Ericsson is one of the world leaders in radio network technology and are spending a lot of resources on research in this area. This produces big amounts of data and there is a desire for tools that allows the researchers to investigate and present the data in a user friendly way. This is the motivation behind Elsa GVP, Ericsson’s visualization platform, which facilitates the production of interactive visualizations. The platform handles database connections and provides a number of visual components that can be used in an interactive visualization, such as bar charts, scatter plots and maps. Although Elsa GVP certainly makes the production of an interactive visualization speedier it is still a time consuming task and requires expert knowledge. Therefore, there is a desire to make the entire process easier and more user-friendly so that any employee can construct an interactive visualization. This is the motivation behind this master thesis work whose main objective is to investigate how to reduce the amount of work required to produce an interactive visualization by providing an intuitive graphical user interface.

Aging population is becoming the potential social and economic problem for many governments all around the world. These countries including Taiwan are seeking for solutions for the increased healthcare spending. According to the United Nations’ population estimates, we are living in a rapidly aging world. The global share of what we call “senior” or people age over 65 is expected to rise from nearly 8% in 2015 to more than 14% by 2050. The situation in Taiwan is not much different. With increasing life expectancy and a birth rate that continues to decline, the aging population in Taiwan has become more and more obvious. Widespread adoption of Generic and Biosimilar drugs, as opposed to patented or brand name drugs, could help governments reduce healthcare costs and increase the reach of healthcare services. Patented drugs in the prescription drugs segment account for about 70% of total prescription spending in Taiwan. However, the share is set to decline gradually under pressure from government policies promoting the use of generic products and the increasing switches from prescription segment to OTC segment (RX-to-OTC). We expect the penetration of generic drugs in Taiwan OTC drugs segment to increase as the generic drug market has continued to gain prominence within the pharmaceutical sectors in recent years. Despite the fact that OTC generic drug market is a highly competitive market in Taiwan, Genedex Co. still aims to provide good quality generic drugs at a competitive price to meet the generic drugs demands. In addition, Genedex Co. understands the ability to quickly bring new products to the market will play a large role in the future success. Thus, product innovation and differentiation will also be the center focus in the business model. Looking into the future, Genedex Co. expects to see growth at a more rapid pace starting from year 2020 as newly developed generic OTC drugs will be introduced to the market to compete with the branded counterparts and also expects to achieve a more solid presence in the market by year 2021.

Ce travail traite de la modélisation de structures composites intégrant des éléments amortissants passifs. Un modèle de plaque "équivalent simple couche" générique utilisant des fonctions de description du cisaillement transverse est présenté. Plusieurs méthodes d'obtention de ces fonctions sont décrites, permettant de retrouver des modèles classiques ou issus de la littérature. Deux nouvelles méthodes d'obtention de ces fonctions sont aussi présentées.Plusieurs méthodes de discrétisation adaptées au modèle générique sont étudiées. La méthode de Navier permet de tester la qualité de chaque modèle associé à un jeu de fonctions de description du cisaillement transverse. La méthode de Rayleigh-Ritz permet l'étude du comportement vibratoire d'une plaque rectangulaire munie d'un ou plusieurs patchs viscocontraints. Plusieurs éléments finis issus de la littérature, adaptés au modèle, sont aussi présentés.À l'aide de la méthode de Navier, une étude numérique du comportement statique et dynamique de plusieurs configurations de plaques permet la comparaison des différents modèles présentés. La méthode de Rayleigh-Ritz est utilisée pour étudier le comportement vibratoire d'une plaque munie d'un patch viscocontraint. Une comparaison des résultats obtenus avec le modèle présenté et ceux issus de calculs éléments finis tridimensionnels permet de valider notre modèle. Une étude énergétique de la plaque patchée permet d'illustrer le comportement du patch. Enfin une méthode inverse d'identification des matériaux viscoélastiques, basées sur une combinaison du modèle décrit et d'un algorithme génétique, montre une application du modèle. / This work is on the subject of modelization of structures treated with passive damping elements. A generic "equivalent single layer" plate model using transverse shear warping functions is presented. Several methods to obtain these functions are described, allowing the implementation of classical models and others issued from the litterature. Two new methods for obtaining these functions are also presented.Several discretization methods adapted to the generic plate model are studied. Navier's procedure allows the testing of the quality of each model associated with a set of transverse shear warping functions. Rayleigh-Ritz method allows the study of the vibrational behavior of a rectangular plate treated with one or several constrained damping patches. Several finite elements issued from the literature are also presented.Using Navier's procedure, a numerical study of the static and dynamic behavior of several plate configurations allows the comparison of the different plate models. Rayleigh-Ritz method is used to study the vibrational response of a plate treated with a constrained damping patch. A comparison of the results with those obtained with three dimensional finite element calculations permits the model validation. An energetic study of the patched plate allow us to understand the constrainted damping patch behavior. Finally, an inverse method, allowing the identification of the properties of viscoelastic materials, based on a combination of the presented model and a genetic algorithm, shows a possible application of the model.

(in English): As the title itself indicates, the topic of this thesis is the linguistic sexism in contemporary Spanish. The theoretical part offers a critical perspective on the phenomenon of so called sexism in language and defines terms such as linguistic sexism, androcentrism or invisibilization of women in the language. It also provides a brief outline of the development of gender linguistics with an emphasis on Spanish-speaking countries and provides an overview of important works on the topic. The thesis also deals with the contrast between linguistic sexism and sexism as a social issue, as well as with the question whether language can be sexist, or whether the sexism is caused by the way the speakers use the language. Particular attention is paid to the issue of gender in language and phenomena that are considered as sexist, especially the generic masculine. The practical part is mainly dedicated to lexical issues: denoting women in professions that were traditionally male and idioms and set phrases that can be examples of sexist use of language or a possible reflection of social sexism in language. It also analyses the asymmetry in addressing women and men in a polite way, inadequate pairs, apparently dual forms and missing lexical units as well as insults and profanities that can be...

Magister Educationis - MEd / In this paper, I focus on the issue of student perceptions and experiences of a 3rd generation academic development programme in higher education. I set out to explore the issue from two perspectives: firstly from the perspective of the higher education institution’s approach to academic development, namely, a learning skills programme and a first year sociology course, and secondly from the perspective of students’ intentions, expectations and experiences of such a programme. The research questions focused on the learning priorities embedded in the curriculum of a learning skills programme at Monash University, South Africa and the learning experiences of students in this programme.The methodology used in this study includes a case study which focused on the responses of six participants from a number of African countries completing their BA degrees. Semistructured interviews held and the content analysis method was used to analyse the data. The study concludes: that the main priority of the learning skills programme is to prepare students for their university learning rather than to prepare students for the world of work i.e. it falls within Street’s (2004) academic socialization model and that the Learning Skills programme can be seen as an example of Boughey’s (2007) 3rd generation academic development programmes.The study also suggests that there is a need to explore Volbrecht’s (2003) argument on the limitations of discipline-based models of academic development, the need to examine how academic literacy is constructed and how identity and power relations intersect in this construction. It further highlights the importance of the idea of multi-literacies as put forward by Street (2004) and suggests that as practitioners we should include a consideration of these literacies in academic development programmes to improve the quality of students’ learning and meaning making.

Experts in a field regularly apply a defined set of rules or procedures to carry out a problem-solving task or analysis on a given problem. Often the problem can be represented as a computer model, be it mathematical, chemical, or physics based, and so on. It would certainly be advantageous for a domain expert who is not proficient in software development to express solutions to problems in a domain-specific notation that can be executed as a program. Many new ideas aim to make software development easier and shift the development role closer to the end-user. One such means of development is the use of a small, intuitive programming language called a Domain-Specific Language (DSL.) This dissertation examines a generic approach to constructing a Virtual Machine (VM) to provide the runtime semantics for a particular DSL. It proposes a generic, object-oriented framework, called a VM Framework, in which to build a VM by subtyping abstract instruction and environment classes that are part of the VM Framework. The subtyped classes constitute an environment and an interface called an instruction set architecture and the instructions can access and operate on the environment in a deterministic way to provide the runtime semantics of a DSL program. Both instruction classes and environment classes encapsulate functionality of an existing domain, represented programmatically as a namespace construct. The namespace is home to related classes that provide the various concepts inherent of a domain. These are concepts understood by a domain expert and in this dissertation it is shown how they are exposed as DSL constructs. With the use of compiler writing tools, a compiler can be created for a DSL that generates an appropriate instruction sequence that can be executed by the VM. The grammar of the DSL is shown to feature constructs that allow a domain expert to express concepts of the underlying domain in an intuitive manner. The dissertation details how a VM is configured for a specific set of instructions and an environment. Instruction sets and environments can be extended creating VMs with additional semantics for DSLs that are similar, or contain subsets of semantics of other DSLs. The languages are intended to be intuitive and it is shown using examples how a specific DSL program is mapped to an instruction sequence with the instruction set architecture and environment in mind. Comparative performance in relation to other DSL implementations, including a hard-coded approach of a VM and an interpreted approach are also provided. The VM Framework is proven to be most effective in rapidly prototyping a DSL for a particular problem domain. The dissertation also provides examples of DSLs such as a real-valued expression language and a scene description language that uses a ray-tracer for rendering geometric objects onto a canvas. It is shown how the scene description language is an extension to the real-valued expression language in terms of their underlying VMs. All DSL grammars are provided. / Dissertation (MSc (Computer Science))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Computer Science / MSc / unrestricted

Objective: To explore consumer attitudes towards generic medication. Methods: A quantitative method was used in this explorative study to assess consumer attitudes towards generic medication. A survey design was utilized. A questionnaire was devised that comprised four sections which assessed attitudes towards generic medication. A Living Standards Measure (LSM) assessed socio-economic status. Convenience sampling resulted in the recruitment of 266 respondents. Statistical analysis of the data included non-parametric (Chi-square and correlation analysis) and parametric statistics (factor analysis, MANOVA and regression analysis). Results: More than half the respondents (54.8%) report preference for original medication over generic medication. A large percentage believes there is a place for generic medication (88.9%). The majority (95%) indicate they would purchase generic medication if it proves to be just as effective as the original product. More respondents (91.2%) trust physician over pharmacist recommendations to purchase generics. More than half the respondents (57.9%) would purchase generic medication if recommended by friends but they trust their family members more (68.6%). The findings indicate that respondents generally hold favourable attitudes towards the efficacy of generic medication despite the fact that slightly more than half prefer original medication. Respondents indicate that pricing and branding influence their attitudes towards generic medication. Chi-square analyses indicated that more men would choose original medication and more women would choose generic medication. Age differences revealed that the older consumer is more likely to choose generic medication. White respondents indicated a preference for generic medication, while Black respondents indicated that they prefer original medication. Middle-class (LSM 5-8) and middle-upper class (LSM 9) respondents prefer generic medication, while upper class (LSM 10) respondents prefer original medication. The correlation analysis found no significant relationship between medical aid status and original or generic medication choice. A principle component factor analysis produced nine factors based on the items in the questionnaire, with only eight factors being subjected to further testing. These eight factors were subjected to a MANOVA and tested against gender and race with no significant differences found between men and women and between Black and White respondents. These eight factors were also subjected to further testing by means of regression analysis where it was found that three of the eight factors were statistically significant. These three factors can be productively explored in future research. Implications: This explorative study focused on consumer attitudes towards generic medication, however, it was identified that the consumer valued their physician’s recommendation for type of medication. For future studies, it would be beneficial to explore medical personnel (physician and pharmacist) attitudes towards generic medication as these individuals play an important role in product choice. Copyright / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Psychology / unrestricted

Chapter 1: Patents and Entry Competition in the Pharmaceutical Industry: The Role of Marketing Exclusivity Effective patent length for innovation drugs is severely curtailed because of extensive efficacy and safety tests required for FDA approval, raising concern over adequacy of incentives for new drug development. The Hatch-Waxman Act extends patent length for new drugs by five years, but also promotes generic entry by simplifying approval procedures and granting 180-day marketing exclusivity to a first generic entrant before the patent expires. In this paper we present a dynamic model to examine the effect of marketing exclusivity. We find that marketing exclusivity may be redundant and its removal may increase generic firms' profits and social welfare. Chapter 2: Why Authorized Generics?: Theoretical and Empirical Investigations Facing generic competition, the brand-name companies some-times launch generic versions themselves called authorized generics. This practice is puzzling. If it is cannibalization, it cannot be profitable. If it is divisionalization, it should be practiced always instead of sometimes. I explain this phenomenon in terms of switching costs in a model in which the incumbent first develops a customer base to ready itself against generic competition later. I show that only sufficiently low switching costs or large market size justifies launch of AGs. I then use prescription drug data to test those results and find support. Chapter 3: The Merger Paradox and R&D Oligopoly theory says that merger is unprofitable, unless a majority of firms in industry merge. Here, we introduce R&D opportunities to resolve this so-called merger paradox. We have three results. First, when there is one R&D firm, that firm can profitably merge with any number of non-R&D firms. Second, with multiple R&D firms and multiple non-R&D firms, all R&D firms can profitably merge. Third, with two R&D firms and two non-R&D firms, each R&D firms prefer to merge with a non-R&D firm. With three or more than non-R&D firms, however, the R&D firms prefer to merge with each other.

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This diploma thesis deals with the question of whether do public subsidies cause wasteful use of pharmaceuticals, and if so then to what extent. The hypothesis is tested on the Czech republic data for the years 2005-2012. The biggest contributions are defining the health system as an intra-temporal problem, which tells us that lower values of discount rate implies higher level of wasteful use. I express the environmental issues, which are caused by unprofessional pharmaceutical disposal. You can find the price (-0,11), the income (-0,2) and the cross-price (-0,14) elasticity of demand for pharmaceuticals in the empirical part. These estimates are obtained with the help of the Kuhn-Tucker method. Using the 2OLS method Model 2 comes with the major findings. With 10% increase of public subsidies, consumers tend to waste 13,2% more pharmaceuticals.