Time series forecasting and modeling are challenging problems during the past decades, because of its plenty of properties and underlying correlated relationships. As a result, researchers proposed a lot of models to deal with the time series. However, the proposed models such as Autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) and artificial neural networks (ANNs) only describe part of the properties of time series. In this thesis, we introduce a new hybrid model integrated filter structure to improve the prediction accuracy. Case studies with real data from University of Kentucky HealthCare are carried out to examine the superiority of our model. Also, we applied our model to operating room (OR) to reduce the inefficiency cost. The experiment results indicate that our model always outperforms compared with other models in different conditions.

Legitimacy is a central concept within organization studies and it is widely accepted that being granted legitimacy is crucial for organizations in today’s society. Legitimacy is known to be based on rationality which during the course of research development has come to include not only technical aspects, but also socially constructed factors affected by stakeholder’s personal values. Moreover, it is known that there are multiple dimensions of legitimacy and that organizations are evaluated based on method of operation, output and goals, and vision. These can be judged differently by stakeholders in the same field, arriving at possibly contradictive legitimacy judgements regarding the same organization. However, we are not familiar with if the context in which an organization operates affects the legitimacy judgement made by its stakeholders. This thesis therefore aimed to study how the context an organization operates in can affect the legitimacy judgement with a comparative case study. The study shows that the operational context in itself can be a factor in the evaluation of the organization. It also indicates that different contexts can cause different and contradictive legitimacy judgements among the stakeholders even though the operational task and output is essentially the same.

Field flow fractionation of particles in rotating coiled column has been investigated in recent year. In contrast to the classical mode of field flow fractionation in narrow channels, the use of rotating coiled columns offers the possibility of large sample loading. In this thesis, the potential for new cell separation methods based on the use of flow fractionation in fluctuating g-fields generated in rotating coil columns is examined. The effects of operational conditions (flow rate and rotational speed – Chapter 3 and Chapter 5); cell properties (cell flexibility – Chapter 4); and column shapes (different inner diameters and coil geometries – Chapter 6) on the flow behaviour of a model system of red blood cells (RBCs) from different species, which differ markedly in size, shape & density, flowing in a single phase of buffered saline have been characterised. Operational Conditions: For a particular rotational speed, there was a minimum flow rate which caused all the cells to be retained in the column and a maximum flow rate at which all cells were eluted. Both the minimum and maximum flow rate were increased when a higher rotational speed was applied. Differences in the behaviour of sheep & hen RBCs have been used to develop a separation method using a continuously increasing flow gradient. This separation could be speeded up by using a step flow gradient. The effects of cell load and rotational direction on the behaviour of RBCs in the column was also studied in this thesis. Cell Properties: The minimum flow rate was found to correlate with cell diameter/cell volume of the RBCs as expected for a sedimentation related process and was partially described by a theoretic equation developed for particles by Fedotov and colleagues (Fedotov et al. 2005). However cell dependent departures from this equation were found which appear to indicate that cell specific surface properties may also be involved for cells (Chapter 3). By contrast the maximum flow rate showed no correlation with cell diameter/cell volume. An effect of cell deformability on the flow separation behaviour of the cells has been demonstrated. Chemical fixation of sheep RBCs with glutaraldehyde rendered the normally deformable RBCs rigid and non-deformable and resulted in the fixed sheep RBCs eluting significantly earlier than unfixed sheep RBCs. This difference was great enough that a mixture of deformable (unfixed) and non-deformable (fixed) sheep RBCs could be separated. Fixed cells tended to show cell aggregation, which could be reduced by the addition of surfactant. Column Geometry: An effect of column shapes on the flow separation behaviour of cells has been demonstrated showing that the optimisation of column design is an important feature of this mode of cell separation. For columns with the same cross sectional area, a “horizontal” rectangular column provided better separation than a circular column and a “vertical” rectangular column gave the least efficient separation. A possible explanation for this behaviour is suggested the thinner sedimentation layer and less secondary flow. Differences in the behaviour of various species of RBCs in the “horizontal” rectangular column have been used to study the efficiency of separation of a mixture of sheep and hen RBCs, and a mixture of rabbit and hen RBCs. This work shows similarities and differences with other reports on cell/particle separations in rotating coiled columns in single phases and also in aqueous two phases systems (ATPS) and these are discussed. Fedotov P.S., Kronrod V.A. & Kasatonova O.N. (2005). Simulation of the motion of solid particles in the carries liquid flow in a rotating coiled column. J. Anal. Chem., 60, 4, 310-316.

Numerous nickel titanium rotary file systems have been introduced in recent years. The recommended speed at which these files are to be operated varies widely between manufacturers. The purpose of this study was to test the number of rotations to fracture of NiTi rotary files when operated at different speeds and at different angles. Sixty size 25 Profile® nickel titanium rotary files were tested, thirty 0.04 and thirty 0.06 taper. Files were operated at speeds of 350 or 600 rpm and at angles of 25°, 28°, and 33.5°. The time to fracture was recorded and the numbers of rotations to fracture were calculated. The data was analyzed using a two-way ANOVA, and post hoc Tukey-Kramer multiple-comparison test with alpha = .001. The results show a significant difference in the number of rotations fracture according to taper and angle. Files of .06 taper fractured more readily than files of .04 taper as the speed increased, and the time to fracture decreased for both tapers as the angle increased. No significant difference was produced by the speed at which the files were operated. The number of rotations until fracture of NiTi rotary files is not related to the operational speed.

The work is focused on the issue of EU funds in the Czech educational system within the historical development of drawing to contemporary ways of obtaining funds that enter into the educational system. It provides an overview of the problem areas in the disbursement of funds of the European Union from the perspective of the beneficiaries. The study also addressed in detail the issue of the Operational Programme Education for Competitiveness, which had a great impact on the education system in the Czech Republic. The aim of this thesis in the theoretical part is to describe a comprehensive picture about the issue and provide relevant information for the understanding of specific areas of disbursement EU funds. In the practical part there are mainly presents the results of a questionnaire survey which identified problem areas when funds absorption Operational Programme Education for Competitiveness. KEYWORDS European Union, operational program, project, financing, education

L'enjeu de cette thèse est de dénouer les fils de l'esthétique de la faim à travers une série de médiations, des discours flottants, qui ne sont ni simple procédure visant ou décrivant une pratique ni pure théorie, parce qu'elle hérite de la réalité sociale de manière implicite et explicite. Nous cherchons cette parole qui révèle les contradictions de ce monde, ce ne sera pas de point de vue de l'image cinématographique même si elle rend opérationnelle. La thèse centrale de la démonstration tente de trouver son opérationnalité à partir de la tradition intellectuelle brésilienne et affirmer comme chez Sartre le refus « de confondre l'homme aliéné avec une chose, et l'aliénation avec les lois physiques qui régissent les conditionnements d'extériorité […] Pour nous, l'homme se caractérise avant tout par le dépassement d'une situation, parce qu'il parvient à faire de ce qu'on a fait de lui, même s'il ne se reconnaît jamais dans son objectivation [1] ». La production intellectuelle de Glauber Rocha dépasse le cinéma en conjurant l'art, la vie et le politique, sans jamais les dissocier, dans une expérience poétique régulée par le locus métaphorique de la faim lié à la réalité sociale des zones arides du Brésil.[1] La critique de la raison dialectique, précédé de Questions de méthode, tome I, nouvelle édition, Paris, Gallimard, nrf, Bibliothèque des Sciences Humaines, 1985, p. 76. / The aim of the thesis is to unravel the strands of the aesthetic of hunger through a serie of mediations, dispersed discourses, that are neither a simple procedure aiming for and describing a practice nor pure theory, because of its both implicite and explicit derivations from social realityµ. We found the parole that reveals the contradictions of this world, but not from the point of view of the cinematographic image, through this image is what renders it operational. The principle thesis seeks its manifestation in the Brazilian intellectual tradition and confirms, as in Sartre, the refusal « […] to confuse the alienated man with a thing or alienation with the physical laws governing external conditions... For us man is characterized above all by his going beyond a situation, and by what he succeeds in making of what he has been made – even if he never recognize himself in his objectivation ».The intellectual production of Glauber Rocha goes beyond cinema in conjuring art, life, and the political, without dissociating them, in a poetic experience directed by the metaphoric locus of hunger as linked to the social reality of arid zones in Brazil.[1] Search for a method, translated by Hazel E. Barnes, New York, Vintage Books, 1968, p. 91.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / Identifying, countering, andpreventing operational obsolescence is a challenging but vital task for personnel involved in the design, acquisition and support of military equipment. In this thesis, I define the concept of operational obsolescence and show quantitative relationships between modernization funding timelines and operational obsolescence. Only if we truly understand obsolescence can we best combat its onset and effects. I use example data from both legacy and current Army Aviation Systems to draw conclusions about the impacts of particular modernization timelines on the various forms of obsolescence that cause operational obsolescence. I then make recommendations concerning the optimal modernization strategies for current and future aviation systems in order to facilitate the Army's ability to field and sustain the most tactically and logistically superior weapon systems possible. Using first principles, I construct Life Models based on hazard functions for each of the different forms of obsolescence. I then combine these models into an overall model, and discuss the design of a data system to estimate model parameters. / http://hdl.handle.net/10945/998 / Lieutenant Colonel, United States Army

The most common approach towards transfer pricing has been purely economic or with focus on tax regulations. However, transfer pricing has developed to become a component of organizational strategy. This indicates a growing focus on transfer pricing from a managerial perspective. A well-functioning transfer pricing structure can enable increased operational efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to explain the alignment between transfer pricing methods and strategy. The alignment between corporate levels and divisions enhances a corporation’s possibility to obtain strategic congruence, and thereby competitive advantage to become a stronger player on the market. The research is conducted as a multi-level case study with both qualitative and quantitative data collection. The result stresses that the case firms transfer pricing design is based on managerial objectives, and uses market-based and negotiated transfer price policies. The result finds that the methods and the strategy are partly aligned, which contributes to the corporation’s overall performance. Although, due to the levels different perceptions of profit maximization some sub-optimization occurs.

The Coast Guard has developed several systems to measure the performance of its engineering and logistics organizations. The development of these measures is based upon the need to show where and how the organization meets the American taxpayer’s needs. The use of multivariable regressions and determining the statistical distributions of the variables will show the adequacy of the measures and processes currently used. They will also determine a better way to measure the performance of the Coast Guard Small Boat Fleet. This research will analyze the 47 Motor Life Boat and 25 Response Boat-Small data from fiscal year 2011 to 2013. The focus will be on improving the measure used by the engineering and systems managers of the Coast Guard to manage assets and resources, as well as making recommendations on how to improve the processes involved in managing a robust engineering and logistics system.

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