Coastal erosion, population decline, and economic deterioration, in the rural coastal community of Sydney Mines, Cape Breton, are concerns upon which the provincial government is focused. This thesis explores how ideas of permanence, adaptation, and sacrifice can engage the prevailing erosion of both the coastline and community, in terms of the physical cliff face, population, and economy. Articulating methods of responding to the various conditions of erosion enables an evolving and didactic architecture, which can become a catalyst to stimulate the economy and create stability for the town. Strategies of site placement, as well as technologies of geological formation, historic mining practices, and adaptation approaches, explored in this thesis, provide examples of how prototypical architecture and programmatic insertions can create a viable solution to erosion in this coastal town.

Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka följderna av konkurrensutsättningen på apoteksmarknaden ur ett logistiskt flödesperspektiv. Metod: Abduktiv ansats och en kvalitativ datainsamlingsmetod i form av semistrukturerade och ostrukturerade intervjuer. Teori: Logistiska målmixen, Du Pont-schemat, 80–20-regeln, byta lager mot information, logistik som konkurrensmedel Marknadsteorier, konsumenttrygghet, drivkrafter för innovation, Porters fem krafter Resultat: De största volymerna av receptbelagda läkemedel går, likt under monopol-tiden, fortfarande via de största distributörerna Tamro och Oriola. Apoteks-aktörerna tycks överlag vilja gå mot lägre kapitalbindning, med något högre logistikkostnader och servicegrad. Främst vill aktörerna styra varuförsörj-ningen i egen regi för att anpassa den till de egna affärsmodellerna. Service-graden tycks inte ha försämrats sedan omregleringen. Trots detta önskar apoteken en förändring av varuförsörjningen, men detta har i dagsläget inte förverkligats. Den främsta orsaken tycks vara leverantörernas makt och bristen på substitut. För att utmana det obalanserade maktförhållandet tar apoteken till parallellimport, vilken tycks ha ökat, som förhandlingsmedel. Slutsatser: Komplexiteten tycks ligga i att marknaden i sin helhet måste behålla vissa öar av monopol. Ett läkemedel kan nämligen behäftas med mycket höga forsknings- och utvecklingskostnader, varpå utvecklarens patentskydd mot andra läkemedelsleverantörer är nödvändigt. Detta skapar dock en sämre förhandlingsställning för apoteksaktörerna. En annan bidragande faktor till komplexiteten kan vara statens inblandning som tredje part på marknaden. Den nya marknaden har dock lett till en innovationsutveckling på varuförsörjningsplanet, där aktörerna skapar sina egna logistiklösningar. / Purpose: The aim is to examine the impact of competition on the Swedish pharmacy market from a logistical flow perspective. Method: Abductive base and qualitative data collection method in the form of semi-structured and unstructured interviews. Theory Logistical Goal Mix, Du Pont chart, 80–20 rule, replacing stock with information, logistics as a competitive tool Market theories, consumer protection, innovation drivers, Porters five forces Result: The largest volumes of prescription drugs are still handled the same way as before the re-regulation by the largest distributors Tamro and Oriola. Pharmacy stakeholders in general seem to aim for lower tied up capital, with slightly higher logistics costs and service levels. Mainly, the pharmacies want to control the supply chain in-house to suit their own business models. The level of service seems to have remained stable since the re-regulation. Despite the same level of service, pharmacies desire a change in the supply chain. No change has been implemented which mainly seems to depend on the power of suppliers and lack of substitutes. In order to challenge the unbalanced power relationship pharmacies use parallel imports, which seem to have increased, as negotiation means. Conclusion: The complexity seems to lie in that the market as a whole must maintain certain islands of monopoly. A drug may be connected with very high research and development costs, which mean developer's patent protection of drugs against other vendor’s become necessary. However, this creates a weaker negotiating position for pharmacy operators. Another contributing factor to the complexity can be state involvement, as a third party, in the market. Despite this, the new market has led to an innovation development on the supply chain level where players create their own logistics.

Dabarties Lietuvoje vykstant švietimo reformai, mokytojų rengimas, kvalifikacijos tobulinimas ir perkvalifikavimas yra vienas iš svarbiausių uždavinių. Šiandieniniam mokytojui tobulėjimui nėra ribų, tobulintis gali kvalifikacijos tobulinimo kursuose, seminaruose, užsienio stažuotėse, tęstinėse studijose ir aišku, persikvalifikuojant. Pedagogų perkvalifikavimas yra viena iš kvalifikacijos tobulinimo krypčių. Perkvalifikavimas suteikia galimybę įgyti papildomą profesiją, tobulinti įgytus gebėjimus tuo pat metu juos jungti su naujai gautomis žiniomis, dalytis pedagogine patirtimi su kolegomis bei siekti aukštesnės kvalifikacijos. Perkvalifikavimas suvokiamas kaip papildomas mokymasis, per kurį, mokytojas gali įgyti naują diplomą ir pakeisti kryptį profesijos viduje. Tyrimu siekta nustatyti, kaip vyksta mokytojų perkvalifikavimas, kokia yra mokytojų perkvalifikavimo patirtis, išryškinti mokyklos vadovo vaidmenį persikvalifikuojant. Siekta išsiaiškinti, kodėl mokytojai persikvalifikuoja, ar vertina perkvalifikavimo studijas, kaip jų profesinės veiklos sudedamąją dalį, koks jų po��iūris į nuolatinį mokymąsi ir kaip tobulina savo kvalifikaciją, kiek perkvalifikavimas atitinka mokytojų poreikius ir valstybinę švietimo strategiją. / In present Lithuania in pursuance of the reform of education teachers training, in- service training, re-skilling is one of the biggest tasks. A modern-day teacher can improve himself in many ways: clinic, seminars, foreign probationary, continual study or re-skilling. Schoolmasters re-skilling is a trend of the qualification in-service training. Re-skilling gives an opportunity to get a new profession, improve acquired abilities, link them with new knowledge, interchange pedagogical experience and seek the superior qualification. Re-skilling is an additional learning, it is the way of getting a new diploma and changing a direction inside profession. The main intention of the research was to estimate the experience in re-skilling teachers and to ascertain the school head’s role in this process. It’s important to find out why do teachers retrain, do they value retrain study as a component of their work, what is their attitude towards permanent learning, how do they improve their qualification and does re-killing conforms to the teachers demands at the strategy of national education.

Entering the informal domain may be considered contrary to a formal understanding of architecture yet it is within this context that many architectural strategies are being resolved. Unbound by law and tradition, informal settlements allow for creative solutions that would otherwise not be explored. Such unconventional solutions speak to the discourse of architecture and planning, challenging ideas of public space and private ownership. The goal of this thesis is to investigate how public space is achieved in established informal houseboat communities using off-grid systems and salvaged material. An investigation of the houseboat community in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and the Narrow boats in London, England are case studies in this process. This thesis seeks to identify how the city of West Kelowna, the Westbank First Nation and the Central Okanagan Regional District of British Columbia can be agents of an informal intervention on the Okanagan Lake in British Columbia.

This thesis introduces an adaptive re-use approach to the remains of a former industrial site located along the River Douro in Porto, Portugal to reconnect individuals with communities and the past with the present by encouraging a return to local culture through art, craft, and small scale design intervention. A design approach that engages with the act of making can establish areas for creative collaborative activities, developing a sense of community, channeling value-creation mechanisms and fostering local economic development. The site can serve as a catalyst for larger art projects along the waterfront, improving other abandoned sites and connecting the site to the Ribeira. Beyond aesthetisizing the alienated area of the District of Aleixo in Porto, Portugal, the proposed architectural interventions can be significant in tying people back to their local history and culture in a contemporary way, creating an environment that encourages learning, engagement and facilitates collective place-making.

The breaking of internal solitary waves (ISWs) of depression shoaling upon a uniformly sloping boundary in a smoothed two-layer density field was investigated using high-resolution two-dimensional simulations. The simulations were performed for a wide range of boundary slopes S∈[0.01,0.3] and wave slopes. Over steep slopes (S≥0.1), three distinct breaking processes were observed; surging, plunging and collapsing breakers which are associated with reflection, convective instability and boundary layer separation, respectively. Over mild slopes (S≤0.05), nonlinearity varies gradually and the wave fissions into a train of waves of elevation after it passes through the turning point where solitary waves reverse polarity. The dynamics of each breaker type were investigated and the predominance of a particular mechanism was associated with a relative developmental timescale. The breaker type was characterized in wave slope S_w versus S space and the reflection coefficient (R), modeled as a function of the internal Iribarren number, was in agreement with other studies. The same 2D model was applied to investigate boundary layer separation-driven global instability, which is shown to play an important role in breaking of shoaling ISWs. The simulations were conducted with waves propagating over a flat bottom and shoaling over relatively mild (S=0.05) and steep (S=0.1) slopes. Combining the results over flat and sloping boundaries, a unified criterion for vortex shedding is proposed, which depends on the momentum thickness Reynolds number and the non-dimensionalized ISW-induced pressure gradient at the point of separation. The criterion is generalized to a form that may be readily computed from field data and compared to published laboratory and field observations. During vortex shedding, the bed shear stress, vertical velocity and near-bed Reynolds stress were elevated, implying potential for sediment re-suspension. Laboratory experiments were also performed to study three-dimensionality (3D) of global instability. Our results agree with previous laboratory experiments, using the proposed pressure gradient parameter and Reynolds number. The 3D effects prevent the vortices from ascending as high as they do in 2D simulations. The instabilities were not able to re-suspend sediments with 20 µm median diameters, which suggests applying lighter sediments, as finer sediments will be cohesive and dynamically different. / Thesis (Ph.D, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2011-12-23 15:03:29.76

Cutaneous wound healing is a complex process involving the migration of inflammatory cells to the wound site, deposition of extracellular matrix, and the reestablishment of an intact epithelial barrier. Re-epithelialization depends on the proliferation and directional migration of keratinocytes from the wound edges. Initially, keratinocytes migrate over a provisional wound matrix that is rich in fibronectin, and as the wound heals the provisional matrix becomes replaced by one consisting of collagen and proteoglycans. Re-epithelialization is tightly regulated by a variety of peptides such as growth factors, cytokines and proteases, and abnormalities may result in chronic non-healing wounds or hypertrophic scars. CCN2 (Connective Tissue Growth Factor) is a multifunctional protein with effects on cells and their interactions with the connective tissue. CCN2 is expressed in a variety of cell types and regulates numerous cell functions including proliferation, differentiation, adhesion, migration and stimulation of collagen production. While the importance of CCN2 for the fibrotic response has been well studied, its involvement in keratinocyte function has not yet been fully explored. Using an in vivo wound model, the expression of CCN2 was captured at the leading keratinocyte edge during re-epithelialization. In vitro, exogenous addition of CCN2 to human keratinocyte cultures promoted keratinocyte migration. Subsequently, integrin a5b1 was identified as an important mediator of CCN2 enhancement of keratinocyte adhesion to fibronectin. CCN2 activated the FAK-MAPK signaling pathway, and pretreatment with MEK1 specific inhibitor PD98059 markedly reduced CCN2-promoted keratinocyte migration. In vitro, CCN2 expression was induced by TGF-β1. Compared with inhibiting the SMAD pathway, blocking MAPK was more effective in reducing TGF-β1-induced CCN2 mRNA and protein expression. In addition, CCN2-induced keratinocyte spreading required FAK. Treatment with CCN2 led to actin disassembly and altered the activity of the Rho proteins and p190RhoGAP in keratinocytes. Furthermore, Cdc42 mediated CCN2-induced cell polarity. In conclusion, using in vivo and in vitro models, CCN2 was shown to regulate keratinocyte function by promoting keratinocyte adhesion, spreading and migration. A complete understanding of CCN2 expression in keratinocytes is crucial in order to develop novel therapies for wound healing.

It is vital for the 18-22 years old risk group teenagers characteristic of the deviational behaviour (i.e. violating social rules and norms) to be involved into re-socialization which might help to restore once lost social patterns and skills. It is possible to achieve through performing on stage applying certain elements of psychodrama. In this research work the subject of analysis is the particular risk group of 18-22 years old teenagers, their lost social patterns and skills as well as the ways to regain them using the elements of psichodrama. The goal is to prove both theoretically and practically the impact made by psichodramatic elements on the teenager risk group in restoring the lost social palterns and skills. After the analysis of Lithuanian educational, training, psichological, social and psychodramatic literature the main features of the deviational behaviour have been identified: hostility towards common activity and inability to participate in it; incapability of self-, and others’ understanding disclosing itself as lack of self-, and others’ confidence; inability to make decisions and deal with problems; inability to hold an effective dialogue, express oneself clearly and logically; and finally, the negative attitude towards the environment in general. The monographic method been chosen for the research within the teenager risk group. The duration of the research – December 2003 – December 2004. During the period the particular conditions have been created... [to full text]

Recent interest in Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have revived research on the performance of airfoils at relatively low Reynolds numbers. A common problem with low Reynolds number flow is that separation is almost inevitable without the application of some means of flow control, but understanding the nature of the separated flow is critical to designing an optimal flow control system. The current research presents results from a joint effort coupling numerical simulation and wind tunnel testing to investigate this flow regime. The primary airfoil for these studies is a modified 4415 with an adaptive actuator mounted internally such that the camber of the airfoil may be changed in a static or oscillatory fashion. A series of simulations are performed in static mode for Reynolds numbers of 25,000 to 100,000 and over a range of angles of attack to predict the characteristics of the flow separation and the coefficients of lift, drag, and moment. Preliminary simulations were performed for dynamic mode and it demonstrates a definitive ability to control separation across the range of Re and AoA. The earlier experimental work showed that separation reduction is gradual until a critical oscillation frequency is reached, after which increases in frequency have little additional impact on the flow. Present numerical simulation results were compared with the previous experiments results which were performed on the airfoil in like flow conditions and these comparisons allow the accuracy of both systems to be determined.

Re-entrant lines are widely used in many manufacturing systems, such as semiconductor, electronics, etc. However, the performance analysis of re-entrant lines is largely unexplored due to its complexity. In this thesis, we present iterative procedures to approximate the production rate of re-entrant lines with Bernoulli reliability of machines. The convergence of the algorithms, uniqueness of the solution, and structural properties, have been proved analytically. The accuracy of the procedures is investigated numerically. It is shown that the approaches developed can either provide a lower bound or a closed estimate of the system production rate. Finally, a case study of automotive ignition component line with re-entrant washing operations is introduced to illustrate the applicability of the method. The results of this study suggest a possible route for modeling and analysis of re-entrant systems.