The problem of computing the minimum distance between two convex hulls has applications to many areas including robotics, computer graphics and path planning. Moreover, determining the minimum distance between two convex hulls plays a significant role in support vector machines (SVM). In this study, a new algorithm for finding the minimum distance between two convex hulls is proposed and investigated. A convergence of the algorithm is proved and applicability of the algorithm to support vector machines is demostrated. The performance of the new algorithm is compared with the performance of one of the most popular algorithms, the sequential minimal optimization (SMO) method. The new algorithm is simple to understand, easy to implement, and can be more efficient than the SMO method for many SVM problems.

Afrikaans : Vanaf 1924 tot 1926 het die Pakt-regering gepoog om die posisie van blanke werkers deur middel van wetgewing te verskans. Die wetgewing sou egter ten nadele van swart werkers strek. As gevolg van die regeringsbeleid van ‘beskaafde arbeid’ was dit vir swartes onmoontlik om soos blankes, op ‘’n minimum loon aan te dring en te staak ten einde hoër salarisse te beding. Voorts is sekere poste vir blankes alleen gereserveer en is swartes afgedank om vir blanke werkers plek te maak. Swart werkers, en by name die organisasies wat hulle vir die belange van die swart gemeenskap beywer het, het nie die 'beskaafde arbeidsbeleid' bloot passief aanvaar nie. Die Industrial and Commercial Workers' Union, die African National Congress, die Gesamentlike Rade en die Kommunistiese Party van Suid-Afrika het algar georganiseerde versetaksies teen die arbeidswetgewing geloods. Die Pakt-regering het bykans geen ag op swart verset geslaan nie. Waar die Pakt tydens sy bewindname in 1924 met optimisme begroet is, was die regering gevolglik in 1929 ongewild by die swart bevolking. English : Between 1924 and 1926 the Pact Government attempted to safeguard the position of white labourers. Its legislation was, however, detrimental to the position of black labourers. As a result of the policy of 'civilized labour' it became almost impossible for black labourers to insist on a minimum wage or to strike in order to obtain higher wages. Furthermore, certain categories of jobs were reserved for whites only and blacks were replaced by whites. Black labourers and, in particular, those organizations that worked for the benefit of the black community, did not merely accept the policy of 'civilised labour' in a passive way. The Industrial and Commercial Workers' Union, the African National Congress, the Joint Councils and the Communist Party of South Africa all launched organised resistance actions against the labour legislation. The Pact paid virtually no attention to black resistance. Whereas the Pact was welcomed with enthusiasm when it came to power in 1924, during the 1929 election it was extremely unpopular with the black people of South Africa. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Historical and Heritage Studies / unrestricted

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between nursing staffing and quality of life (QOL) in nursing homes (NHs). The relationships between nursing staff hours per resident day, nursing staffing skill mix, turnover of nursing staff, and the answers given to QOL questions by 231 residents in Iowa NHs were investigated. Unexpectedly, only part of staffing variables were statistically significantly correlated with QOL of residents and nurse staffing variables seemed to have little influence on predicting QOL of residents in this study. The major differences between this study and previous studies are that previous research focused on quality of care (QOC) and this study measured QOL by measuring residents' outcomes. Previous studies found that nurse staffing is an important factor in improving QOC (and by implication, QOL) of NH residents. Based on the statistically significant relationships, RNs' unique contributions were supported by the findings that NHs with more RNs, compared with LPNs/LVNs and CNAs, had residents with higher scores in the functional competence domain and overall QOL summary items. This study found that nurse staffing turnover is positively correlated with QOL, especially in the individuality domain. However, the whole study takes place in one state, Iowa. Iowa has a homogeneous population with limited racial diversity. Only Iowa NHs were selected and it is questionable whether the findings may be generalizable to the rest of the United States. Further research is required to confirm the relationship and provide policy guidelines, including nurse staffing recommendations, to guarantee optimal QOL for NH residents.

Magister Artium (Child and Family Studies) - MA(CFS) / One of the sustainable development goals the World Health Organization (WHO) has set for member countries is the implementation of universal health coverage (UHC) in order to ensure all citizens have the right to access healthcare. In recognising that the global demand for traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) continues to grow, the WHO has encouraged the inclusion of T&CM into the national health systems of member countries as a way of ensuring that UHC can be achieved.

A total dominating set of a graph G with no isolated vertex is a set 5 of vertices of G such that every vertex is adjacent to a vertex in S. The total domination number of G is the minimum cardinality of a total dominating set in G. In this paper, we present several upper bounds on the total domination number in terms of the minimum degree, diameter, girth and order.

We study the scheduling problem for data collection from sensor nodes to the sink node in wireless sensor networks, also referred to as the convergecast problem. The convergecast problem in general network topology has been proven to be NP-hard. In this paper, we propose our heuristic algorithm (finding the minimum scheduling time for convergecast (FMSTC)) for general network topology and evaluate the performance by simulation. The results of the simulation showed that the number of time slots to reach the sink node decreased with an increase in the power. We compared the performance of the proposed algorithm to the optimal time slots in a linear network topology. The proposed algorithm for convergecast in a general network topology has 2.27 times more time slots than that of a linear network topology. To the best of our knowledge, the proposed method is the first attempt to apply the optimal algorithm in a linear network topology to a general network topology.

In terms of the South African Constitution, every worker has the right to strike. This right is regulated in the Labour Relations Act. Workers engaged in essential services are prohibited from striking. The prohibition does not apply if a minimum service level agreement, guaranteeing services in the event of a strike, has been concluded between employers and trade unions. The Essential Services Committee, established under the Labour Relations Act ( the Act), must ratify these agreements before they become effective. More than two decades after the LRA was promulgated, very few ratified minimum service level agreements have been concluded in the municipal sector. This study explores the reasons for this and suggests legislative and policy interventions that could be considered on a sector wide basis. The study is by way of a single-case study of a metropolitan municipality. Data were obtained from two sources: 14 semi-structured interviews with participants and from an analysis of documents relevant to the regulation of essential services. The study established that the legislative framework for regulating essential services in South Africa is consistent with the principles and decisions laid down by the International Labour Organisation. It however does not provide guidelines for determining minimum service levels. An apparent unevenness between the representatives of the negotiating counterparts exists in the municipal sector in South Africa. Many of the party representatives negotiating minimum service levels, do not work in designated essential services or possess relevant technical skills. The findings of the study suggest steps that could be taken to strengthen the capacity of the Essential Services Committee to assist parties in the municipal sector to conclude minimum service agreements and build the negotiating capacity of the parties. The study also makes recommendations regarding improved participation by essential service workers and the broader community in the process.

Space-Time Adaptive Processing is a signal processing technique that uses an adaptive array to help remove nonhomogeneous data points from a dataset. Since the early 1970s, STAP has been used in radar systems for their ability to "filter clutter, interference and jamming signals. One major flaw with early STAP radar systems is the reliance on non-robust estimators to estimate the noise condition. When even a single outlier is present, the earliest STAP radar systems would break down, causing the target to be missed. Many algorithms have been developed to successfully estimate the noise condition of the dataset when outliers are present. As recently as 2007, a STAP radar processing system based on Adaptive Complex Projection Statistics has been proposed and successfully"filters out the noise condition even when outliers are present. However, this algorithm requires the data to be entirely real. Radar data, which consists of amplitude and phase, is complex valued. Therefore, it must be converted into its rectangular components before processing can commence. This introduces many additional processing steps which significantly increase the computing time. The STAP radar algorithm of this thesis overcomes the problems with early radar systems. It is based on the Complex GM Wiener Filter (CGMWF) with the Minimum Covariance Determinant (MCD) for outlier detection. The robustness of the conventional Wiener "lter is enhanced by robust Huber Estimator, and using the MCD enables processing entirely in the complex domain. This results in a STAP radar algorithm with a breakdown point of nearly 35% and that enables processing entirely in the complex domain for fewer computing steps. / Master of Science

This thesis introduces exact (ILP- and SAT/PBS-based) algorithms for the Minimum Genus Problem and the Maximum Planar Subgraph Problem. It also considers general limits of approximation algorithms for the Maximum Planar Subgraph Problem.

The purpose of this paper is to calculate a method of estimating minimum dairy farm sizes for specific income levels. A survey of a sample of Utah dairy farmers was conducted to obtain data to calculate a long run average cost schedule. Dairy farmers who had just recently built new facilities and with varying sized herds were interviewed. Individual costs were studied to establish their effect on the long run average cost curve. Different average revenue curves for varying prices and production levels were used to establish minimum cow numbers needed to give s pecified incomes and growth potentials. Marginal analysis was used to establish the most efficient methods of growth, i.e., cow numbers, herd production and blend price.