<p>A data warehouse is a data collection that integrates large amounts of data from several sources, with the aim to support the decision-making process in a company. Data could be acquired from internal sources within the own organization, as well as from external sources outside the organization.</p><p>The comprehensive aim of this dissertation is to examine the current usage of external data and its sources for integration into DWs, in order to give users of a DW the best possible foundation for decision-making. In order to investigate this problem, we have conducted an interview study with DW developers.</p><p>Based on the interview study, the result shows that it is relative common to integrate external data into DWs. The study also identifies different types of external data that are integrated, and what external sources it is common to acquire data from. In addition, opportunities and pitfalls of integrating external data have also been highlighted.</p>

<p>Data warehouses (DWs) have become one of the largest investments in the past years for organisations, and incorporating external data into a DW can give organisations huge possibilities. Organisations that successfully manage to incorporate external data into a DW have an advantage over those who do not, but there are problems with incorporating data acquired from outside the organisation, and there is a lack of research aimed at these problems. The comprehensive aim of this dissertation is to characterise and categorise problems with incorporating external data. The available literature was scanned to find problems and an interview study was conducted to validate the problems found in the literature. Respondents from five well-known organisations in Sweden participated and the result is a list of problems backed up by both literature and empirical findings</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-103). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-103). Also available on the Internet.

Background – Due to the increased complexity of the Swedish financial market, the increased demand for financial services and the increased number of financial advisors, the role of financial advisors is important on the financial market. The external control from Finansinspektionen has been increased in order to eliminate rogue advisors and this type of control often affects employees’ motivation in a negative way. Because of the important role financial advisors have on the financial market, it is essential that they are motivated in order to perform well in their profession.  Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate how the external control affects the work motivation of financial advisors and how motivational factors could be used when designing a management control system in a context characterized by high external control. To answer this purpose, this thesis answers these following three research questions: What do financial advisors perceive to be the most effective motivational factors? How does the external control influence the motivation of financial advisors? How could the work be designed to maximize the motivation of financial advisors? Method – In order to fulfill the purpose of this study, we have a qualitative approach were we conducted ten semi-structured interviews with financial advisors. The financial advisors are working at two large Swedish financial advisory companies. Findings/Conclusion – After analyzing the empirical data, with relevant theories, interesting findings were made. In general, the external control from Finansinspektionen is interpreted as unmotivating by financial advisors. To counter this, it is important that the employers invest resources to develop IT-systems that minimize the time spent on these work tasks. The administrative work, which arises from the external control, would become more effective and not so time consuming. The management control systems must be designed so that they maximize the motivation of the advisors. Employers must also use correctly designed reward systems in order to have motivated employees. Practical Implications – This study contributes to important findings for managers in Swedish financial advisory companies. Since the management control systems could be designed in another way to maximize the motivation of the financial advisors, this study is an important contribution to the financial sector, where the financial advisors operate.

In this paper we seek to answer the following question: How complete is the Swespineregister? In order to answer this question we believe that in a register that has the ambitionto follow-up patients throughout a specified period of time, two types of completeness haveto be defined: external and internal completeness. In our opinion, the correct assessment ofa register’s level of completeness, results in an increase in its credibility, revealing whetherthe register has met its desired level of quality.By defining the register’s target population we came to the conclusion that the methodused by Swespine to calculate external completeness yielded misleading results. We definedanother method of assessing external completeness and concluded that our questioncannot be answered.We have also found an appropriate way to calculate the register’s internal completenesslevel. Since the internal completeness decreases as the follow-up period increases, wesought to discover which groups of patients are more likely to respond to the follow-upquestionnaire. For this a Logistic Regression Method was applied.

The issue of state failure within the international system has been a perplexing phenomenon in our increasingly mobile and modern society. The question of why some states succeed in developing into strong states within the international environment and why some fail is a question often overlooked. The focus of this thesis will be on three key factors that contribute towards state failure. The research will show how these three key factors: outdated state infrastructure, lack of economic development, and external intervention contribute to the occurrence of this phenomenon. Analyzing these key factors will highlight how state failure occurs within a case study. The chosen state for the focus of this thesis will be the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). By focusing on this case I plan to cross-reference factors that have been commonly used to gauge state failure. This will show that external factors, as well as internal factors can cause detrimental obstacles in state development. The unit of examination of these three factors will be focused on the DRC. My research will show that the three key factors are the reason why the DRC became a failed state and that due to external events the DRC was able to maintain an image of a stable environment, while the citizens of the country suffered. As a result of the rising influence of globalization and the push for development in the international system state failure has become a preoccupation for scholars.

The aim of this study was to investigate the dynamic collapse of composite shells in a constant external pressure water environment that is representative of a naval underwater structure. Laminated carbon/epoxy composite shells with diameters of 1.735 in., wall thickness of 0.041 in, length-to-diameter ratios ranging for 2.8 to 12 and [55/-55/(90)3/-55/55] layup were collapsed in a custom pressure testing facility that provided a constant pressure water environment. Buckling was sudden, dynamic, led to failure and fragmentation of the shells; the whole event lasted only a couple of ms. The dynamic collapse of the shells was recorded using high-speed digital imaging and dynamic pressure sensors synchronized with the camera were used to monitor the emanating pressure waves. All shells buckled in mode 2 at pressure levels predicted by models adopted. Collapse led to a localization zone in the central section of the shells, approximately spanning on a 4D length for the longer ones, and shorter for the shorter shells. A single axial crack developed in the collapsing section, which propagated 2 to 4 diameters depending on the length of the specimen. The axial crack was located on the extrados for long shells, and on the intrados for shorter ones. Helical cracks initiated from the tips of the axial crack, propagated outwards, and were responsible for the collapse and fragmentation of the two outer sections. The receding walls of the central localizing zone caused a dynamic drop in pressure that lasted until the inward motion was arrested by contact. This was followed by a sharp, short duration positive pressure pulse associated with an outward expansion wave. The pressure pulse varied to some degree around the circumference with the highest peak occurring opposite the initial crack. The final result of such dynamic events was catastrophic failure and fragmentation of the shell into small shreds. / text

Although Tianjiu Therapy in Sanfu Days (三伏天灸) is extensively being used for the treatment of asthma in Mainland China, there is a lack of convincing evidence to support its efficacy to expand its clinical application into asthma treatment. This study incorporated two related studies, the first was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with an aim to evaluate the efficacy of Tianjiu Therapy in Sanfu Days for patients suffering from chronic asthma. The second was a self-control clinical efficacy observation study aiming to compare the efficacy of 2 courses Tianjiu Therapy with 1 course such treatment in order to find the optimal duration of Tianjiu Therapy. In the first study, 323 patients with chronic asthma were randomly assigned to Tianjiu Therapy group (n=165), and placebo group (n=158). There was no significant difference in primary and secondary outcome as compared with placebo group at the end of 3rd treatment and four times follow ups. But sub-analysis of secondary outcome in four times follow ups showed that Tianjiu Therapy significantly reduced the proportion of participants who didn’t need medical treatment during asthma attack increased from 6% to 15% at 1st follow up and 0% to 7% at 3rd follow up (P<0.05). In addition, Tianjiu Therapy was significantly superior to placebo in reducing the percentage of participants who were susceptibly waken up by asthma symptoms from 27% to 14%, and the percentage of participants who had the symptom of running nose and sneezing before onset from 18% to 8% at 2nd follow up ( P<0.05). Improvements also occurred with treatment group, it reduced the proportion of participants who were spontaneous sweating at 3rd follow up (P<0.05). In the second study, totally 102 patients received two courses of Tianjiu Therapy (3 sessions Tianjiu Therapy in a year constituted one course of treatment). After treatment, the number of symptoms which were associated with Chinese Medicine added by 1.38 points (95% CI, 0.25 to 2.51), 2.93±0.41 in the 1 course group and 4.31±0.41 in the 2 courses group (P<0.05). The number of days with asthma-related symptoms increased by 3.05 points (95% CI, 0.37 to 5.73), 1.98±0.96 in 1 course group and 5.03±0.96 in 2 courses group (P<0.05). But both 1 course and 2 courses Tianjiu Therapy as compared with baseline (didn’t receive Tianjiu Therapy at this time point) have a significant improvement in the most outcome measurements. From study 1, it was found that Tianjiu Therapy significantly decreased the need for pharmaceuticals to control asthma and improved the quality of participants’ life after one course Tianjiu Therapy. Study 2 indicated that although 2 courses Tianjiu Therapy was not as effective as 1 course Tianjiu Therapy in the treatment of asthma, both 1 course and 2 courses Tianjiu Therapy provided a significant improvement as compared with baseline. It was still unknown the optimal duration of Tianjiu Therapy, so it was worth to conduct the third course or more Sanfutianjiu Thearpy in future. / published_or_final_version / Chinese Medicine / Master / Master of Philosophy

ITC/USA 2014 Conference Proceedings / The Fiftieth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 20-23, 2014 / Town and Country Resort & Convention Center, San Diego, CA / Flight tests and flight safety are tightly coupled. For a given experimental test flight, the main objective to be achieved is related to the test bed and crew integrity (i.e. Bring back the test bed in one piece). Furthermore, the aircraft operational safety (i.e. continued airworthiness) relies into the accuracy of gathered information, provided by the airborne Flight Test Instrumentation (FTI) system. Typically, the FTI system includes: a data acquisition system; a transmission system; a data recorder; multiple sensors and auxiliary equipment such as Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Receiver. In a specific Flight Test Campaign (FTC), such as external stores separation FTC, the associated risk is high because the non-linear and unpredicted aerodynamics couplings between the released store and the aircraft structure (e.g. wings) could lead to a catastrophic collision condition. Typically, the setup for such FTC is a big technical challenge for the instrumentation group because the determination of six degrees of freedom (6Dof) trajectory of the release store becomes mandatory. Such information could be by the means of an optical tracking system that requires the integration of two or more hi-speed hi-resolution video cameras into FTI. Unfortunately, the FTI and the Real-Time Telemetry Link (RTL) limited bandwidth imposes several restrictions for the development and implementation of a real-time application to be used at the Ground Telemetry System (GTS) for the verification of the separation safety and the validation of the test point. This paper, presents the implementation of computer vision techniques and Camshift algorithm as an approach to tracking individual track targets on the store surface which can be perform onboard and in real time or near real time. The development of the algorithm is presented as well several experimental test results that use videos frames gathered from previous FTC executed by Instituto de Pesquisas e Ensaios em Voo (Flight Test and Research Institute - IPEV). Preliminary results present satisfactory performance.