Flexible job-shop scheduling problem (FJSP) is a generalization of the classical job-shop scheduling problem (JSP). It takes shape when alternative production routing is allowed in the classical job-shop. However, production scheduling becomes very complex as the number of jobs, operations, parts and machines increases. Until recently, scheduling problems were studied assuming that all of the problem parameters are known beforehand. However, such assumption does not reflect the reality as accidents and unforeseen incidents happen in real manufacturing systems. Thus, an optimal schedule that is produced based on deterministic measures may result in a degraded system performance when released to the job-shop. For this reason more emphasis is put towards producing schedules that can handle uncertainties caused by random disruptions. The current research work addresses solving the deterministic FJSP using evolutionary algorithm and then modifying that method so that robust and/or stable schedules for the FJSP with the presence of disruptions are obtained. Evolutionary computation is used to develop a hybridized genetic algorithm (hGA) specifically designed for the deterministic FJSP. Its performance is evaluated by comparison to performances of previous approaches with the aid of an extensive computational study on 184 benchmark problems with the objective of minimizing the makespan. After that, the previously developed hGA is modified to find schedules that are quality robust and/or stable in face of random machine breakdowns. Consequently, a two-stage hGA is proposed to generate the predictive schedule. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the proposed method is compared against three other methods; two are taken from literature and the third is a combination of the former two methods. Subsequently, the hGA is modified to consider FJSP when processing times of some operations are represented by or subjected to small-to-medium uncertainty. The work compares two genetic approaches to obtain predictive schedule, an approach based on expected processing times and an approach based on sampling technique. To determine the performance of the predictive schedules obtained by both approaches with respect to two types of robustness, an experimental study and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) are conducted on a number of benchmark problems.

The thesis analyses the relationship between shop-floor militancy and union politics in the period after the birth of "new unionism" in Brazil in the 1980s and addresses the problems and dilemmas faced by this new type of union movement. It is based on a case study of steelworkers at the National Steel Company and their representative union, the Metal workers' Union of Volta Redonda, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The research design has emphasised qualitative methods such as in-depth interviewing and field observation. The researcher has also made use of the computer in the analysis of data, through a new type of computer software which is being introduced in sociological research. The objectives of the thesis are two-fold. First, it offers an in-depth study of the relationship between shop-floor politics and union politics in a steel plant. The theoretical framework is based on the concept of "politics of production" introduced by Michael Burawoy, and on the debate around levels of leadership representation of union members, as inaugurated by Robert Michels. The second objective is to assess the developments of "new unionism" in Brazil, ten years after its birth, and to discuss the extent to which it has actually broken with populist and bureaucratic types of unionism and advanced towards more democratic forms of union politics. With the knowledge available today of national level politics, it is possible to argue that in the course of the 1980s the "new unionist" movement developed a significantly more legitimate and democratic relationship between union leaders and their base, and that this helped to break with the "regulated citizenship" of working-class groups in society by expanding their labour rights, by successfully pressing for changes in the Labour Code and by participating in national level politics. The analysis of the case study suggests that the contribution of the new union movement was especially significant in the politicised use of the CIPA (Internal Committee for the Prevention of Accidents) and in the innovative use of the Labour Courts. The significance of these dimensions was that they involved an attempt to expand workers' rights as well as to create new bases under which the rights were granted. On the other hand, the case study suggests that the internal dynamics of the "new union" movement still have elements which may be characterised as non-democratic, and that this generated a new set of problems and dilemmas for organised labour in Brazil for the 1990s.

This study analyzes William Faulkner's Snopes Trilogy (The Hamlet, The Town, The Mansion) from the aspect of point of view. It shows how point of view is linked to theme in that the complexity of point of view parallels and emphasizes the complexity of truth as it exists in the novels. Each novel is examined separately, for each poses different problems involved in searching out truth and each is unique in point of view. The Hamlet is determined to have a predominantly omniscient narrator, The Town to be told by three first-person narrators, and The Mansion to combine omniscient with first-person narrative. The increasing complexity in point of view and in the search for truth leads to the conclusion that Faulkner was demonstrating that truth is not an absolute.

The Old Curiosity Shop, Charles Dickens' fourth novel, has been given little serious critical attention by modern scholars. The purpose of this study was to analyze the novel, ignoring the accepted prejudices against it and establishing it as a complex artistic creation.The organization of the study rests on the thesis that after Master Humphrey, the narrator of the first three chapters, dismisses himself from the story, the novel divides into four sections each focused on one of the four major characters-- Nell, Kit, Quilp, and Dick. The sections are not divided in the novel, but are complexly interwoven with the sections presenting different views of the major themes of the novel.Master Humrhrey's three-chapter introduction to the novel sets the plots of the four sections in motion and establishes the major concerns of the novel—alienation, creativity, and materialism. More important, Master Humphrey is the only artist whose consciousness is penetrated while he is in the act of creating.Nell’s section contains the most lengthy treatment of the major themes, but does not present the novel’s and as with Nell, his self-imposed, alienation ends in death. The similarity between Mrs. Quilp and Nell, and Nell, Mrs. Quilp's enjoyment of her suffering combine to raise the doubt that Nell's problems are imposed externally. Quilp's creativity is reflected in his ability to appear differently to different people around him. He recreates himself constantly.Dick Swiveller's progression from a morally careless rogue to a caring hero is the triumph of the novel, and his section contains the novel's solutions to the thematic problems. Unlike Nell, Kit, and Quilp, who retreat from society, Dick searches for companionship. He and the Marchioness solve the problem of alienation by finding each other. He also presents a compromise between the greed of Quilp and the grandfather and Nell's renunciation of material goods with his theory that money simply makes things more pleasant. Dick is the greatest creative artist in the novel for be uses his imagination to create a refuge for himself and his friends within an alien world. He creates through imaginative power the haven which Nell cannot find in her flight.

Flexible job-shop scheduling problem (FJSP) is a generalization of the classical job-shop scheduling problem (JSP). It takes shape when alternative production routing is allowed in the classical job-shop. However, production scheduling becomes very complex as the number of jobs, operations, parts and machines increases. Until recently, scheduling problems were studied assuming that all of the problem parameters are known beforehand. However, such assumption does not reflect the reality as accidents and unforeseen incidents happen in real manufacturing systems. Thus, an optimal schedule that is produced based on deterministic measures may result in a degraded system performance when released to the job-shop. For this reason more emphasis is put towards producing schedules that can handle uncertainties caused by random disruptions. The current research work addresses solving the deterministic FJSP using evolutionary algorithm and then modifying that method so that robust and/or stable schedules for the FJSP with the presence of disruptions are obtained. Evolutionary computation is used to develop a hybridized genetic algorithm (hGA) specifically designed for the deterministic FJSP. Its performance is evaluated by comparison to performances of previous approaches with the aid of an extensive computational study on 184 benchmark problems with the objective of minimizing the makespan. After that, the previously developed hGA is modified to find schedules that are quality robust and/or stable in face of random machine breakdowns. Consequently, a two-stage hGA is proposed to generate the predictive schedule. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the proposed method is compared against three other methods; two are taken from literature and the third is a combination of the former two methods. Subsequently, the hGA is modified to consider FJSP when processing times of some operations are represented by or subjected to small-to-medium uncertainty. The work compares two genetic approaches to obtain predictive schedule, an approach based on expected processing times and an approach based on sampling technique. To determine the performance of the predictive schedules obtained by both approaches with respect to two types of robustness, an experimental study and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) are conducted on a number of benchmark problems.

Zugl.: Wiesbaden, Fachhochsch., Diplomarbeit, 2004 u.d.T.: Ullmann, Constanze: Internationale Markterschliessung am Beispiel von Coffee-Shops

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Melbourne, 1988. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 433-452).

Issued also as thesis PH. D)--Columbia University.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1917. / Reproduction of original from Harvard Law School Library.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Pennsylvania, 1939. / Bibliography: p. 125-129.