School refusal occurs across a broad range of students from the first to the final years of school, and is of concern to students, parents and teachers alike. This study uses the perspective of practitioners working at the school level to identify linkages between the presenting problems, interventions and outcomes of school refusal. This pattern is then compared to the Functional Model of School Refusal to establish the relevance of the Model. A multiple single-case study approach was used with ten case histories with positive outcomes being matched against the Functional Model. As these provided some support for the model an additional six case histories with negative outcomes were then matched against the Model. Two interviews of practitioners who had worked with school refusal were also analysed. The Functional Model of School Refusal received some support through this analysis, but areas were identified which were not adequately addressed by the Model. The Model was subsequently revised into a broader functional approach which takes greater account of the role of the family and environmental factors affecting school refusal. It is recommended that a broader multi-modal approach to intervention be implemented by practitioners dealing with school refusal.

Many people have disabilities and would like to have all of the amenities typical of daily life. Universal product design is important in designing for the disabled and creating user-friendly products for all people. The goal of this thesis is to develop a universal product method by understanding how user activity closely resembles product function. The research results include a twenty product pair study in which a universal and typical product were compared. An activity diagram and functional model for each product in the product pair were the design tools used for this comparison. User activities were used to cluster product function changes. In addition, design changes such as functional, morphological and parametric were identified between the universal and typical product. The result was an action-function diagram showing the clusters and design changes for all of the twenty product pairs. An interactive GUI universal product design repository detailing the information from the action-function diagrams was created and used for eventual modification of typical products to make them universal. A universal product family was created using a user-centric universal design method developed because of the universal product design repository. Furthermore, user disability ratings from the ICF helped to expand the database and make creation of a universal product family more focused on levels of disability. The useful application of the research will be in developing a universal design method for product designers and engineers. This method will be broken down into a design structure matrix representation of functions from a universal product family of household kitchen appliances. In addition, an embodied concept for a product family consisting of existing accessible dispensers will be used to validate the universal design method developed from the twenty product study. Both case studies will serve as an example of how to extend universal design principles to a wide range of consumer product categories.

No description available.

The Work-Based Project (WBP) set out to explore how international students in a Swiss hospitality institution manage to cope with two quite different cultures to where they came from i.e. the Swiss national culture and the British academic culture. Previous research on international students have been in locations where the host culture student is in plentiful supply which is a way to help the international student adjust socioculturally. Within this WBP, the student body is made up of mainly international students and very few Swiss students. Concepts that were used to assist the exploration of this topic include: what influenced the choice of Switzerland and the institution as a place to study, along with how the information was searched for (Mazzarol and Soutar’s, 2002 Push-Pull Model; The Model of International Students’ Preferences by Cubillo, Sánchez and Cerviño, 2006). Hyde’s (2012) adaptation of Oberg’s 1960 stages of adaptation explored culture shock as a concept followed by Berry’s (1997) acculturation and coping strategies. It investigated the use of friendship networks as a way to help students cope in this new environment (Bochner, McLeod and Lin, 1977; Schartner, 2015). These models were used to provide a framework for the questioning used in the gathering of the primary research. The study is applied in nature and using a case study allowed for the exploration of the rich detail that was needed to understand how the international student feels in this environment and how they cope with it in an effort to instigate change as a result of the findings. Focus groups were used as a scoping tool to identify the key themes which were then developed into a questionnaire for distribution among the wider student body. The key findings indicate that reputation of Swiss hospitality education is influential in the decision making of the student. Word of mouth through previous students is a key way for the students to find out the information they believe they need. The findings revealed that the student views both the Swiss and academic culture of the institution as one and the same. The issue of culture shock is difficult to plot as there was such a mix of feelings identified when the decision to come to Switzerland is made and when the student arrives. The friendships that are generated have evolved since the creation of the Bochner et al (1977) Model and Schartner (2015) identified a newer group which could be added to this model i.e. friends back home as a way to help with psychological adjustment. The key conclusions drawn from the research indicate that the students use word-of-mouth to a great extent in preparation for their study abroad however, the information received is informal in nature. Those that used more sources of information felt they arrived more prepared. Friends were referred to throughout the study for many reasons however, the addition of the 4th group of friends i.e. friends back home, were used as a form of escape to cope with the challenges experienced (whether national or academic culture) due to both cultures being viewed as one and the same. Implications of this relate to how information is provided to the potential student Dissemination of the findings to those that prepare the students for their venture e.g. agents and those that have to help the student adjust upon their arrival e.g. institution members so that the student can adapt more quickly in the 18 weeks that they have to feel comfortable in their new environment.

The use of function has been recognized as an important part of the design process over last two decades, especially at the conceptual design stage, due to its critical role in determining the final product’s functionality. Although there are now some general methodologies dealing with functions or reasoning about functions, virtually no commercial CAD system can support conceptual design process due to their focus on geometrical modeling but not functional modeling. This paper presents a functional modeling approach to guide conceptual die design through functional reasoning steps including functional decomposition, functional supportive synthesis and function-structure mapping. The formed functional model provides a good basis to generate various die structures at the conceptual design stage, because function is a higher level of abstraction than structure, and helps to capture the designer’s intent. The functional modeling process has been implemented in a computerized design environment to expedite the conceptual die design process. / Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA)

This thesis consists of three papers in the area of interest rate derivatives modelling. The pricing and hedging of (exotic) interest rate derivatives is one of the most demanding and complex problems in option pricing theory and is of great practical importance in the market. Models used in production at various banks can broadly be divided in three groups: 1- or 2-factor instantaneous short/forward rate models (such as Hull &amp; White (1990) or Cheyette (1996)), LIBOR/swap market models (introduced by Brace, Gatarek &amp; Musiela (1997), Miltersen, Sandmann &amp; Sondermannn (1997) and Jamshidian (1997)) and the one or two-dimensional Markov-functional models of Hunt, Kennedy &amp; Pelsser (2000)). In brief and general terms the main characters of the above mentioned three modelling frameworks can be summarised as follows. Short/forward rate models are by nature computationally efficient (implementations may be done using PDE or lattice methods) but less flexible in terms of fitting of implied volatility smiles and correlations between various rates. Calibration is hence typically performed in a ‘local’ (product by product based) sense. LIBOR market models on the other hand may be calibrated in a ‘global’ sense (i.e. fitting close to everything implying that one calibration may in principle be used for all products) but are of high dimension and an accurate implementation has to be done using the Monte Carlo method. Finally, Markov-functional models can be viewed as designed to combine the computational efficiency of short/forward rate models with flexible calibration properties. The defining property of a Markov-functional model is that each rate and discount factor at all times can be written as functionals of some (preferably computationally simple) Markovian driving process. While this is a property of most commonly used interest rate models Hunt et al. (2000) introduced a technique to numerically determine a set of functional forms consistent with market prices of vanilla options across strikes and expiries. The term a ‘Markov-functional model’ is typically referring to this type of model as opposed to the more general meaning, a terminology that is adopted also in this thesis. Although Markov-functional models are indeed a popular choice in practice there are a few outstanding points on the practitioners’ wish list. From a conceptual point of view there is still work to be done in order to fully understand the implications of various modelling choices and how to efficiently calibrate and use the model. Part of the reason for this is that while the properties of the short/forward rate and the LIBOR market models may be understood from their defining SDEs this is less clear for a Markov-functional model. To aid the understanding of the Markov-functional model Bennett &amp; Kennedy (2005) compares one-dimensional LIBOR and swap Markov-functional models with the one-factor separable LIBOR and swap market models and concludes that the models are similar distributionally across a wide range of viable market conditions. Although this provides good intuition there is still more work to be done in order to fully understand the implications of various modelling choices, in particular in a two or higher dimensional setting. The first two papers in this thesis treat extensions of the standard Markov-functional model to be able to use a higher dimensional driving process. This allows a more general understanding of the Markov-functional modelling framework and enables comparisons with multi-factor LIBOR market models. From a practical point of view it provides more powerful modelling of correlations among rates and hence a better examination and control of some types of exotic products. Another desire among practitioners is to develop an efficient way of using a process of stochastic volatility type as a driver in a Markov-functional model. A stochastic volatility Markov-functional model has the virtue of both being able to fit current market prices across strikes and to provide better control over the future evolution of rates and volatilities, something which is important both for pricing of certain products and for risk management. Although there are some technical challenges to be solved in order to develop an efficient stochastic volatility Markov-functional model there are also many (more practical) considerations to take into account when choosing which type of driver to use. To shed light on this the third paper in the thesis performs a data driven study in order to motivate and develop a suitable two-dimensional stochastic volatility process for the level of interest rates. While the main part of the paper is general and not directly linked to any complete interest rate model for exotic derivatives, particular care is taken to examine and equip the process with properties that will aid use as a driver for a stochastic volatility Markov-functional model. / <p>Diss. Stockholm :  Stockholm School of Economics, 2011. Introduction together with 3 papers</p>

La taille est une pratique culturale courante en arboriculture. Pourtant ses effets sur le rendement sont variables et peu prévisibles. Dans cette thèse, nous proposons d'étudier les effets de la taille sur la croissance végétative et la reproduction du manguier (Mangifera indica L.), à l'échelle de l'axe et de l’arbre, afin de mieux comprendre comment s’élabore le rendement suite à la taille. La taille a été caractérisée par deux facteurs : l’intensité de taille, définie à l’échelle de l’arbre comme la quantité de biomasse retirée par volume de canopée, et la sévérité de taille, définie à l’échelle de l’axe comme la profondeur de taille le long de l’axe. A l’échelle de l’axe, l’intensité et la sévérité de taille ont eu des effets sur l’occurrence, l’intensité et la dynamique de la croissance végétative. Nous avons aussi mis en évidence un rôle important du diamètre de l’axe taillé sur l’occurrence et l’intensité de la croissance végétative. La croissance végétative qui résulte de la taille a conduit à l’apparition de nouvelles populations d’axes dont les proportions dépendent de l’intensité de taille des arbres. La floraison de ces différentes populations d’axes diffère en termes d’occurrence, d’intensité et de dynamique et est affectée négativement par l’intensité et la sévérité de taille. A l’échelle de l’arbre, les rendements ont eu tendance à être plus faibles sur les arbres modérément et intensément taillés du fait d’une diminution du taux de floraison et/ou du poids moyen des fruits. Les arbres faiblement taillés ont eu des rendements similaires à ceux des arbres non taillés. Les effets de la taille sur la croissance végétative, aux niveaux structurel et temporel, ont été intégrés dans un modèle structure-fonction d'élaboration du rendement et de la qualité de la mangue, afin de caractériser les effets de la taille à l'échelle plus globale de l'arbre. Ce modèle nous a montré que le nombre d’axes et la surface foliaire retirés au moment de la taille sont largement compensés par la stimulation de la croissance végétative qui a suivi. L’intégration des effets de la taille sur la reproduction dans le modèle permettra de concevoir des itinéraires techniques intégrant les pratiques de taille afin de répondre aux problèmes agronomiques rencontrés sur le manguier, tels que les asynchronismes ou les irrégularités de production. / Pruning is a common practice in tree fruit crops. However, its effects on the yield are variable and hardly predictable. In this thesis, we propose to study the effects of pruning on vegetative growth and reproduction for the mango tree (Mangifera indica L.), at the axis and at the tree scales, in order to better understand how fruit yield built-up following pruning. Pruning was characterized by two factors: pruning intensity, defined at the tree scale as the amount of fresh biomass removed per unit volume of canopy, and pruning severity, defined at the axis scale as the depth of pruning along the axis. At the axis scale, pruning intensity and severity had an effect on the occurrence, intensity and dynamics of vegetative growth. We also highlighted a major role of the diameter of the pruned axis on the occurrence and intensity of vegetative growth. The vegetative growth which results from pruning led to the emergence of new populations of axes whose proportions depend on pruning intensity. Flowering of these different populations of axes differ in terms of occurrence, intensity and dynamics and was affected negatively by pruning intensity and severity. At the tree scale, yields tended to be lower on moderately and intensively pruned trees as a result of a decrease of flowering rate and/or average weight of fruits. Lightly pruned trees had similar yields compared to unpruned trees. The effects of pruning on the vegetative growth, at the structural and temporal levels, were integrated in a functional-structural model of fruit yield and quality build-up. The model has shown that the number of axes and the leaf area removed at the pruning time were widely compensated by the vegetative growth stimulation that followed. The integration of the effects of pruning on reproduction will allow developing crop management techniques integrating pruning techniques in order to respond to agronomic issues related to mango tree as asynchronisms and irregular bearing.

This research focuses on developing a crop decision planning model to help farmers make decisions for an upcoming crop year. The decisions consist of which crops to plant, the amount of land to allocate to each crop, when to grow, when to harvest, and when to sell. The objective is to maximize the overall profit subject to available resources under yield and price uncertainties. To help achieve this objective, we develop yield and price forecasting models to estimate the probable outcomes of these uncertain factors. The output from both forecasting models are incorporated into the crop decision planning model which enables the farmers to investigate and analyze the possible scenarios and eventually determine the appropriate decisions for each situation. This dissertation has three major components, yield forecasting, price forecasting, and crop decision planning. For yield forecasting, we propose a crop-weather regression model under a semiparametric framework. We use temperature and rainfall information during the cropping season and a GDP macroeconomic indicator as predictors in the model. We apply a functional principal components analysis technique to reduce the dimensionality of the model and to extract meaningful information from the predictors. We compare the prediction results from our model with a series of other yield forecasting models. For price forecasting, we develop a futures-based model which predicts a cash price from futures price and commodity basis. We focus on forecasting the commodity basis rather than the cash price because of the availability of futures price information and the low uncertainty of the commodity basis. We adopt a model-based approach to estimate the density function of the commodity basis distribution, which is further used to estimate the confidence interval of the commodity basis and the cash price. Finally, for crop decision planning, we propose a stochastic linear programming model, which provides the optimal policy. We also develop three heuristic models that generate a feasible solution at a low computational cost. We investigate the robustness of the proposed models to the uncertainties and prior probabilities. A numerical study of the developed approaches is performed for a case of a representative farmer who grows corn and soybean in Illinois.

The master’s thesis is focused on the assessment of the current state of the selected parts of the information system Zenit at company Nuvia a.s. and the proposal of their modernization. In individual parts of the thesis, there is defined theoretical basis, the assessment of the current state and the proposal of innovation of the current state.

Planning of the optimised production system is an intricate task. The reason behind this is changing demand, variations, and other disturbances. The main purpose of this study the current performance in the existing production system and provide recommendations for optimising the production in order to accommodate a new product. Since, the addition of new products may lead to bottlenecks in the flow which affects the output performance. The bottlenecks would lead to ineffective results, while tying up the capital in the production downstream as inventory gets stagnated in the assembly lines. The performance evaluation is a tedious process however, the study probes into the use of flow simulation tool to analyse the production performance. In this thesis work, Discrete Event Simulation (DES) is utilised as a tool to examine the performance of the production systems and to determine the cost consuming areas. To achieve that, the production system is replicated as a functional model into the DES system with the appropriate logics and parameters, with the thorough understanding of the existing workflows. To supplement it, the data from the orders, resources, and parts are charted.In the later part, production flow is analysed with the additions of determined improvisations to understand the impact on the output. Later, investigations are performed to identify the challenges and applicable changes required to meet future output. As an outcome, the production system is restructured and optimised, thus getting an overview of the future production set up as a digital factory layout. / Planering av det optimerade produktionssystemet är en invecklad uppgift. Orsaken bakom detta är förändrad efterfrågan, variationer och andra störningar. Huvudsyftet med denna studie är den nuvarande prestandan i det befintliga produktionssystemet och ger rekommendationer för att optimera produktionen för att rymma en ny produkt. Eftersom tillägg av nya produkter kan leda till flaskhalsar i flödet som påverkar uteffekten. Flaskhalsarna skulle leda till ineffektiva resultat, samtidigt som kapitalet i produktionen binds nedströms när lagret stagnerar i löpande band. Prestationsutvärderingen är en tråkig process, men studien undersöker användningen av flödessimuleringsverktyg för att analysera produktionsprestanda. I detta avhandlingsarbete används Discrete Event Simulation (DES) som ett verktyg för att undersöka produktionssystemens prestanda och bestämma de kostnadskrävande områdena. För att uppnå det replikeras produktionssystemet som en funktionell modell i DES -systemet med lämpliga logiker och parametrar, med en grundlig förståelse av de befintliga arbetsflödena. För att komplettera det kartläggs data från order, resurser och delar. I den senare delen analyseras produktionsflödet med tillägg av bestämda improvisationer för att förstå effekten på produktionen. Senare utförs undersökningar för att identifiera de utmaningar och tillämpliga förändringar som krävs för att möta framtida produktion. Som ett resultat omstruktureras och optimeras produktionssystemet och får därmed en överblick över den framtida produktionsuppsättningen som en digital fabrikslayout.