The overall aim of the study was to determine whether an intervention programme, based on an integrated positive brain programming- and brain gym exercise programme, could be used to improve the academic skills of learners with a limited intellectual ability. A literature review was used to provide an overview of the learner with a limited intellectual ability, learning barriers to cognitive processes, as well as elements which have a positive influence on the learning receptiveness and academic skills of learners with a limited intellect. An empirical study consisting of a quasi-experimental study was conducted over a period of eight weeks. The sample in this study consisted of fourteen learners in the intermediate phase of a school for learners with severe mental delay in Kempton Park. They were randomly divided into an Experimental and a Control Group. Measuring instruments that were used for pre- and post testing were the ESSl Reading- and Spelling tests. The UK Graded reading test and the UK Speed Reading test, as well as the VASSl Mathematics efficiency tests. The empirical study led to the following conclusions: an intervention programme, based on an integrated positive brain programming- and brain gym exercise programme, is an effective technique to improve the academic skills of learners with a limited intellectual ability; the academic skills that improved most were word recognition, and then numeracy followed by spelling. Reading speed was the skill that improved least, however it was still better that that of the Control Group. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2007.

Stobbe, Mark Jacob, M.A. University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada, February 2014. Public-Private Partnerships in Saskatchewan: A Tale of two Upgraders. Most of the literature dealing with public-private partnerships (P3s) examines the impact of private sector involvement in the provision of infrastructure or services normally provided by the public sector. This thesis uses the two case studies of the NewGrade Heavy Oil Upgrader and the Bi-Provincial Heavy Oil upgrader to examine the dynamics of P3s entered into by government in a market-driven, commercial sector for the purposes of promoting economic development. In the 1980’s, there was a political consensus in the Saskatchewan legislature that the province needed upgrading capacity to convert heavy crude oil into more marketable and valuable light synthetic crude and that the upgraders should be built through P3s. The result was the creation of the NewGrade and Bi-Provincial Upgraders. In the 1990’s, financial losses at both upgraders caused the Saskatchewan government to demand renegotiation of these partnerships. The thesis examines these partnerships in their initial negotiation, construction/operation and renegotiation in order to determine what environmental factors and internal dynamics contributed to the success or failure of the partnerships and the relations between the partners. The thesis argues that the upgraders successfully achieved their public policy objectives and gained the benefits of synergies arising from the differences between the public and private sector. However, the partnerships came under severe stress arising from a prolonged downturn in oil markets and the price of crude oil. The resulting financial losses caused the Saskatchewan government to seek a renegotiation of the terms of partnership. Despite this common cause of stress in the partnerships, the renegotiations of the agreements varied greatly. It is demonstrated that these differences arose from the financial structure of each partnership, the nature of the private sector partners and the number of partners involved in the project. The thesis provides some observations of potential value for governments and corporations considering entering partnerships for economic development projects. The differences between partners that can create synergistic benefits can also be the basis for the erosion of trust between the partners. The different financial tools used by government to participate in P3s can have significant impacts on both project viability and relationships between the partners.

Energy conservation in next generation Passive Optical Network system (NG-PON) has gained more and more attention. NG-PON system can not only deliver best-effort data traffic, but also real-time data traffic, e.g. voice and video, that have strict bandwidth, delay, and jitter requirements. To meet the energy and service requirements, a NG-PON system must have energy efficiency and differentiated QoS mechanism built in. Few research efforts have been reported on maximizing energy efficiency while maintaining QoS in the fairly new PON system design. We have extended the Upstream Centric Scheme (UCS-based) scheduling scheme idea into a novel QoS-differentiated energy-efficient PON system consisting of two main modules: firstly, the proposed differentiated QoS analytical model is described in detail to reduce the packet delay in the upstream traffic scheduling. The simulations further demonstrate the QoS metrics of the system: packet delay, bandwidth utilization, dropped packet rate, and queue length. Secondly, a novel analysis is proposed for downstream traffic scheduling with limited service discipline at Optical Line Terminal (OLT) side under the UCS-based Green Bandwidth Allocation (GBA) framework. We, first, derive the mean packet delay expression of this model. Then, the sleep time for each Optical Network Unit (ONU) is derived by setting identical upstream/downstream transmission cycle time. Based on the analytical model, an approach is developed to save the maximum energy in a dynamic PON system while without violating the delay requirement. Moreover, simulation is conducted to verify the developed analytical model and the proposed approach. In the end, considering the differentiated QoS and downstream traffic scheduling, an algorithm of the energy efficient scheduling scheme is proposed as well under the UCS-based GBA.

A mathematical model is developed for investigating time dependent surface deformations of a hydrostatic water volume, when it is subjected to a sudden partial collapse or rise of the sea bottom. The model solves two-dimensional Navier-Stokes Equations on a vertical plane numerically by using Marker and Cell Method (MAC) for viscous and compressible fluid including all the nonlinear effects in the solution. For demonstration, a vertical motion was given to a section in a hypothetical reservoir bed within a short time period and the resulting velocity and pressure fields and the surface profile of the water body are obtained. Computational and physical aspects are discussed.

ABSTRACT SIMULATION OF SURFACE WAVES GENERATED BY A RAPID RISE OF A BLOCK AT THE SEA BOTTOM SENOL, Nalan M.Sc., Department of Civil Engineering, Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. ismail AYDIN July 2005, 74 Pages A mathematical model is developed for investigating time dependent surface deformations of a hydrostatic water volume, when it is subjected to a sudden partial rise of the sea bottom. In the model, 2-dimensional, compressible, and viscous Navier-Stokes equations are solved by Marker and Cell (MAC) method. Variable mesh size in both horizontal and vertical directions with a staggered grid arrangement is used. Limited compressibility model is utilized for pressure. Various computational tests are done for the selection of computational parameters of the model. It is found that the amplitude of surface waves generated by vertical displacements of the sea bottom depends on size and speed of bottom displacements.

El primer capítulo de la tesis sobre "Estudios Empíricos sobre Capital Humano e Instituciones" presenta estimaciones de retornos a la educación en Alemania y analiza los determinantes de las preferencias educativas. El segundo capítulo utiliza estimaciones de retornos a la experiencia en el país de origen de inmigrantes en Estados Unidos para proporcionar evidencia empírica que el comercio aumenta la acumulación de capital humano en el trabajo, incluso en los países menos desarrollados, resolviendo la ambigüedad teórica si el comercio aumenta o disminuye "learning-by-doing". La acumulación de capital humano en el trabajo es también positivamente asociada con el PIB per capita, un alto nivel de educación y una mayor calidad de políticas e instituciones. El último capítulo analiza el efecto de recursos naturales y asistencia externa sobre la calidad de instituciones, proporcionando evidencia empírica que -contrario a la asistencia externa, la abundancia de mineral y combustible tiende a ser asociada negativamente con la calidad de instituciones si la fragmentación étnica es grande. / The first chapter of the thesis on "Empirical Studies on Human Capital and Institutions" presents estimates of returns to education in Germany and analyses the determinants of educational choices. The second chapter uses estimated returns to home country experience of US immigrants to provide empirical evidence that trade increases on-the-job human capital accumulation even in less developed countries, thereby resolving the theoretical ambiguity whether trade increases or decreases learning-by-doing. Similar to trade, GDP per capita, a high average level of educational attainment and stronger quality of policy and institutions are found to be positively associated with on-the-job human capital accumulation. The last chapter analyses the effect of natural resources and aid on institutions, providing empirical evidence that contrary to aid, mineral and fuel abundance tends to be associated with significantly lower quality of institutions if ethnic fractionalization is large.

La actividad cerebral exhibe complejos fenómenos oscilatorios similares a los que se observan en modelos de redes artificiales con osciladores acoplados. Por un lado, estudios sobre la actividad cerebral durante el reposo han demostrado la presencia de fluctuaciones lentas estructuradas y modulaciones de potencia a distintas frecuencias. Simultáneamente, estudios teóricos en el ámbito de la física muestran dinámicas similares usando osciladores acoplados. En este trabajo, por primera vez, se usan modelos de osciladores de fase en redes inspiradas en la arquitectura real del cerebro. Los resultados muestran la aparición espontánea de una dinámica similar a la observada experimentalmente. Además, esta correspondencia es comparable cuantitativamente con datos de neuroimagen, lo que sugiere procesos generales de integración subyacentes a la cognición. Por otra parte, se propone que la actividad cerebral alterada observada en algunas enfermedades psiquiátricas podría tener su origen en desconexiones estructurales que afectarían el comportamiento cooperativo de regiones corticales. / Neural activity in the brain exhibits complex oscillatory phenomena that can be compared with the ones observed in artificial network models of coupled oscillators. In particular, neuroimaging studies of brain activity during rest have reported slow spatiotemporally organized fluctuations and correlated band-limited power modulations. Simultaneously, theoretical works on the area of physics have reported similar dynamic behaviours using simple models of coupled oscillators with intermittent modular synchronization. In this work, for the first time, we use models of phase oscillators in networks inspired in the brain’s wiring architecture. Results show the spontaneous emergence of a dynamics similar to the one observed experimentally. In addition, this correspondence is quantitatively comparable to neuroimaging data, which is suggestive of general integrative processes underlying cognition. Furthermore, we propose that altered brain activity observed in some psychiatric diseases might originate from structural disconnections, which affect the cooperative behaviour of coupled cortical regions.

Thesis (M. Econ.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Xeror copy of typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 83-87).

Thesis (M.Econ.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 83-87). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.L.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes special study report entitled : Planting in interior landscape. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.