Massive stars play a key role in the evolution of the Galaxy; hence they are important objects of study in astrophysics. Although they are rare compared to low mass stars, they are the principal source of heavy elements and UV radiation, affecting the process of formation of stars and planets, and the physical, chemical, and morphological structure of galaxies. Star clusters form in dense "clumps" (~few parsecs in size) within giant molecular clouds, while individual stars form in cores (subparsec scale). An important step in the observational study of massive star formation is the identification and characterization of clumps. More detailed studies can then show how these clumps fragment into cores. Studies of clumps in our Galaxy will provide fundamental guidelines for the analysis of other galaxies, where individual clumps and cores cannot be resolved, and provide a catalog of interesting sources for observations of the Milky Way with a new generation of instruments, such as the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array. Large-scale blind surveys of the Galactic plane at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths have recently been completed, allowing us to identify star forming clumps and improve our understanding of the early stages of massive stars. One of these studies, the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey (BGPS), mapped the continuum emission at 1.1 mm over a large region of the northern Galactic plane at a resolution of 33'', identifying 8559 compact sources throughout the Galaxy. In this dissertation, I present observations of a sample of sources from the BGPS catalog, obtained with the Submillimeter High Angular Resolution Camera II (SHARC-II). I present in this work 107 continuum emission maps at 350 microns at high angular resolution (8.5'') toward clump-like sources and construct a catalog of BGPS substructures. I estimate clump properties such as temperatures and multiplicity of substructures, and compare my results with 350 microns continuum maps from the Hi-GAL survey. I also present a detailed analysis, using molecular line and dust continuum observations, of the region G331.5-0.1, one of the most luminous regions of massive star formation in the Milky Way, located at the tangent region of the Norma spiral arm. Molecular line and millimeter continuum emission maps reveal the presence of six compact and luminous molecular clumps, with physical properties consistent with values found toward other massive star forming sources. This work includes the discovery of one of the most energetic and luminous molecular outflows known in the Galaxy, G331.512-0.103. For this high-speed outflow, I present ALMA observations that reveal a very compact, extremely young bipolar outflow and a more symmetric outflowing shocked shell surrounding a very small region of ionized gas. The source is one of the youngest examples of massive molecular outflows associated with the formation of a high-mass star. / text

<p><strong>Problem:</strong> There has been a limited amount of study in procurement within SMEs (Quayle, 2002). In general, for all sizes of organizations, the procurement function has often been regarded as a transactional based function and plays a supporting department to the value-adding process. These organizations view procurement as a simple function of the entire firm (Hutchins, 1992). It is more commonly found that procurement in SMEs tend to be fragmented and non-strategic (Zheng et al., 2007).</p><p><strong>Purpose:</strong> The purpose of this thesis is to investigate innovation in procurement in small and medium-sized enterprises</p><p><strong>Method:</strong> A qualitative research method with an abductive approach was used to conduct this research. A primary and secondary material was gathered from Sensys Traffic AB which was used as a case study in investigating into the innovation in procurement within small and medium-sized enterprises.</p><p><strong>Theories: </strong>The theoretical framework that was utilized in this investigation consisted of procurement processes, strategies, roles, and innovation.</p><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> An organization can compete for the present and the future by placing more emphasis and priority within procurement in SMEs, developing the procurement department and employment skills, coordinating and collaborating within both internal and external members, forming 'win-win' relationships with suppliers, and proactively looking for ways to innovate. Furthermore, by specifically looking to innovate within these areas the procurement function can leverage itself and its firm to be able to achieve reduced total cost of ownership and higher quality products/services. These special areas which were outlined by Spray (2009) are new sourcing ideas, new insights, new partnerships and new technologies.</p>

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In the context of post-9/11 calls for educational reform in the Arab-Muslim world, this study investigates a set of underlying claims and assumptions about the socialising capacities of English-medium education. Specifically, the study examines perceptions about the socialising effects of English-medium education from the standpoint of Arab-Muslim students at a Gulf Arab university. In assessing these perceptions, the study compares students’ perceptions on two levels: (i) on one level, it looks into students’ perceptions about the socialising effects of English-medium education in direct contrast to those of Arabic-medium education; and (ii) on another level, it contrasts the perceptions of English-medium students with those of Arabic-medium students. The research for this thesis was carried out at an international bilingual Arab university in the United Arab Emirates. Data for the study was gathered from two data collection sources, namely student questionnaires and group interview sessions. In both instances, students’ perceptions were sought on a range of contrastive issues related to a series of underlying claims and assumptions about English-medium and Arabic-medium education. Overall, 365 Arabic-speaking students from both an English-medium and Arabic-medium educational background participated in the study. Within this sample group, students were drawn from four university colleges: College of Engineering, College of Business, College of Law, and College of Shari’a and Islamic Studies. The study’s findings unveil a complex, often mixed and divided picture of students’ perceptions about the socialising roles of both English-medium and Arabic-medium education. In regard to English-medium education, it finds that though there is a general acceptance of the benefits of studying the English-language, there is also to some extent an acknowledgement of the culturally alienating effects on Arab-Muslim students. The study therefore recommends that granted the paucity of research in this area there is a need to further investigate students’ perceptions from a broader range of institutional cultures in the region.

This thesis describes the development of a synthetic route that encodes a library of compounds containing medium-sized ring systems, with particular emphasis on the use of oxidative fragmentation and rearrangement strategies. Chapter 1 introduces diversity oriented synthesis (DOS) with particular emphasis on medium-sized ring synthesis and fragmentation/rearrangement protocols to achieve diversity. A more detailed discussion of oxidative fragmentation and rearrangement methods is also presented. Chapter 2 describes strategies for the synthesis of a collection of heterocyclic compounds known as diazabenz[e]aceanthrylenes. The scope of the reaction was explored as a function of a range of substituents and of the ring size of the N-aryl lactam that was used. Spectroscopic observations associated with this set of compounds are also discussed. Chapter 3 describes the development of an m-CPBA-mediated oxidative fragmentation of the diazabenz[e]aceanthrylenes. Analysis of the products from these reactions revealed the presence of atropisomerism due to restricted rotation about the N sp²-C(aryl) sp² bond. Chapter 4 focuses on a related example of oxidative fragmentation from the literature. A previously overlooked stereogenic axis is explored in this system using X-ray crystallographic analysis and variable temperature ¹H NMR spectroscopy. Reinterpretation of the reported mechanism-probing experiment led to the isolation of an alternative isomeric product and an improved interpretation for the reaction outcome is presented. Variable temperature ¹H NMR spectroscopic experiments revealed the energy barrier to racemisation in the medium-sized ring-containing analogues and based on this data the mode of ring inversion is discussed. Chapter 5 describes three rearrangements of the medium-sized ring system created in Chapter 3 including the formation of an azepinoindole ring structure, a Favorskii reaction and spiro-oxindole synthesis. A rationalisation for these reaction outcomes is included along with experimental support of mechanistic proposals. The generality and scope of the reactions are demonstrated including a nucleophile screen. Chapter 6 describes the synthesis of a library of 69 compounds consisting of examples of the core structures described in Chapters 2, 3 and 5. A discussion of the selection process and adaption of the protocol to parallel synthesis is presented. This chapter concludes with preliminary screening of the library against a variety of strains of yeasts and bacteria.

Background: In today’s world mobile marketing and social media marketing are playing a significant role. The reason for this is a global digitalization that effects a lot of interactions between clients and organizations. In that situation small and medium-seized enterprises (SMEs) are challenged to exist and generate revenue. Huge corporations also observe the change in the business landscape, however it is much easier for them to adapt as they have way more resources and expertise concerning marketing in ‘digital era’. As the market becomes more competitive SMEs have to act wisely, but they do not always have necessary knowledge. Purpose: Consequently, the purpose of this thesis is to determine whether using SMM and mobile marketing brings value to the SMEs and have proven andmeasurable positive outcomes on sales of the company. Method: As the research explores the topic of SMM and mobile marketing in relationwith SMEs the decision was made that main source of data will be executives and marketing practitioners of the companies who use social media in their business activity. The research method will be exploratory, with induction as the primary research approach. Hence, semi-structured interviews were chosen as empirical data source. Finally, 12 interviews were held with companies from various business sectors from Russia and Sweden. Qualitative research gives an opportunity to investigate such a developing area find out certain business insights and vision from the companies that would be difficult to find out otherwise. Results &amp; Contribution: First of all, the thesis has a theoretical contribution. The theoretical framework can give a deeper understanding of the subject for marketing practitioners and executives. As the theory moves forward on such a popular topic some of the instruments may have been left aside, whereas the conceptual framework can grab the attention and reveal the tools of SMM and mobile marketing that were not used by the companies. Furthermore, research has a comprehensive empirical analysis of the subject. The 12 semi-structured interviews covered all the areas that were previously examined in theoretical part. SMEs can use the practical part as a foundation to build their own marketing strategy. Such a strategy may be a complex platform for achieving results. Whereas, the participants share insights and vision on the subject.

We statistically study the physical properties of a sample of narrow absorption line (NAL) systems looking for empirical evidences to distinguish between intrinsic and intervening NALs without taking into account any a priori definition or velocity cut-off. We analyse the spectra of 100 quasars with 3.5 < z(em) < 4.5, observed with X-shooter/Very Large Telescope in the context of the XQ-100 Legacy Survey. We detect an similar to 8 sigma excess in the CIV number density within 10 000 km s(-1) of the quasar emission redshift with respect to the random occurrence of NALs. This excess does not show a dependence on the quasar bolometric luminosity and it is not due to the redshift evolution of NALs. It extends far beyond the standard 5000 km s(-1) cutoff traditionally defined for associated absorption lines. We propose to modify this definition, extending the threshold to 10 000 km s(-1) when weak absorbers (equivalent width < 0.2 angstrom) are also considered. We infer NV is the ion that better traces the effects of the quasar ionization field, offering the best statistical tool to identify intrinsic systems. Following this criterion, we estimate that the fraction of quasars in our sample hosting an intrinsic NAL system is 33 per cent. Lastly, we compare the properties of the material along the quasar line of sight, derived from our sample, with results based on close quasar pairs investigating the transverse direction. We find a deficiency of cool gas (traced by C II) along the line of sight connected to the quasar host galaxy, in contrast with what is observed in the transverse direction.

The present quantitative study investigates MA-students’ comprehension of lectures in the first language (L1) and in English at a large university in Sweden. Forty-five students responded to a self-assessment questionnaire survey regarding their comprehension of lectures in the L1 and lectures in English. The scores from these were compared to each other to see if English lectures are more difficult to comprehend than lectures in the L1 and if so, to what extent. The findings show that, although not substantial, most students find almost all aspects regarding English lectures to be more difficult than L1 lectures. This is in line with what other studies investigating the effects of English Medium Instruction in higher education have found. The most prominent issues were with unfamiliar vocabulary and expressions as well as unclear pronunciation of content. The results suggest that there is a need to improve students’ and lecturers’ English proficiency as well as the effectiveness of lectures in higher education, regardless of the language of instruction.

This thesis presents a multiwavelength analysis, from the infrared to the microwave, of the young, forming stars in the Auriga-California Molecular Cloud and a first look at the disks they host and their potential for forming planetary systems. At the beginning of this thesis, Auriga-Cal had only recently been identified as one contiguous cloud with its distance placing it within the Gould Belt of nearby star-forming regions (Lada et al. 2009). This thesis presents the largest body of work to date on Auriga-Cal's star formation and disk population. Auriga-Cal is one of two nearby giant molecular clouds (GMCs) in the Gould Belt, the other being the Orion A molecular cloud. These two GMCs have similar mass (~10^5 Msolar), spatial scale (~80 pc), distance (~450 pc), and filamentary morphology, yet the two clouds present very different star formation qualities and quantities. Namely, Auriga-Cal is forming far fewer stars and does not exhibit the high-mass star formation seen in Orion A. In this thesis, I present a census of the star forming objects in the infrared with the Spitzer Space Telescope showing that Auriga-Cal contains at least 166 young stellar objects (YSOs), 15-20x fewer stars than Orion A, the majority of which are located in the cluster around LkHalpha 101, NGC 1529, and the filament extending from it. I find the submillimetre census with the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, sensitive to the youngest objects, arrives at a similar result showing the disparity between the two clouds observed in the infrared continues to the submillimetre. Therefore the relative star formation rate between the two clouds has remained constant in recent times. The final chapter introduces the first study targeted at the disk population to measure the formation potential of planetary systems around the young stars in Auriga-Cal. The dust thermal emission at cm wavelengths is observed to measure the relative amounts of cm-sized grains, indicative of the grain growth processes that take place in disks and are necessary for planet formation. For a subsample of our targets, we are able to measure the spectral slope in the cm to confirm the thermal nature of the observed emission that we detect and characterize the signature of grain growth. The sensitivity of our observations probes masses greater than the minimum mass solar nebula (MMSN), the disk mass required to form the Solar System. We detect 19 disks, representing almost a third of our sample, comparable to the numbers of disks in other nearby star-forming regions with disks masses exceeding the MMSN, suggesting that the disk population in Auriga-Cal possesses similar planet formation potential as populations in other clouds. Confirmation of this result requires future observations with mm interferometry, the wavelength regime where the majority of statistics of disks has been measured. / Graduate

Position of small and medium companies in the information technology sector plays important role in the functioning on any state's economy. Focusing on a specific local market and using the Czech Republic as a case study, one has to state that most Czech firms face difficulties when trying to achieve economic success. Based on this fact, small and medium enterprise rating seems to be appropriate approach to determine factors that influence their performance and thus the possibility to help with their situation. Aim of this Master thesis is to determine these factors and construct econometric success rate models. Questionnaire research among ICT enterprises, and further statistical analysis showed that the earnings- employee ratio, average revenues and the R&D importance ratio plays the most important role in their success. Both, financial and non-financial indicators perform significantly in these predictions. Bibliographic record Krejčí, M. (2013): Factors that influence the success of small and medium enterprises. Case study of ICT sector in the Czech Republic. Master thesis (Mgr.), Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Economic Studies. Supervisor: PhDr. Wadim Strielkowski, Ph.D. JEL Classification C13, C51, C81, D02, L86 Keywords Success rate, ICT sector,...