the electrical discharges on solid insulation materials which will lead to physical damage in the materials) with the consideration of different environmental conditions including air pressure, ambient temperature, and pollution degrees was developed. A series of electrical tracking tests were carried out on organic materials to find out the mechanism of electrical tracking and validate the finding by the mathematic model. Finite element analysis simulations were also conducted to find out the background thermal transfer mechanism to support our explanation of those phenomena of electrical tracking. Different test techniques have ben developed for specific impact factors. Finally, the suggestions for utilization of the standards and feasible test techniques for electrical tracking under wet conditions were provided.

Nos encontramos em uma localização vantajosa para o estudo da formação e evolução de galáxias espirais. Situados no disco da Via-Láctea, somos capazes de fazer observações detalhadas sobre as estrelas individuais que a compõem. Com o avanço tecnológico das últimas décadas, foi possível coletar um grande conjunto de informações, (e.g. composição química, cinemática, astrometria e parâmetros atmosféricos), com alta resolução para uma vasta parte do volume Galáctico. Com o objetivo de compreender melhor a nossa Galáxia, desenvolvemos uma ferramenta, chamada StarHorse, que estima parâmetros como distâncias, idades, massas e avermelhamento utilizando informação disponível em levantamentos espectroscópicos, fotométricos e astrométricos. O código StarHorse estima os parâmetros através de um método Bayesiano, que constrói uma distribuição de probabilidade a partir do cálculo de verossimilhança entre observações e modelos de evolução teórica e a partir de priores Galácticos bem conhecidos. Os parâmetros que o StarHorse estima são cruciais para estudos de arqueologia Galáctica. Com eles é possível investigar a estrutura, o histórico de formação estelar, a função de massa inicial, o mapa tridimensional da nossa Galáxia e também adicionar vínculos a modelos quemodinâmicos da Via Láctea Neste trabalho, focaremos na descrição e validação do método, testando sua aplicabilidade em levantamentos recentes de espectroscópica, astrometria e fotometria. Também disponibilizamos catálogos com distâncias e extinção para comunidade astronômica. As nossas distâncias e extinções se tornaram referência dentro da colaboração APOGEE e foram liberadas junto com o seu Data Release 14. Ademais, catálogos foram liberados para os surveys RAVE, Gaia-ESO e GALAH. Neste trabalho, exploramos os resultados do StarHorse, especialmente os resultados APOGEE, em um contexto amplo de arqueologia Galáctica. / We are in an advantageous position to study the formation and evolution of disk galaxies. By being inside the Milky Way, we are able to make detailed observations about the individual stars that compose it. With the technological revolution of the latest years, it has been possible to collect a massive set of information, (e.g. chemical composition, kinematics, astrometry, and atmospheric parameters), with high resolution for a large portion of the Galactic volume. With the goal to understand better our Galaxy, we developed a tool, called StarHorse, that can estimate distances, ages, masses, and extinction from the available spectroscopic, astrometric, and photometric information. StarHorse makes these estimates through a Bayesian method, that builds a probability distribution over the models by calculating a likelihood function between observation and stellar evolution models, and by using common knowledge about our Galaxy as priors. The parameters that StarHorse estimates are crucial to Galactic archaeology studies. With them, we can investigate the structure, the star formation history, the initial mass function, the three-dimensional dust map of our Galaxy, and provide constraints to chemodynamical models of the Milky Way. In this work, we focus on the description and validation of the method, testing its applicability in recent spectroscopic and astrometric surveys. We also make available catalogs with distances and extinctions to the astronomy community. Our distances and extinctions became a reference inside the APOGEE-team and were released as part of the SDSS Data Release 14. Moreover, we made available catalogs also to other spectroscopic surveys such as Gaia-ESO, RAVE, and GALAH. In this work, we also explore these results, especially for APOGEE, in a broad Galactic archaeology context.

Background: Cultural differences provide challenges for multinational corporations, due to the differences in norms, values, and beliefs accompanying national cultures. Multinational corporations must adapt to the new environment to achieve optimal performance and attain competitive advantages. One of these challenges is motivation, which is crucial for employee performance and hence the pursuit of competitive advantage. Vietnam and Sweden, two cultural contexts having remarkable cultural distances, are the specific focus of this study.    Purpose: This study aims to explain the effect cultural differences have on job motivation and satisfaction. The authors investigated six motivation factors deemed to lead to job satisfaction based on Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory. The study’s framework is constructed also by four cultural distance factors according to Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory to test the moderation effect of cultural differences on the relationship between motivation and job satisfaction.    Method: A quantitative research was conducted on a sample of 79 employees from two MNCs: Samsung in Vietnam and Husqvarna in Sweden. An online survey was distributed to respondents to gather primary quantitative data. The survey questions were based on previous studies to ensure validity in measuring the scales. Finally, two main testing analyses namely multiple linear regression and moderation effect were undertaken in SPSS.   Conclusion: The satisfying motivation factors included in Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory correlated positively to employees’ job satisfaction in both countries, although it was evident that each of the six factors contribute to job satisfaction at varying degrees. Furthermore, the finding of the culture dimensions as moderator variables showed that different levels of culture factors could either weaken, strengthen, or had no effect on the relationship between employee satisfaction and the six motivation factors.

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This paper uses the Pantheon+ data set that consists of 1701 light curves of 1550 unique type IaSupernova to find constraints on various cosmological models and compare them with a varying darkenergy model proposed by Chevallier, Polarski and Linder in the early 2000s and analyze it deeper.The results show a tipping point from a decelerating universe to an accelerating one at a redshift ofz = 0.35, and a second tipping point back to a decelerating universe in the future at z = −0.19. The flatChevallier-Polarski-Linder (CPL) model leads to a matter dominated universe with Ωm = 0.52 ± 0.08while the relative dark energy density Ωde = 0.48±0.08. Finally, taking all these models and comparingthem with the results that are found from Taylor expanding the distance relation shows that they aremostly consistent with a deceleration parameter around q0 = −0.28.

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<p> An investigation as to the appropriateness of the wavelet transform for surface electromyography (EMG) M-wave pattern recognition is described. The M-waves are obtained by stimulating the median nerve at the wrist to activate the motor units. Surface electrodes and a graded stimulus amplitude are used. The resulting M-waves are classified using both wavelet vectors and the traditional power spectral coefficients as features sets in the pattern recognition scheme. A novel system was developed to obtain M-wave collections from subjects in the laboratory and to perform both real-time and offline analysis.</p> <p> The results obtained from the left and right thenar muscles of 4 healthy females and 2 healthy males are presented. These results are further analyzed offline to determine the effects of a changing discriminatory threshold for both wavelet and power spectral pattern recognition techniques. In addition, intra-class and inter-class Euclidean distances are shown for the set of unique M-waves derived from using the different feature sets. A time-invariant wavelet transform is implemented to improve classification by eliminating errors due to latency shifts.</p> <p> The results show that the number of unique M-waves obtained usmg wavelet features is less sensitive to a variation in discriminatory threshold. It may be concluded that a wavelet based feature set shows slight improvement in M-wave pattern classification. The time-invariant wavelet offers further accuracy.</p> / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)