No description available.

This thesis examines the properties of spatial (i.e., locational and directional) Ps within the minimalist framework (Chomsky 1995,1998,1999), which has put an ultimate emphasis on economy in terms of derivation and representation. The principal goals of this thesis are (i) to investigate how the syntax of such nature derives PPs in accordance with the properties of Ps and (ii) to show how the internal PP structure interacts with the external syntax of PP. Chomsky's minimalist framework assumes two syntactic operations, i.e.. Merge and Move, and two different types of outcome of the operations, depending on the properties of lexical items involved in each operation executed. One outcome results from a merger of two items, of which one selects the other. The other results from a merger of two items, neither of which selects the other. I propose that there are three heads involved in deriving a layered PP structure: functional p, lexical P and locative N. This analysis is shown to be empirically supported from languages such as Dutch, English, Hungarian, Japanese and K'ekchi. I also claim that there are also intransitive Ps that adjoin to either or pP. The internal structure of PP interacts with its external syntax. One apparent area of grammar that shows desirable consequences for the layered PP analysis is P-to-V incorporation. For instance, the incorporability versus the unincorporability of Ps in Dutch can be accounted for by the principle (i.e.. Minimal Link Condition) that forbids skipping over an intermediate head, thus supporting the layered structure of PP. Another area offering support is locative inversion: the presence versus the absence of locative N head in PP can account for a contrast observed in locative inversion facts. Provided that an EPP-feature of T is category-specific, a contrast between PPs that can undergo movement to [Spec, T] and those that cannot stems from their respective internal structures.

<p> Existing approaches to the analysis of participation in community groups have adopted either a social-psychological view or a structural-political view of the impetus for participation. This paper attempts to integrate these two approaches, through analysis of the nature of the link between the impact of the issue, which serves as a source of conflict (a psychological view) and the organizational characteristics of the community group (a structural view). Using Dahrendorf's model of latent and manifest interests, research propositions are generated, focusing on four sets of factors conditioning the selection of group participation as a response to conflict. These are: psychological factors, technical conditions of organization, social conditions of organization, and political conditions of organization.</p> <p> Results of an empirical application of these propositions, using a questionnaire, show that the impetus for participation in a community group is a two stage process, depending on the existence of two separate sets of conditions: the impact of the issues, which is dependent upon the individual's distance from the source of conflict; and the social organization of the group. Based on analysis and interpretation of these results, hypotheses are generated, and are used to modify and expand Dahrendorf's model, in order to make it more applicable to the analysis of community group participation in locational conflict.</p> / Thesis / Bachelor of Arts (BA)

<p> The paper outlines the various criteria that companies might use in the process of searching for a site. Criteria are examined in terms of how they relate to the varied characteristics of a company. No single criteria was found to be universal to all companies in terms of the emphasis placed on them. Communities, when attracting a company, should match up the positive aspects of the community with companies that have characteristics matching these points. From findings made in this paper, recommendations concerning some of the policies or programs that a community might develop is put forward. </p> / Thesis / Bachelor of Arts (BA)

<p> In recent years, community interest groups have played an integral role in conflict situations. This paper focuses on community response to locational conflict and the community's role in the process of conflict resolution. A conceptual model of locational conflict is developed. The model includes three essential elements. These are (i) community perceptions of a facility, (ii) the formation of a community group and (iii) a cycle of conflict. This framework leads to a hypothesis that there exists a cycle of conflict between community response to locational conflict and conflict resolution. Specifically, as a conflict evolves there exists a cyclical repetition of stages which lead to a cycle of conflict. As an empirical example of locational conflict, the Upper Ottawa Street Landfill is used to evaluate the validity of the model. Illegal chemical dumping in the past has created an environmental conflict for the surrounding community. The analysis illuminated the hypothesis that a cycle of conflict exists between community response to locational conflict and conflict resolution. </p> / Thesis / Bachelor of Arts (BA)

No description available.

Seamless interconnection of smart mobile devices and cloud services is a key goal in modern mobile computing. Mobile Cloud Computing is the holistic integration of contextually-rich mobile devices with computationally-powerful cloud services to create high value products for end users, such as Apple's Siri and Google's Google Now product. This coupling has enabled new paradigms and fields of research, such as crowdsourced data collection, and has helped spur substantial changes in research fields such as vehicular ad hoc networking. However, the growth of Mobile Cloud Computing has resulted in a number of new challenges, such as testing large-scale Mobile Cloud Computing systems, and increased the importance of established challenges, such as ensuring that a user's privacy is not compromised when interacting with a location-aware service. Moreover, the concurrent development of the Infrastructure as a Service paradigm has created inefficiency in how Mobile Cloud Computing systems are executed on cloud platforms. To address these gaps in the existing research, this dissertation presents a number of software and algorithmic solutions to 1) preserve user locational privacy, 2) improve the speed and effectiveness of deploying and executing Mobile Cloud Computing systems on modern cloud infrastructure, and 3) enable large-scale research on Mobile Cloud Computing systems without requiring substantial domain expertise. / Ph. D.

My dissertation scrutinizes the implications of a harmonized European corporate tax system for firms' and businesses' decision-making. Specifically, I examine the cross-border consolidation of profits and losses, the design of the apportionment formula applied to allocate the consolidated tax base to single group entities, and the locational investment decisions that are mainly driven by the consolidation of the tax base and its allocation to the group entities. All of my analyses are conducted using model-theoretical methods and simulations, a partial equilibrium business perspective is maintained throughout. (author's abstract)

With Power System being restructured in the vision of Smart Grid, it is important now more than ever to find suitable locations to place Distributed Generators (DG). Distributed generators, which may be renewable, are not limited to specific locations as in the case of conventional generators. Several papers have been published that make suggestions on where the optimal location of DG should be in a system. Objectives ranging from loss minimization to total cost minimization have been the factor for such studies. In this study, a new method is introduced that hopes to improve a current system in three ways by maximizing load, minimizing the locational marginal price and improving line contingency scenarios. The proposed methodology is simulated using MATPOWER’s Optimal Power Flow on the IEEE 14 bus test system.

A Avaliação de Impacto Ambiental (AIA) é um processo de caráter prévio que visa fundamentar e auxiliar no processo de tomada de decisão sobre a viabilidade ambiental de um empreendimento ou atividade. No Brasil, uma das principais etapas deste processo é a elaboração do Estudo de Impacto Ambiental (EIA). Objetivando o embasamento para a tomada de decisão, um ponto fundamental de um EIA é a apresentação e comparação de alternativas locacionais. Apesar de ter um papel primordial na análise dos possíveis cenários de impactos ambientais, na prática atual, tanto no contexto nacional como internacional, a análise de alternativas de localização dentro da AIA exibe diversas deficiências e falhas indicadas por inúmeros autores, como a não apresentação de alternativas de localização, a presença de alternativas impraticáveis, a ausência de comparação entre as alternativas, a baixa qualidade dos estudos e a fraca justificativa da seleção locacional. Dessa maneira, o presente estudo objetivou descrever e analisar a qualidade dos estudos de alternativa locacional apresentadas nos EIAs do estado de São Paulo no período de 2005 a 2016. Para isso, elaborou-se uma lista de verificação que foi então aplicada para a amostra de 52 EIAs e 33 Termos de Referência (TR). Verificou-se que, do total de estudos analisados, 46% não apresentaram alternativas de localização para o empreendimento proposto. Além disso, 75% dos critérios estabelecidos na lista de verificação obtiveram conceitos insatisfatórios. Mesmo entre os estudos que continham alternativas de localização, 58% dos critérios foram também avaliados como insatisfatórios, indicando uma baixa qualidade geral dos estudos e diversas fragilidades, principalmente referentes aos processos de seleção de alternativas a serem analisadas, de comparação entre as alternativas e de justificativa de seleção do local determinado com base na análise locacional apresentada. Os critérios que obtiveram os melhores conceitos foram os referentes a apresentação e descrição de alternativas, indicando um caráter muito mais descritivo do estudo de localização do que comparativo. Os TRs avaliados também obtiveram conceitos insatisfatórios, o que indicou que não apenas a qualidade dos estudos locacionais é inadequada, como também a qualidade das diretrizes que os guiam. Os resultados observados reforçaram as deficiências encontradas na literatura e evidenciaram a necessidade de aprimoramento desta etapa da AIA no estado de São Paulo, principalmente por meio da inclusão de diretrizes mais detalhadas nos TRs, do desenvolvimento de instrumentos de planejamento territorial que auxiliem e direcionem os estudos locacionais e da melhora nos processos de seleção de alternativas para análise, comparação entre as alternativas e justificativa do local selecionado dentro dos estudos locacionais nos EIAs / The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a tool that aims to support and assist the decision-making process about the environmental viability of a project or activity. In Brazil, one of the main steps in this process involves the elaboration of the Environmental Impact Study (EIS). To properly support the decision-making process, an EIS key point is the study of locational alternatives, including the presentation, analysis and comparison of alternatives. In spite of having a primary role in analysing possible scenarios of environmental impacts, in current practice, both in the national and international context, the locational alternatives analysis in the EIA process shows several deficiencies indicated by many authors, such as the lack of alternatives consideration, the presence of unreasonable alternatives, the lack of comparison between alternatives, the poor quality of the studies and the poor justification of the site selection. Thus, this study aimed to describe and evaluate the quality of the alternative locational studies presented in the EISs of the state of São Paulo from 2005 to 2016. For this purpose, a checklist was elaborated, which was then applied to a sample of 52 EISs and 33 Terms of Reference (TR). The results show that 46% of the studies did not consider any locational alternatives. Additionally, 75% of the criteria set out in the checklist were assessed as unsatisfactory. Even among the studies that considered locational alternatives, 58% of the criteria were also assessed as inadequate, indicating a low general quality of the studies and several weaknesses, mainly referring to the processes of selecting alternatives to be analysed, of comparing alternatives and of justifying the site selection based on the presented locational analysis. The criteria that obtained the best results were those referring to the alternatives presentation and description, indicating that the locational analysis tend to approach a much more descriptive aspect rather than a comparative approach. The TRs criteria were also evaluated as inadequate, indicating that not only the quality of the locational studies is insufficient, but the quality of its guidelines is also inappropriate. The results in this study support the deficiencies found in the literature review and point out the need to improve the locational analysis in the EISs of São Paulo state, mainly through the input of more detailed guidelines in the TRs, the development of territorial planning tools that can help to guide the studies in the selection of reasonable alternatives to be assessed and the improvement of alternatives analysis, comparison and justification