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The aim of this research is to determine to what extent properties of the regolith may be inferred using only features easily measured from the surface. To address this research question, a set of regolith properties from Weipa, Queensland, Australia, are analysed. The set contains five variables, oxides of Aluminium, Iron, Silica and Titanium, as well as Depth to Ironstone. This last represents the depth of the layer from which the oxides are sampled.¶ The research question is addressed in two ways. First, locations where the properties are related to modern surface hydrology are assessed using spatially explicit analyses. This is done by comparing the results of spatial association statistics using geometric and watershed-based spatial samples. Second, correlations are sought for between the regolith properties and geomorphometric indices of land surface morphology and Landsat Thematic Mapper spectral response. This is done using spatially implicit Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and spatially explicit Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR). The results indicate that the degree to which regolith properties are related to surface measurable features is limited and spatially variable.¶ Most locations in the Weipa landscape exhibit some degree of modern hydrological control of the oxide variables at lateral distances of 120 m. This control rarely extends beyond 300 m laterally, although such locations occupy distinct positions in the landscape. Conversely, there is an extensive part of the landscape where Depth to Ironstone is under hydrological control. This occupies most of the lower elevations in the study area. Depth to Ironstone represents the depth to the redox front where iron is precipitated, but may in some parts of the landscape control the distribution of the watertable by being impermeable.¶ For the correlation analyses, the highest correlations are found with those oxides most mobile in solution. The spatially local GWR results also consistently outperform the spatially global ANN results, commonly having accuracies 40% higher at the error tolerance used. Much of this can be attributed to the localized effects of landscape evolution. Comparison of the GWR results against the local sample mean indicate that there is a relationship between regolith properties and surface measurable features at 10-15% of sample locations for the oxide variables, and 22% for Depth to Ironstone.¶ The implications of these results are significant for anyone intending to generate spatial datasets of regolith properties. If there is a low spatial density of sample data, then the effects of landscape evolution can reduce the utility of any analysis results. Instead, spatially dense, direct measurements of subsurface regolith properties are needed. While these may not be a direct measurement of the property of interest, they may provide useful additional information by which these may be inferred.

A consequence of the Hahn-Banach theorem is the classical bipolar theorem which states that the bipolar of a subset of a locally convex vector pace equals its closed convex hull. The space $\L$ of real-valued random variables on a probability space $\OF$ equipped with the topology of convergence in measure fails to be locally convex so that - a priori - the classical bipolar theorem does not apply. In this note we show an analogue of the bipolar theorem for subsets of the positive orthant $\LO$, if we place $\LO$ in duality with itself, the scalar product now taking values in $[0, \infty]$. In this setting the order structure of $\L$ plays an important role and we obtain that the bipolar of a subset of $\LO$ equals its closed, convex and solid hull. In the course of the proof we show a decomposition lemma for convex subsets of $\LO$ into a "bounded" and "hereditarily unbounded" part, which seems interesting in its own right. (author's abstract) / Series: Working Papers SFB "Adaptive Information Systems and Modelling in Economics and Management Science"

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Goal-setting is indispensable for effective healthcare management. Yet, literature evidence suggests many organisations worldwide do not know how to formulate ‘SMART’ goals. Evidence of how existing theories work in practice is scarce, and the practices in low-income countries are unknown. Therefore, this research explored how leprosy project goals were formulated to describe the theoretical practice framework of The Leprosy Mission Nigeria (TLMN). Using a case-study design, ten managers were interviewed individually concerning their goal-setting knowledge, experience and perspective; and documented goals of six projects were reviewed. A five-step constructionist thematic data analysis generated eleven theoretical frameworks from the concepts of the emergent core themes of ‘stakeholders’, ‘strategies’ and ‘statements.’ Further theorisation reduced them to one general framework. This revealed TLMN’s goal-setting practice as a four-stage centre-led, top-down, beneficiary-focused and problem-based process. The stages were national preparation, baseline needs-survey, centralised goal formulation and nationalised planning. The outcome was the formulation of assigned, ‘non SMART’ objective statements, which are then used for planning projects. Other theoretical models constructed included a Goal Effects Cycle, ‘SMARTA’ goal attributes and hierarchical criteria for differentiating goal-types. A theory developed from TLMN goal-setting postulates that: ‘Assigned non SMART goal formulation directly results from centralised goal-setting practice and is the predictor of unrealistic project planning.’ Therefore, I propose that goal statements will be ‘SMARTA’ and plans, more realistic and relevant if goal setting is done collaboratively by all stakeholders at all stages of the process. Also, ‘Change-Beneficiary-Indicator-Target-Timeframe’ and ‘Change- Beneficiary-Location-Timeframe’ frameworks are recommended as templates for writing SMART objectives and aims respectively.

The name of this essay is “’Just’ go play – A scientific essay of children’s free play in nature”. Its purpose is to investigate what happens to us educators, and what we can see in children’s free play in nature, when we adopt a more observing and inquiring attitude and when the children steer their own play. The background to my interest in this is that I have been reflecting over the fact that my team organizes many activities, organized by us educators, and that I have a feeling that I am missing something in the children’s play and learning. My starting point consists of three essays, where I first depict two activities, organized by educators, and after that a situation where I follow and participate in the children’s play on their terms. Based on this I ask the following questions: Which learning and what experiences can we observe in the children’s free play in nature, by interpreting their actions, when us educators take a more flexible approach? What practical knowledge does an educator, who encourages free play, need? What abilities need to be strengthened, unlike an educator who is focused on the measurable, or what can be shown outwardly to others? Except reflecting over my experiences I have used participant observation of the child group. I was was filming the child group while playing, and taking notes on conversations between us educators. During the process, I decided to also let my colleagues film. My theoretical approaches are the theory of practical knowledge and theory of play, and my study has the form of an essay. I reached the conclusion, that we discovered new things in the children’s play; that the play went more harmonically, when we didn’t take the lead, and that us educators got calmer and more concentrated. The practical knowledge which us educators need is a responsive attitude towards children’s play, and a gaze which not only sees what’s apparent, but also perceives that which is not immediately obvious. / Denna uppsats heter ”Att ’bara’ få leka – En vetenskaplig essä om barns fria lek i naturen”. Syftet med den är att undersöka vad som händer med oss pedagoger, och vad vi får syn på i barnens fria lek i naturen, när vi intar ett mer observerande och medforskande förhållningssätt och då barnen styr leken. Intresset har väckts i och med att jag reflekterat över att mitt arbetslag har många pedagoginitierade lekar i naturen och i känslan av att jag missar något i barnens lek och lärande. Min utgångspunkt är tre gestaltningar, där jag först skildrar två pedagoginitierade aktiviteter i naturen, och därefter en situation då jag följer med i barnens lek på deras villkor. Med utgångspunkt i detta har jag följande frågeställningar: Vilket lärande och vilka upplevelser kan jag och vi se hos barnen i deras fria lek i naturen genom att tolka deras handlande, då vi pedagoger intar ett följsammare förhållningssätt? Vad är det för praktisk kunskap som en pedagog, som ska uppmuntra den fria leken, behöver? Vad är det för förmågor som behöver stärkas, till skillnad från en pedagog som är fokuserad på det, mätbara eller det som går att visa upp utåt mot andra? Förutom att reflektera över mina erfarenheter har jag använt mig av deltagande observation av barngruppen; jag har filmat barnen i deras lek, och dessutom gjort anteckningar av samtal oss pedagoger emellan. Under processen bestämde jag mig för att även mina kollegor skulle få filma. Mina teoretiska ansatser är den praktiska kunskapens teori samt lekteori, och uppsatsen är skriven i essäform. Vad jag kom fram till var att vi upptäckte nya saker i barnens lek, att leken blev mer harmonisk då vi inte styrde den, samt att vi som pedagoger blev lugnare och mer koncentrerade. Den praktiska kunskap som vi pedagoger behöver är en mer lyhörd hållning gentemot barnens lek och en blick som uppfattar det diffusa och inte endast det uppenbara.

My essay begins with two stories showing two different perspectives when looking at learning in preschool. These two different learning styles I have chosen to call, the measurable and the difficult to measure learning. As a pedagogue I am involved in both events. In these events I describe how different we pedagogues interpret our governing documents on children's learning. By describing how the educational activities are designed differently in the two events, I try to highlight the pedagogues views on learning in preschool. Although we have the same governing document, we differ in our work with children. In my study, I look at how educators Piaget and Vygotskij regard the child and its development from a socio-cultural and a cognitive perspective. I want to see if there is any connection between their views on child development and what is happening in my two events. In the essay, I also try to find out how we work with children in preschool when it comes to both the measurable and the difficult to measure learning and why we do it so differently. Our society has recently become more focused on measurable results in order for us to assure the quality of the work we do. In preschool we also have a duty to assure the quality of our educational activities. I examine whether that is the reason we have different views on learning. The measurable learning makes it easier for pedagogues to see what children have learned while the difficult to measure, makes it more complicated to measure results.

The graduation theses deals with producing the draft for optimalisation options in Slovak Railway Company. The theses in theoretical part defines chosen basic requirements of Quality Management,defines the notions as customer satisfaction, measurement of quality, process management and improvement. It outlines the options for optimalisation bases of customer processes, that are determination, precise analysis and formulation of measurable criteria and finally proposes the optimalisation.The theses is connected with the results of questioning in bachelor theses.

This dissertation explores geometric measure theory; the first part explores a question posed by Paul Erdös -- Is there a number c > 0 such that if E is a Lebesgue measurable subset of the plane with λ²(E) (planar measure)> c, then E contains the vertices of a triangle with area equal to one? -- other related geometric questions that arise from the topic. In the second part, "we parametrize the theorems from general topology characterizing the continuous images and the homeomorphic images of the Cantor set, C" (abstract, para. 5).

A self portrait. With an auto ethnographic study method and my own craft; glass making I examine tacit knowledge. A portrait not only of me, but also the human in need of control. An invite to look at our society and see how the measurable is in charge and positivistic science have the leading position in knowledge production.  I aim for the subjective, the knowledge stored in my body which is passed on through making, in to the glass to be kept.