<p>This is a thesis report done as part of the Master of Science in Electronics Design Engineering given at Linköping University, Campus Norrköping. The thesis work is done at Ericsson AB in the spring of 2005. The thesis describes a method of removing variations in the tuning sensitivity of voltage-controlled crystal oscillators due to different manufacturing processes. These variations results in unwanted variations in the modulation bandwidth of the phase-locked loop the oscillator is used in. Through examination of the theory of phase-locked loops it is found that the bandwidth of the loop is dependent on the tuning sensitivity of the oscillator.</p><p>A method of correcting the oscillator-sensitivity by amplifying or attenuating the control-voltage of the oscillator is developed. The size of the correction depends on the difference in oscillator-sensitivity compared to that of an ideal oscillator. This error is measured and the correct correction constant calculated.</p><p>To facilitate the measurements and correction extra circuits are developed and inserted in the loop. The circuits are both analog and digital. The analog circuits are mounted on an extra circuit board and the digital circuits are implemented in VHDL in an external FPGA.</p><p>Tests and theoretical calculations show that the method is valid and able to correct both positive and negative variations in oscillator-sensitivity of up to a factor ±2.5 times. The bandwidth of the loop can be adjusted between 2 to 15 Hz (up to ±8 dB, relative an unmodified loop).</p>

The current study sought to examine predictors of language acquisition for deaf children who received cochlear implants in a large, multi-center trial. General maternal sensitivity as well as two specific types of maternal sensitivity, cognitive and linguistic stimulation, were all evaluated in relation to speech production. Characteristics of the family and child (e.g. maternal education, family income, age at implantation, etc.) were also evaluated. The hypotheses tested were: 1) child age at implantation and gender, maternal education, and family income were expected to predict speech production across 6 and 12 months post-implantation, 2) both Cognitive and Linguistic Stimulation were expected to predict the growth of speech production at 6 and 12 months post-implantation, and 3) Cognitive and Linguistic Stimulation were expected to predict speech production above and beyond that predicted by general Maternal Sensitivity. Results indicated that, of the demographic variables, only child age at implantation was a significant predictor of speech production. Cognitive and linguistic stimulation were significantly associated with the development of speech production in the first year following activation of the implant. Furthermore, these important maternal behaviors accounted for gains in speech production beyond that accounted for by general maternal sensitivity. These findings have several clinical implications, including the development of formalized training for parents of children who receive cochlear implants.

The Earths climate is changing at a higher rate, i.e between 1861 and 1994 the annual mean temperature in Scandinavia increased with 0,68º C and according to recent climate models the annual mean temperature is likely to rise with another 3º C during this century. A warmer climate in many ways is associated with changing conditions for lake ecosystems. An expected higher water temperature and a stronger summer stratification of the water column increases the risk of anoxic conditions at the lake bottom. Thus anoxic conditions are likely to cause a phosphate leakage from the sediment, i.e. a higher internal loading of phosphate. In this project, the extremely warm summer of 2002 has been used as an example for a possible scenario for a future climate. By comparing levels of phosphorus in the summer of 2002 with a ten-year median value, a phosphorus related sensitivity to climate change has been analyzed for 55 Swedish lakes. This sensitivity has then been related to several parameters of which in particular the lake morphometry and the land use in the catchment of the lake influenced the climatic sensitivity of the lake to climatic change. / Jordens klimat förändras i en allt snabbare takt. Mellan 1861 och 1994 steg årsmedeltemperaturen i Skandinavien med 0,68º C. Enligt aktuella klimatmodeller förväntas årsmedeltemperaturen i Skandinavien öka med ytterligare 3º C det närmaste seklet. Ett varmare klimat innebär på flera sätt nya förutsättningar för ekosystemen. Genom höjda vattentemperaturer och en starkare stratifikation sommartid ökar risken för syrefria förhållanden i sjöar. Då sedimentet under syrefria förhållanden kan läcka fosfat innebär detta en ökad internbelastning av fosfor. I detta projekt har den extremt varma sommaren 2002 använts som ett möjligt framtida klimat. Genom att jämföra fosforhalter sommaren 2002 med ett medianvärde för 10 år har den fosforrelaterade känsligheten för klimatförändringar kunnat analyseras för 55 svenska sjöar. Denna känslighet har sedan relaterats till diverse parametrar så som sjöns morfometri och avrinningsområdets sammansättning.

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There is an increasing interest for business organizations to engage into the global inter-firm alliance nowadays. The companies are striving for accessing the opportunities created by emerging markets, diversification of the products’ offer or the access to lower cost inputs (Barnes, et al., 2010). However, along with the benefits, there are also risks that the inter-firm alliances are challenged with. Those risks are represented by various forms of opportunistic behavior, which might be further caused by business partners (Williamson, 1975). The companies that decide to engage into inter-firm alliance need to invest in the implementation of control mechanisms that will protect them against opportunistic behavior. The preventing exante mechanisms can be implemented prior to the official start of cooperation while the cause ex-post mechanisms are applied during further stage of the collaboration. However, due to the cost of these implementations, companies cannot afford employing every available control mechanism. They need to select only the ones that their benefits exceed their costs. One of the main factors that influence the selection process of control mechanisms is the level of knowledge sensitivity of a product. The main objective of this master thesis is to determine how the level of knowledge sensitivity of a product influences the selection of ex-ante control mechanisms.

<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> </head> <body> A modelling study was conducted to explore the emission, transport, transformation and deposition behaviour of atmospheric Hg. A detailed natural Hg emission model was developed to estimate the natural Hg emissions from soil, water and vegetation. U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) Hg model system was improved by incorporating the detailed treatment of natural Hg emissions, adopting boundary conditions from a global Hg model (Seigneur et al. , 2004) and including the calculation of the dry deposition velocity of elemental Hg. The natural Hg emission model and the improved CMAQ-Hg model were validated with some measurements and then applied to North America for a whole year (2002). A detailed natural Hg emission model was developed in this study. This model made use of detailed soil Hg concentration measurements, meteorological data and soil conditions to estimate Hg emissions from soil, water and vegetation. The influence of snow cover and low temperature was also considered in the model. This model was then applied to simulate one-year natural Hg emissions in North America in 2002. The modelled results, compared to some reported natural Hg emission measurements, demonstrated a strong simulation ability. The spatial and temporal variations of emission fluxes were examined through numerical simulations. A pronounced diurnal cycle and a seasonal cycle were found in the emissions from most land uses. Compared with summer, natural Hg emission was significantly limited in winter. Simulation results showed that about 229 metric tons of total natural Hg emission, 1. 8 times anthropogenic Hg emission, was emitted from the simulation domain in 2002. U. S. EPA CMAQ Hg model system was improved and then applied to simulate the emission, transport, transformation and deposition of atmospheric Hg in North America for the year 2002. The simulated results were compared with measured hourly Total Gaseous Hg (TGM) for 3 sites. The good agreement between them demonstrated the good performance of this improved model in modelling the behaviour of emission, transport, transformation and deposition of atmospheric Hg. Hg budget and net evasion of Hg in North America were also investigated. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the effects of emissions, including Hg and non-Hg emissions, on the air concentration and deposition of atmospheric Hg. The results indicated that ambient concentration of TGM was much more sensitive to Hg emissions than non-Hg emissions. Natural Hg emission was more significant than anthropogenic emission to affect ambient concentration of TGM, illustrating natural Hg emission is a key factor influencing TGM ambient concentration. Unlike TGM concentration, Hg dry deposition was not only sensitive to Hg emissions but also to non-Hg emissions such as VOCs and NO_x. Anthropogenic Hg emission, natural Hg emission and NO_x emission had almost the same effect on total dry deposition of Hg. The results also illustrated that Hg wet deposition was only sensitive to non-Hg emissions such as NO_x and VOCs, especially of VOCs emission. Because of the inverse effect of VOCs on Hg wet deposition, reducing NO_x emission should be an ideal solution to mitigate Hg wet deposition. A possible pathway through which atmospheric Hg was greatly affected by emissions changes was identified: emissions of pollutants, especially VOCs and NO_x, greatly affect the level of OH in the atmosphere; OH influences the concentration and deposition of Hg by significantly affecting the gas phase reaction between Hg(0) and OH. </body> </html>

The theory of rejection sensitivity, suggests that early experiences of rejection (e.g. parental rejection, peer rejection) can result in the tendency to anxiously expect, readily perceive, and overreact to rejection by significant others in future relationships. An abundance of quantitative research has suggested that rejection sensitivity has significant implications regarding one’s thoughts and actions within intimate partnerships (e.g. Downey & Feldman, 1996); however, little is known about the lived experience of the women who are sensitive to rejection. The present research sought to move beyond the developmental perspective of the theory of rejection sensitivity (as presented in the first two chapters) by aiming to gain an understanding of how women experience rejection sensitivity within their intimate partnerships and how their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours have impacted their romantic lives. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to explore the lived experience of women who identified with rejection sensitivity. Data generated during two interviews with three participants was transcribed and analyzed using an interpretive phenomenological analysis approach. An over-arching theme of I won’t let it happen again: a journey of self-protection emerged that was representative of the women’s shared experience of protecting themselves from experiencing further rejection in their romantic relationships and was further illustrated throughout three secondary themes: I can control things so I won’t let it happen again, Wait…is it happening anyway?, and A continuous journey. Based on the present findings, considerations for further research and practice are offered. Given lack of research aimed at understanding the experiences of women who identify with rejection sensitivity, the value of the present study is twofold: This research makes a notable contribution to current literature, but also encourages women, and those devoted to helping them, to understand their own unique relationships with rejection sensitivity and navigate their own journeys with a sense of hope for mutually satisfying and beneficial romantic relationships in their futures.

The increasing competition between the companies forces them to develop the production in a continuous manner in order to maintain the competitiveness in the global market, and became as efficient and effective as possible. This master thesis is conducted at Getrag All Wheel Drive Company which is one of the largest suppliers for transmissions and powertrain systems .This Company has worked actively for long time to improve the production flow at the manufacturing departments by using usual methods. Because of the high complex and intersected flow that the company has, the management intended to adopt another approach that takes dynamic information into consideration, therefore, building a simulation model is the solution, where according to Banks et al (2001) the simulation is a duplication of a real-world process or system and its behaviour as it progress during the time, which is a very useful method to evaluate complex systems, instead of using usual mathematical means used tools. The simulation model created by using Banks et al (2001) simulation methodology, and ExtendSim software help. The resulted model used as a tool that provides great assistance to the decision makers, in order to develop the Conwip system which applied in the manufacturing line under study, and to investigate “What if” scenarios. The result of this study obtained after performing two experiments, where the first experiment gives recommendation regarding the optimal upper bound of the total amount of work that can be used in Conwip system, with the use of sensitivity analysis, and the second experiment analyse the overall all effect on the system after separating the paths of high and low volume products. This project proves the powerful side of using the simulation in situations where it’s too hard or even impossible to improve the performance of a manufacturing line i.e. when large number of variables involved and affecting the system.

This is a thesis report done as part of the Master of Science in Electronics Design Engineering given at Linköping University, Campus Norrköping. The thesis work is done at Ericsson AB in the spring of 2005. The thesis describes a method of removing variations in the tuning sensitivity of voltage-controlled crystal oscillators due to different manufacturing processes. These variations results in unwanted variations in the modulation bandwidth of the phase-locked loop the oscillator is used in. Through examination of the theory of phase-locked loops it is found that the bandwidth of the loop is dependent on the tuning sensitivity of the oscillator. A method of correcting the oscillator-sensitivity by amplifying or attenuating the control-voltage of the oscillator is developed. The size of the correction depends on the difference in oscillator-sensitivity compared to that of an ideal oscillator. This error is measured and the correct correction constant calculated. To facilitate the measurements and correction extra circuits are developed and inserted in the loop. The circuits are both analog and digital. The analog circuits are mounted on an extra circuit board and the digital circuits are implemented in VHDL in an external FPGA. Tests and theoretical calculations show that the method is valid and able to correct both positive and negative variations in oscillator-sensitivity of up to a factor ±2.5 times. The bandwidth of the loop can be adjusted between 2 to 15 Hz (up to ±8 dB, relative an unmodified loop).

<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> </head> <body> A modelling study was conducted to explore the emission, transport, transformation and deposition behaviour of atmospheric Hg. A detailed natural Hg emission model was developed to estimate the natural Hg emissions from soil, water and vegetation. U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) Hg model system was improved by incorporating the detailed treatment of natural Hg emissions, adopting boundary conditions from a global Hg model (Seigneur et al. , 2004) and including the calculation of the dry deposition velocity of elemental Hg. The natural Hg emission model and the improved CMAQ-Hg model were validated with some measurements and then applied to North America for a whole year (2002). A detailed natural Hg emission model was developed in this study. This model made use of detailed soil Hg concentration measurements, meteorological data and soil conditions to estimate Hg emissions from soil, water and vegetation. The influence of snow cover and low temperature was also considered in the model. This model was then applied to simulate one-year natural Hg emissions in North America in 2002. The modelled results, compared to some reported natural Hg emission measurements, demonstrated a strong simulation ability. The spatial and temporal variations of emission fluxes were examined through numerical simulations. A pronounced diurnal cycle and a seasonal cycle were found in the emissions from most land uses. Compared with summer, natural Hg emission was significantly limited in winter. Simulation results showed that about 229 metric tons of total natural Hg emission, 1. 8 times anthropogenic Hg emission, was emitted from the simulation domain in 2002. U. S. EPA CMAQ Hg model system was improved and then applied to simulate the emission, transport, transformation and deposition of atmospheric Hg in North America for the year 2002. The simulated results were compared with measured hourly Total Gaseous Hg (TGM) for 3 sites. The good agreement between them demonstrated the good performance of this improved model in modelling the behaviour of emission, transport, transformation and deposition of atmospheric Hg. Hg budget and net evasion of Hg in North America were also investigated. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the effects of emissions, including Hg and non-Hg emissions, on the air concentration and deposition of atmospheric Hg. The results indicated that ambient concentration of TGM was much more sensitive to Hg emissions than non-Hg emissions. Natural Hg emission was more significant than anthropogenic emission to affect ambient concentration of TGM, illustrating natural Hg emission is a key factor influencing TGM ambient concentration. Unlike TGM concentration, Hg dry deposition was not only sensitive to Hg emissions but also to non-Hg emissions such as VOCs and NO_x. Anthropogenic Hg emission, natural Hg emission and NO_x emission had almost the same effect on total dry deposition of Hg. The results also illustrated that Hg wet deposition was only sensitive to non-Hg emissions such as NO_x and VOCs, especially of VOCs emission. Because of the inverse effect of VOCs on Hg wet deposition, reducing NO_x emission should be an ideal solution to mitigate Hg wet deposition. A possible pathway through which atmospheric Hg was greatly affected by emissions changes was identified: emissions of pollutants, especially VOCs and NO_x, greatly affect the level of OH in the atmosphere; OH influences the concentration and deposition of Hg by significantly affecting the gas phase reaction between Hg(0) and OH. </body> </html>