Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of New South Wales, 2001. / Also available online.

This thesis describes the design of a system that converts the intermediate language SLIM, into assembler code for the Motorola MC68000. This is then assembled and loaded onto a MC68000 simulator where it successfully runs. The suitability of SLIM as an intermediate language is also studied, with a treatment on code optimization. / Science, Faculty of / Computer Science, Department of / Graduate

The writings of controversial ???underground??? figure Iceberg Slim feature identities and sub-cultures either antagonistic to, or otherwise not commensurable with, mainstream American Orders of Discourse. Within the ex-pimp???s narrative dystopia, a provocative and unreservedly profane idiom is employed not only to champion normatively marginalized or demonized subjectivities (such as African-Americans, the underclass, pimps and ???hustlers???), but also to identify and condemn the policies and praxes hegemonizing the Social domain. Moreover, although Slim is one of the most widely-read African-American authors, there has been to date almost no critical engagement with his work. The two primary objectives of this Thesis were: firstly, to evaluate and elucidate the transgressive potential posed by the Slimian narrative universe; and secondly, to demonstrate that the genus of Lacanian, post-Marxian and other dialectical heuristics developed by Slavoj ??i??ek offered the most expedient means of achieving the first objective. More specifically, via investigating the discursive and trans-discursive coordinates of marginal identity as dramatized in four of Slim???s most popular novellas (Pimp, Trick Baby, Mama Black Widow, and Death Wish), we sought to ascertain the degree to which Slim???s particular representational negotiations of identity and identification operate to undermine, or (inadvertently) support, dominant ideological formulations. Further, this investigation adopted a ??i??ekian approach to develop a framework through which the (social, ethical, ideological, aesthetic, psychical and libidinal) issues surrounding Power that are at stake could be meaningfully evaluated. Our cardinal hypotheses concerned the basic dialectical postulation that the key to understanding hegemonic operations lies not in the content of those operations, but rather in the form(s) through which they are brought to bear. The results obtained in this Thesis were consistent with the fundamental hypotheses posed and served also to achieve our primary objectives. Namely, our ??i??ekian approach identified and explained various structural and psychical features which were crucial in determining not only the antagonisms between (and inherent to) the vicissitudes of Power and the metastases of Its transgression (or not) within the Slimian universe, but also our apprehension of those antagonisms. In our enumeration of at least three discreet modalities of transgression, we finally concluded that the most radical dimension of the Slimian universe was to be located in the inherent undecidability between its affiliations with incommensurable ideological domains.

The writings of controversial ???underground??? figure Iceberg Slim feature identities and sub-cultures either antagonistic to, or otherwise not commensurable with, mainstream American Orders of Discourse. Within the ex-pimp???s narrative dystopia, a provocative and unreservedly profane idiom is employed not only to champion normatively marginalized or demonized subjectivities (such as African-Americans, the underclass, pimps and ???hustlers???), but also to identify and condemn the policies and praxes hegemonizing the Social domain. Moreover, although Slim is one of the most widely-read African-American authors, there has been to date almost no critical engagement with his work. The two primary objectives of this Thesis were: firstly, to evaluate and elucidate the transgressive potential posed by the Slimian narrative universe; and secondly, to demonstrate that the genus of Lacanian, post-Marxian and other dialectical heuristics developed by Slavoj ??i??ek offered the most expedient means of achieving the first objective. More specifically, via investigating the discursive and trans-discursive coordinates of marginal identity as dramatized in four of Slim???s most popular novellas (Pimp, Trick Baby, Mama Black Widow, and Death Wish), we sought to ascertain the degree to which Slim???s particular representational negotiations of identity and identification operate to undermine, or (inadvertently) support, dominant ideological formulations. Further, this investigation adopted a ??i??ekian approach to develop a framework through which the (social, ethical, ideological, aesthetic, psychical and libidinal) issues surrounding Power that are at stake could be meaningfully evaluated. Our cardinal hypotheses concerned the basic dialectical postulation that the key to understanding hegemonic operations lies not in the content of those operations, but rather in the form(s) through which they are brought to bear. The results obtained in this Thesis were consistent with the fundamental hypotheses posed and served also to achieve our primary objectives. Namely, our ??i??ekian approach identified and explained various structural and psychical features which were crucial in determining not only the antagonisms between (and inherent to) the vicissitudes of Power and the metastases of Its transgression (or not) within the Slimian universe, but also our apprehension of those antagonisms. In our enumeration of at least three discreet modalities of transgression, we finally concluded that the most radical dimension of the Slimian universe was to be located in the inherent undecidability between its affiliations with incommensurable ideological domains.

The main objective of this study is to investigate the applicability of a new multilateral well architecture in the domain of small size and offshore gas fields. The new architecture completely reverses the current multilateral technology. The innovative concept suggests that laterals can be achieved like any conventional wells. They could be drilled from the surface and tied back to a common wellbore referred to as the mother well. Production would go through the toe of laterals into the mother well. The mother well could be as simple as a large diameter casing equipped with prepared connections to tie in feeder wells. This study looked past the mechanical challenge of achieving the new architecture. I demonstrated important benefits in terms of cost reduction, well completion and operations, and reservoir drainage. I looked at a typical field case, Phoenix, located in West Africa. Its actual development plan targets an ultimate recovery of 600 BCF with a total of four sub-vertical wells. I implemented a new development scenario with the innovative multilateral architecture. For comparison purposes, I achieved a reservoir simulation and a production forecast with both scenarios. The only simulation variable was the well architecture definition. As a main result, the new multilateral structure could produce as many as four vertical wells with three slim-hole laterals. I achieved a quantitative risk analysis on both development plans. I assessed the development cost of each scenario and performed a Monte Carlo simulation to account for cost uncertainties. In addition to the actual 70 MMSCFD gas contract, I simulated a progressive gas demand increase of 20 MMSCFD every five years and a 150 MMSCFD gas market. The study demonstrates the economic benefits of the new technology in the domain of offshore and small gas fields. This work also shows that this new generation of multilaterals brings new option values to the domain of multilateral technology.

In this dissertation, multiband ground antennas for slim handsets are presented. The design techniques are on efficiently exciting the resonant modes of the system ground plane of the handset to greatly enhance the antenna¡¦s operating bandwidth. The first antenna design is a monopole antenna integrated with a slot antenna formed in a clearance in the system ground plane to enhance the bandwidth of the antenna¡¦s lower band for penta-band WWAN operation. The second antenna design uses a shaped circuit board with a proper notch embedded therein to result in stronger surface current excitation in the ground plane, which leads to bandwidth enhancement in the antenna¡¦s lower band and upper band. The second antenna design can cover seven-band WWAN/LTE operation. The antenna geometry in the second antenna design is further applied in the third antenna design. In order to meet the practical application of slim handsets, the third antenna design is integrated with a battery element and a metal midplate to decrease the thickness of the handset. The third antenna design can cover seven-band WWAN/LTE operation. Finally, the simulated SAR and HAC results are analyzed for the three proposed antennas.

The main objective of this study is to investigate the applicability of a new multilateral well architecture in the domain of small size and offshore gas fields. The new architecture completely reverses the current multilateral technology. The innovative concept suggests that laterals can be achieved like any conventional wells. They could be drilled from the surface and tied back to a common wellbore referred to as the mother well. Production would go through the toe of laterals into the mother well. The mother well could be as simple as a large diameter casing equipped with prepared connections to tie in feeder wells. This study looked past the mechanical challenge of achieving the new architecture. I demonstrated important benefits in terms of cost reduction, well completion and operations, and reservoir drainage. I looked at a typical field case, Phoenix, located in West Africa. Its actual development plan targets an ultimate recovery of 600 BCF with a total of four sub-vertical wells. I implemented a new development scenario with the innovative multilateral architecture. For comparison purposes, I achieved a reservoir simulation and a production forecast with both scenarios. The only simulation variable was the well architecture definition. As a main result, the new multilateral structure could produce as many as four vertical wells with three slim-hole laterals. I achieved a quantitative risk analysis on both development plans. I assessed the development cost of each scenario and performed a Monte Carlo simulation to account for cost uncertainties. In addition to the actual 70 MMSCFD gas contract, I simulated a progressive gas demand increase of 20 MMSCFD every five years and a 150 MMSCFD gas market. The study demonstrates the economic benefits of the new technology in the domain of offshore and small gas fields. This work also shows that this new generation of multilaterals brings new option values to the domain of multilateral technology.

The design and fabrication of a novel soft landing instrument Soft Landing Ion Mobility (SLIM) is described here. Topics covered include history of soft landing, gas phase mobility theory, the design and fabrication of SLIM, as well as applications pertaining to soft landing. Principle applications devised for this instrument involved the gas phase separation and selection of an ionized component from a multicomponent gas phase mixture as combing technique to optimize coatings, catalyst, and a variety of alternative application in the sciences.

For decades, global regulations and government mandates have driven technological developments to improve vehicle fuel economy. Tribological components found in all automotive engines contain metal-on-metal contact zones that may result in increased friction and wear, reducing overall engine efficiency. Lubricant additives such as antiwear and friction modifying components are added to motor oils to prevent some of the damages that may occur at contact zones and improve friction. The effects of other additive components, such as dispersants, that are prevalent in a lubricant additive package on the anti-wear layer remain relatively unknown. Polyisobutenyl Succinimide (PIBSI) dispersants were evaluated for their interactions with the ZDDP antiwear component. The physical and chemical properties and friction of the tribofilms formed in presence of dispersants were defined revealing a previously unknown structure-activity relationship. Further analysis of ZDDP and dispersants revealed surface and bulk fluid interactions.

Os pisos mistos aço-concreto de pequena altura caracterizam-se pelo embutimento da laje de concreto na altura da viga de aço, sendo a laje apoiada na mesa inferior do perfil. A principal vantagem deste sistema em relação à viga mista convencional é a redução da altura total do composto. Este trabalho tem como objetivo a criação de um modelo numérico construído no software de elementos finitos TNO DIANA®. O modelo proposto nesta pesquisa buscou subsídios para sua validação em resultados experimentais e numéricos realizados em outras pesquisas. Na fase de validação foram alterados diversos fatores a fim de avaliar a influência de cada um deles, calibrando o modelo até que os resultados se aproximassem dos experimentais. Depois que o modelo foi validado, foi analisada a influência de alguns parâmetros no comportamento global da estrutura, entre eles: a resistência do concreto (fck), a consideração de uma tela de armadura passiva colocada na capa de concreto com diferentes taxas de armadura e a variação da espessura da capa de concreto. Os resultados mostraram que o modelo consegue representar de maneira adequada o comportamento da estrutura apesar das simplificações consideradas para a modelagem. / Composite steel-concrete slim floors are characterized by the inlay of the concrete slab on the same plane of the steel beam, with the slab supported by the bottom flange of the profile. The main advantage of this system compared to the conventional mixed beam is the reduction of the overall height of the compound. This study aims to establish a numerical model built in finite element software TNO DIANA®. The model proposed in this research sought subsidies for its validation in experimental and numerical results achieved in others researches. In the validation phase were changed several factors to evaluate the influence of each of them, calibrating the model until the results come closer to the experimental. After the model has been calibrated, were analyzed the influence of some parameters on the overall behavior of the structure, among them: the strength of concrete (fck), the consideration of reinforcement bars placed on the slab with different rates and the variation of the thickness of the concrete slab. The results showed that the model can adequately represent the structural behavior despite the simplifications considered for modeling.