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Many attempts have been made to quantify cardiac output using both invasive and non-invasive techniques. The results have generally been poorly reproducible and comparisons of techniques have yielded highly variable values. A single breath inert gas method was used in the study, since it offers several advantages over previous methods, chiefly its speed of measurement, and the controlled manner in which it is performed. The method observes the uptake of a semi-soluble inert gas (Freon-22) with respect to an insoluble marker, and calculates cardiac output (pulmonary flow) from the slope of the semi-soluble gas.

Organisations exist in a vast range of types and sizes. While it is generally known that start-ups suffer a high rate of infant mortality for various reasons, it is clear that there are many different successful approaches to achieving stability and worthwhile contribution. Even the fortunes of large companies are not immune to ebb and flow, and these phenomena are manifested in the effects they have, both on the communities in which they are placed, and on their trading partners. Therefore there is more to sustainable success than size or other traditional financial measures such as turnover, profit, return on investment etc. This thesis is inspired by the need to identify a way of characterising the contributions of organisations as a framework of performance measurement that is meaningful to all organisations regardless of type or size, and systematically relating that view of contributions to organisations' strategic and operational activities. Business processes are used within organisations to control productive activity and therefore are at the root of all aspects of an organisation's output. There are, however, a number of reasons for processes to be disconnected from the strategic intentions of an organisation, whereupon the processes, and the activities within them, become less efficient and effective in serving the needs of the organisation than they should be. Traditional methods of performance measurement do not adequately address this problem, so a new model for the measurement and improvement of organisational performance is required. In reviewing theories and empirical viewpoints concerning stakeholders it is found that there are several distinct topics of interest within that field. These are brought together in the form of a standardised list of stakeholder groups, which is then field tested for general applicability. A method for expressing the strategic intentions of an organisation, based on this standardised list, is then developed and is also field tested. The group structure is extended by identifying a number of factors that determine the satisfaction of stakeholders, and these are also field tested for applicability. Using the structured analysis of stakeholders by groups, and the factors that determine their satisfaction, a model is proposed (the Performance Boundary Model) that shows stakeholders and the organisation itself as distinct but connected domains. This concept is developed, by building on established theory and the findings of the field research, into a representation or model. This model provides a structured connection between strategic intentions and measured operational performance, and these are connected into the organisation through its processes. The model thus provides structured links between organisational strategy, operational processes and objective performance measures.

The emergence of robots as essential components in the development of flexible manufacturing systems has created a demand for measurement techniques capable of measuring their performance. Typically it is required to measure the position of the robot end effector at speeds of up to 5 m/sec in a 1 metre sided cube and with a precision better than 0.1 mm. An instrument has been developed that uses a laser tracking technique and the principle of triangulation to determine the x,y and z co-ordinates of an optical target. It consists of two identical sub-systems, a retroreflective cat's eye target and a supervisory microcomputer. Each sub-system aims a low power laser beam at the target and detects the retroreflected beam for feedback to the mirror actuators controlling the beam direction. The instrument has been modelled, calibrated and evaluated. The effect on the target coordinate calculation of various system errors has been studied and a variety of measurement tools and methods are presented to calibrate the instrument both at component and sub-system level and also as a final system. The design of the cat's eye target is reviewed and a method of manufacture presented. Preliminary results and design details of a new optical sub-system with up-graded characteristics are also included. Tests show that the present instrument has a measurement accuracy of 0.03%, a repeatability of 0.01% (all for 1 standard deviation) for a measurement space of approximately one metre cube. The beam steering scanners have a bandwidth in excess of 74 Hz and the tracking velocity is approximately 3 m/s.

The aim of this dissertation is to demonstrate the potential of novel measurement techniques based on the scanning of gamma-ray transmission in the investigation of axially-symmetric flow properties of granular materials in 3D hoppers. Furthermore, the results of the experimental investigations are compared on a strictly quantitative basis with Newtonian Dynamics (i.e. Discrete Element simulations) and Molecular Dynamics (i.e. kinetic gas theory calculations). Measurements were performed using two specially constructed scanner systems of different geometric configuration of gamma-ray sources and detectors(namely parallel and fan beam arrangements respectively). The fan beam scanner has been developed entirely in the Department of Chemical & Process Engineering by the author of this thesis and therefore a significant part of the thesis deals with major points concerning both hardware and software development as well as associated calibration procedures. Gas-phase continuous mono-disperse systems have been studied using (i) the full tomographic imaging technique which is able to produce 3D planar maps of voidage at selected heights of a storage vessel and (ii) the single profile absorptiometric technique capable of producing voidage profiles in both Cartesian and polar coordinates at much faster acquisition rates. Results were compared with earlier Distinct Element numerical simulations showing encouraging agreement in terms of both the absolute values of voidage and their spatial fluctuations as well as the geometric structure of the static and dynamic particle assemblies. Size segregation in air borne binary mixtures have been quantified using the novel dual energy photon technique which is capable of producing solids fraction profiles for each of the individual components of a binary mixture in addition to the voidage profiles. Spatial and temporal data on solids fractions in a binary mixture were analysed using methodology based on statistical mechanics principles which led to the definition of "micro-turbulence" during flow in terms of the self-diffusion velocities of individual solid components. This then allows the calculation of both the self- and mutual-diffusion coefficients used to quantify size segregation. These calculations were also compared with theoretical predictions based on the kinetic gas theory which was found to grossly over-predict the calculated diffusion coefficients in slow-shearing granular flows.

A leg ulcer is a chronic wound of the skin that, at best, takes many months to fully heal and causes great distress to the patient. Treating leg ulcers places a large financial burden upon the National Health Service in the United Kingdom, estimated to be in excess of £300M annually. Measurement of the size of leg ulcers is a guide to assessing the progress of wound healing, and the use of non-invasive measurement techniques avoids damaging or infecting the wound. The area of a leg ulcer is currently measured by presenting a human observer with a captured video image of a wound, who then uses a mouse or pointing device to delineate the wounded region. Typically, the standard deviation of area measurements taken this way is approximately 5% of the wound area. In addition, different observers can show a bias difference in their area measurements from 3% to 25% of the wound area. It is proposed to reduce the incidence of such errors by using an active contour model to improve the delineation. Four different models are developed by adapting and applying several contributions made to the active contour model paradigm. Novel features include an external force that acts normally, but not tangentially, to the boundary, a new external energy term that promotes homogeneity of the gray level at the edge of the wound and the application of the minimax principle for setting the parameters of an active contour model with piecewise b-spline curves. The algorithms provide the physician with a new and practical tool for producing area measurements with improved precision and are semi-automatic, requiring only a manual delineation to start the algorithm. In most cases, measurement precision is improved by application of the algorithms. Many wounds give rise to measurable bias differences between average manual area measurements and the corresponding algorithmic area measurements, typically averaging 3% to 4% of wound area. With some wounds the bias magnitude can exceed 10% as a result of the contour partly deviating from the true edge of the wound and following a false edge.

It has been highlighted that shame may be an important dynamic risk factor for prevention of violence and recidivism in forensic populations. However, past research investigating the relationship between shame and violence, or recidivism has been inconsistent. Different conceptualisations and measurements of shame used in the literature may explain these inconsistencies. Therefore, a systematic review was conducted to explore how shame was conceptualised in forensic populations and these measures were then evaluated. Findings revealed that most studies did not clearly define shame, and when they did, the same theoretical underpinnings were used in different ways. By assessing the validity and reliability of shame measures, it was revealed that different measures focused on different aspects of shame. This could explain the current confusion in the conceptualisation and measurement of shame in forensic populations, and shed light on inconsistent findings between shame and other constructs. Shame in violent female offenders is an unexplored phenomenon and therefore may involve various complex and unexpected factors. A social constructivist grounded theory approach was applied to the narratives of eight violent female offenders, focusing on thoughts, feelings and life experiences in relation to shame and violence. A model was constructed suggesting that childhood victimisation, in the absence of available, compassionate, secure relationships, may lead to difficulties with emotion regulation. The experience of negative emotions, including shame, may lead to self-harm, substance misuse and violence. It was however demonstrated that this vicious cycle could be broken through the development of secure, positive and compassionate relationships. These findings suggest that shame and attachment may be important factors for treatment and service planning, to meet the unique needs of female offenders.

Thesis (MTech (Electrical Engineering))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2006. / A novel ultrasonic velocimeter was developed in this study using a single element PZT cylinder encapsulated within an isothermal cavity. The rig was designed to hold a small sample volume of test liquid (typically less than 0.2ml), as a prerequisite for biological application. An admittance spectrum for the liquid filled cavity displayed sharp piezoelectric modes indicating strong coupling between the cylinder and liquid. This coupling was further improved by using liquid soap as a coupling agent. The phase velocity was measured, using the change in frequency associated with change in acoustic mode number. Early results indicated a change in frequency, with mode number decrease over the superimposed piezoelectric resonance providing a skewed value for phase velocity. This problem is evidenced in the literature precluding continuous wave interferometry as a realisable means of measuring phase velocity. This study examines the common problem of frequency pulling and resonant interaction between acoustic and piezoelectric modes. For the first time an alternative is shown to traditional "electro-acoustic" models, utilising an extension of Mason's transmission line model with the addition of a "mechanical-acoustic" transformer to represent energy coupling between the piezoelectric and surrounding liquid. It was found the transformer coupling coefficient could be described as the inner surface area of the cylinder. In an attempt to quantify the behaviour of this model it has been simplified into an "electro-acoustic" equivalent lumped circuit elements. Each liquid mode is represented as a series tuned LeR circuit. The solution to the frequency pulling was unravelled by implementing a stochastic optimiser (adaptive mutation breeder algorithm) to predict the coupling coefficient between mechanical and acoustic modes. It also predicts acoustic equivalent circuit parameters and further utilise it to extract the velocity of sound from the test liquid. Three test liquids were evaluated including water, FC43 and FC75 at a constant temperature of 30 °C±O.Ol "C. Initial results indicate a strong correlation between the model and experiment with accumulative admittance errors falling below 5%. Subsequently it was possible to achieve phase velocity measurements with a "worst case" standard deviation of less than 3.74. It has been the hypothesis of this study to show, in concept, that inline tube velocimeter is plausible using continuous wave cylindrical interferometry. / National Research Foundation

The thesis consists of 135 pages and the CD enclosure. Pictures, charts and colour graphs are included. The thesis and the CD enclosure contain data presented in charts and from the charts graphs have been made.

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