<p>In this thesis, a single carrier ATSC DTV baseband transmitter, part of the receiver(including channel estimator and channel equalizer), were modeled. Since multi-pathinduced ISI (inter symbol interference) is the most significant impact on theperformance of single carrier DTV reception, modeling and implementation of singlecarrier channel estimator and channel equalizer have been the focus of the thesis. Westarted with the investigation of channel estimation methods. Afterwards, severalchannel estimators and equalizers were modeled and the performance of each channelequalization methods in different scenarios was evaluated. Our results show that thefrequency domain equalizer can achieve low computing cost and handle long delaypaths. Another important issue to be considered in block equalization is Inter-BlockInterference (IBI). The impact of IBI was investigated via behavior modeling. In lastpart of our thesis, two methods for IBI cancellation are compared and the proposal forhardware implementation was given.</p>

<p><strong>Background</strong></p><p>International transfer pricing has been a highlighted issue during the last decades as country after country has revised and introduced new transfer pricing laws as a respond to the expanded globalization. Several countries are adopting similar approaches and the prime guiding principles are provided by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation (OECD). The international law as well as the laws of all 30 member countries is based on the OECD Guidelines.</p><p><strong>Purpose</strong></p><p>The purpose of this master’s thesis is to describe differences and similarities regarding the transfer pricing regulations in China and Sweden and to explain how a Swedish multinational enterprise (MNE) have to utilize and adjust their transfer pricing strategy when trading with group companies in China. The results then conclude into a step model for strategic transfer pricing.</p><p><strong>Result</strong></p><p>The differences between the regulations are mainly uncovered in the definition of associated parties and associated interest. The differences in the regulations are thus of minor importance and does not affect a Swedish MNE to any major extent. The challenging area is instead the conflict between the tax authority and the customs service. To enable this study, three Swedish MNEs are used as a case study. We discovered that all had very different transfer pricing strategies even though they are within the same industry and two of them even within same range of products. Out of this we made the conclusion that the strategy chosen is not just depending on what product or service you trade with but also the aim and purpose, the range of products and the structure of the company. International transfer pricing is a very complex issue that goes into nearly all business operations. The concept of transfer pricing can thus be broken down and simplified if the demands from the company is minor.</p>

<p>Now a day, one of the most attractive research topics in the area of Intelligent Traffic Control is </p><p>Inter-vehicle communication (V2V communication). In V2V communication, a vehicle can </p><p>communicate to its neighbouring vehicles even in the absence of a central Base Station. The </p><p>concept of this direct communication is to send vehicle safety messages one-to-one or one-to- </p><p>many vehicles via wireless connection. Such messages are usually short in length and have very </p><p>short lifetime in which they must reach the destination. The Inter-vehicle communication system </p><p>is an ad-hoc network with high mobility and changing number of nodes, where mobile nodes </p><p>dynamically create temporary sensor networks and transferring messages from one network to </p><p>others by using multiple hops due to limitation of short range. </p><p> </p><p>The goal of the project is to investigate some basic research questions in order to organize such </p><p>sensor networks and at the same time highlight the appropriate routing protocol that support </p><p>mobile ad hoc networks in an efficient and reliable manner. </p><p> </p><p>In our investigation, we have answered the technical issues in order to construct a V2V </p><p>communication system. We have also studied some mobile ad hoc network routing protocols in </p><p>detail and then selected the DSR (Dynamic Source Routing) for our V2V communication and </p><p>then simulated it according to our system requirements. We are quite satisfied by the result of </p><p>DSR, but at the same time much more work is required to come up with an absolute application </p><p>for the end user.</p>

<p>This thesis provides a coherent theoretical account of the role of trust in strategic alliances from varied disciplinary perspectives and by establishing some common ground among these perspectives. Approaching the integration of the literature about trust and strategic alliances from the resource based view, the transaction cost view, the dialectical perspective, and the social network perspective is aimed at creating a new systematic explanatory scheme. The unique combination of these four perspectives provides overlapping explanations for strategic alliance behaviour and serves as a methodical device for analysing the dynamics of trust relationships. This theoretical-methodical foundation will serve as tool for sorting out and highlighting different research streams regarding the two key topics. An integrative framework of the notion of trust in strategic alliances is built around the key issue “culture of trust”. The culture of trust is addressed, because one of the main findings will be that collaborative relationships require some minimum social base with trust as its constitutive element. Arguments will be provided that inter-organizational ventures characterized by high interdependence, require the trust mechanism to make leadership effective. The tension between trust and control in strategic alliances is discussed and attention is drawn to the possibilities and key abilities of leaders in establishing trust as a constitutive element in strategic alliances.</p>

<p>The purpose of this essay is to discuss what a sensual interpretation of art is and what it should include. The discussion is based on an attempt to do a sensual interpretation of the Greek-British artist Helen Chadwick’s Cacao and Wreaths to Pleasure. Chadwick was an artist working with well-known materials in new and unexpected ways. An interpretation of her works should include the fact that her art affect us on different levels, both intellectually and sensually. The history of art includes very few examples of interpretations engaging all senses. Therefore this essay is based on literature in adjacent disciplines like aesthetics, inter art studies and synaesthesia. The thesis of The bad garden is that an art experience includes interplay between senses. This interplay which creates additive sensations, a fact that is not taken into consideration in an interpretation based on only vision. The conclusion is that a sensual interpretation should be a merge of traditional disciplines and must be characterised by subjectivity, contextuality, and intersensuality.</p>

Thesis (M.Th. (New Testament))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

Improving diurnal errors in surface-based heating processes in models might be a promising step towards improved seasonal simulation of the North American Monsoon (NAM). This study isolates model errors in the surface energy budget and examines diurnal heating implications for seasonal development of the NAM 500hPa anticyclone and 850-500hPa thickness ridge using observations and multi-model output. Field data from the 2004 North American Monsoon Experiment (NAME) and satellite estimates are used to evaluate land-atmosphere interactions in regional and global models as part of the North American Monsoon Model Assessment Project 2 (NAMAP2). Several key findings about heating in the NAM emerge: ? Models exhibit considerable differences in surface radiation of the NAM, beginning with albedo (Fig. 3.1). All models have highly-biased albedo throughout summer (Fig. 3.2). ? Observed net surface radiation is around 125 Wm-2 over land in the NAM region in summer (Table 3.5). Models overestimate it by an average of about 20 Wm-2, despite their high albedo, apparently due to deficiencies in cloud radiative forcing. ? Partitioning of this net radiation into latent and sensible fluxes to the atmosphere differs substantially among models. Sensitivity of this partitioning to rainfall also varies widely among models, and appears clearly excessive in some models relative to observations (Fig. 4.10). ? Total sensible heating exceeds latent heating in the NAM (Table 4.1), since it covers a much larger area than the rainy core region (Fig. 4.11). ? Inter-model differences in sensible heating can be traced consistently from surface heat flux (Table 5.1), to PBL diurnal evolution (Fig. 5.1), to diurnal thickening of the lower troposphere (Fig. 5.2). ? Seasonal biases in the NAM?s synoptic structure correspond well to diurnal heating biases (Fig. 5.3, Fig. 5.5), suggesting that diurnal cycle studies from a single field season may suffice to inform physical process improvements that could impact seasonal simulation and forecasting. These NAMAP2 results highlight the range of uncertainty and errors in contemporary models, including those defining US national weather forecasting capability. Model experimentation will be necessary to fully interpret the lessons and harvest the fruits of this offline inter-comparison exercise.

No description available.

Although it is accepted that Phoenician colonization occurred on Sardinia by the 9th century B.C., it is possible that contact between Sardinia‟s indigenous population and the Levantine region occurred in the Late Bronze Age (LBA). Eastern LBA goods found on the island are copper oxhide ingots and Aegean pottery. Previously, it has been suggested that Mycenaeans were responsible for bringing the eastern goods to Sardinia, but the presence of Aegean pottery shards does not confirm the presence of Mycenaean tradesmen. Also, scholars of LBA trade have explained the paucity of evidence for a Mycenaean merchant fleet. Interpretations of two LBA shipwrecks, Cape Gelidonya and Uluburun, indicate that eastern Mediterranean merchants of Cypriot or Syro-Canaanite origin, transported large quantities of oxhide ingots from the Levant towards the west. It remains possible that similar itinerant merchants conducted ventures bringing eastern goods to Sardinia while exploring the western Mediterranean. Trade in eastern goods may have stimulated the advancement that occurred in Nuragic culture in the LBA, resulting in the emergence of an elite social stratum in the Nuragic society. Archaeological evidence, such as elitist burials and increasingly complex architecture, supports the idea of cultural change due to internal competition. This „peer-polity‟ effect may have been incited because of limited accessibility to the exotic eastern goods and the „ownership‟ to the rights of this exchange.

L’eau est vitale dans toutes les économies. C’est à cause de son rôle prépondérant pour la survie que les tensions politiques autour des basins et des fleuves internationaux tendent à être particulièrement très épineuses. Actuellement, la mauvaise répartition de cette ressource pose un sérieux problème du fait qu’elle est gérée en fonction de stratégies politiques et non en fonction des réalités hydrologiques régionales. Nous expliquons à l’aide de la « Enhanced Power Matrix Model » (La Matrice de FREY et NAFF améliorée) que les tensions autour des bassins et des fleuves au Moyen – Orient n’aboutiront pas à des conflits armés mais à une situation de non guerre et de non paix, très peu propice à la coopération. Pour sortir de cette situation de blocage, nous proposons aux décideurs politiques et aux négociateurs, sur base de l’article 6 de la Convention de New York de 1997 sur « les cours d’eau internationaux à d’autres usages que la navigation », un modèle de répartition de la ressource hydrique entre les différents riverains d’un cours d’eau international. Face à cette situation, beaucoup de pays de la région tentent de mettre de façon unilatérale des modèles de gestion macroéconomique : réduction de la demande ou l’augmentation de l’offre de l’eau. Ces modèles se heurtent à des obstacles de nature économique, politique, sociologique et culturelle. Dans un objectif de conception de nouveaux modèles de gestion de l’eau, nous proposons un modèle coopératif, les projets de transfert inter – bassin, pour faire face à la mauvaise répartition de cette ressource au Moyen – Orient. Nous appuyons sur la méthodologie multicritère d’aide à la décision pour opérationnaliser l’article 6 de la Convention de New York et pouvoir comparer les différents projets de transfert inter - bassin. Cette méthodologie fait appel à un logiciel d’aide à la décision « Décision Lab 2000 ». Le commentaire des résultats fournis par ce logiciel nous a permit de tirer l’enseignement suivant : seuls les projets qui présentent une faisabilité politique élevée arrivent en tête de classement. Ce qui nous fait dire que la question de l’eau au Moyen – Orient est, avant tout, une question politique.