Financial dependency and a trend in donor-driven gender equality and women’s empowerment projects in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) have undoubtedly had an effect on the way in which NGOs are working and evolving: often projects are designed to fulfill donor requirements – and thereby policies - instead of creating an agenda which is politically and socially “home grown”. This paper analyses the USAID gender policy paper (as an example of foreign donor policy) and interviews conducted with legal, programme and gender experts in the oPt, exploring the challenges and gaps between policy and practice. The research uses qualitative research methods to analyze USAID discourse - exploring concepts such as representation, ideology and power - and general assumptions and perspectives towards women’s equality and empowerment in the Opt versus how this translates into practice.

Digital Elevation Models (DEM) are a simple representation of the Earth’s surface. DEMs play an important role in the field of remote sensing and GIS and are used as basis for mapping and analysis for a vest majority of scientific applications. There are many ways of producing DEMs, however the direct geo-referencing technology has made Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) a preferred technology for the acquisition of accurate surface models over broad areas. ALS uses LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) which uses light in a form of pulsed laser to measure distances. Before the introduction of the DEM called Ny Nationell Höjdmodell (NNH), the highest level of height data over Sweden was the GSD-altitude data (Geographical Sweden Data). The NNH was a project by Lantmäteriet, where between 2009-2019 the entire Sweden was laser scanned. The product was a new height model called Laser Data NH with positional accuracy of 0,1 m in height and relative accuracy of 0,15 m. This project focuses on testing few methods for consistency assessment between the overlapping strips using linear features. Linear features are extracted for each overlapping area, based on intersection between planar patches extracted from gable rooftops. The first method of this study computes the distance between the overlapping areas without linear features, using two approaches: cloud-to-cloud distance and mesh-to-cloud distance. The second method computes the transformation shifts and rotations needed for the linear features to align by registering the strips with both levelled and not levelled registration. In the third method, distances and angles are measured between the lines, to further analyze how well the strips fit together. The distances are measured as distance between a mid-point of one line in the first LiDAR strip and the line on the second LiDAR strip, for all linear features. The distances were measures both as 3D distances and separately as horizontal and vertical distances. As a final step a hypothesis testing was performed to determine whether the distances and angles between the lines are significant or whether any systematic error is present in the point cloud. Based on the results obtained from the first method, significant distance between the point clouds was obtained. The results from the mesh-to-cloud distance yielded better result with higher uncertainty. According to the second method significant distances between the linear features were obtained based on the registration. The mean absolute error of the registrations showed an error at a dm level, with a minimal rotation in the vertical plane for the coalignment for the levelled registration. The third method showed a mean distance between the linear features of 20 cm. Moreover, this method showed a significant inconsistence between the linear features in the vertical plane based on the high standard uncertainty. / Digitala höjdmodeller (DEM) är en enkel representation av jordens yta. DEM spelar en viktig roll inom fjärranalys och GIS och används som grund för kartläggning och analys för en majoritet av vetenskapliga tillämpningar. Det finns många sätt att producera DEM, men den direkta georefereringstekniken har gjort Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) till en föredragen teknik för förvärv av exakta ytmodeller över breda områden. ALS använder LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) som använder ljus i form av pulserande laser för att mäta avstånd. Före introduktionen av Ny Nationell Höjdmodell (NNH) var den högsta nivån av höjddata över Sverige GSD-höjddata (Geographical Sweden Data). NNH var ett projekt av Lantmäteriet, där mellan 2009-2019 laserscannades hela Sverige. Produkten var en ny höjdmodell som heter Laserdata NH med positionsnoggrannhet på 0,1 m i höjd och relativ noggrannhet på 0,15 m. Detta projekt fokuserar på att testa få metoder för konsekvensbedömning mellan de överlappande remsorna med hjälp av linjära funktioner. Linjära funktioner extraheras för varje överlappande område, baserat på skärningspunkten mellan plana fläckar extraherade från gaveltak. Den första metoden för denna studie beräknar avståndet mellan de överlappande områdena utan linjära funktioner, med två metoder: moln-till-moln-avstånd och nät-till-moln-avstånd. Den andra metoden beräknar de transformationsförskjutningar och rotationer som behövs för att de linjära särdragen ska kola genom att registrera remsorna med både nivellerad och inte nivellerad registrering. I den tredje metoden mäts avstånd och vinklar mellan linjerna, för att ytterligare analysera hur bra remsorna passar ihop. Avstånden mäts som avstånd mellan en mittpunkt på en linje i den första LiDAR-remsan och linjen på den andra LiDAR-remsan, för alla linjära funktioner. Avstånden var mått både som 3D -avstånd och separat som horisontella och vertikala avstånd. Som ett sista steg utfördes en hypotesprovning för att avgöra om avstånden och vinklarna mellan linjerna är signifikanta eller om det finns något systematiskt fel i punktmolnet. Baserat på resultaten från den första metoden erhölls ett betydande avstånd mellan punktmolnen. Resultaten från mask-till-moln-avståndet gav bättre resultat med högre osäkerhet. Enligt den andra metoden erhölls betydande avstånd mellan de linjära särdragen baserat på registreringen. Det genomsnittliga absoluta felet för registreringarna visade ett fel på en dm -nivå, med en minimal rotation i det vertikala planet för samlinjering för den jämnade registreringen. Den tredje metoden visade ett medelavstånd mellan de linjära särdragen på 20 cm. Dessutom visade denna metod en signifikant inkonsekvens mellan de linjära särdragen i det vertikala planet baserat på hög standardosäkerhet.

This dissertation is devoted to the development of new flow-based formulations for the asymmetric traveling salesman problem (ATSP) and to the demonstration of their applicability in effectively solving some scheduling problems. The ATSP is commonly encountered in the areas of manufacturing planning and scheduling, and transportation logistics. The integration of decisions pertaining to production and shipping, in the supply chain context, has given rise to an additional and practical relevance to this problem especially in situations involving sequence-dependent setups and routing of vehicles. Our objective is to develop new ATSP formulations so that algorithms can be built by taking advantage of their relaxations (of integer variables, thereby, resulting in linear programs) to effectively solve large-size problems. In view of our objective, it is essential to have a formulation that is amenable to the development of an effective solution procedure for the underlying problem. One characteristic of a formulation that is helpful in this regard is its tightness. The tightness of a formulation usually refers to the quality of its approximation to the convex hull of integer feasible solutions. Another characteristic is its compactness. The compactness of a formulation is measured by the number of variables and constraints that are used to formulate a given problem. Our formulations for the ATSP and the scheduling problems that we address are both tight and compact. We present a new class of polynomial length formulations for the asymmetric traveling salesman problem (ATSP) by lifting an ordered path-based model using logical restrictions in concert with the Reformulation-Linearization Technique (RLT). We show that a relaxed version of this formulation is equivalent to a flow-based ATSP model, which, in turn, is tighter than the formulation based on the exponential number of Dantzig-Fulkerson-Johnson (DFJ) subtour elimination constraints. The proposed lifting idea is applied to derive a variety of new formulations for the ATSP, and a detailed analysis of these formulations is carried out to show that some of these formulations are the tightest among those presented in the literature. Computational results are presented to exhibit the relative tightness of our formulations and the efficacy of the proposed lifting process.> While the computational results demonstrate the efficacy of employing the proposed theoretical RLT and logical lifting ideas, yet it remains of practical interest to take due advantage of the tightest formulations. The key requirement to accomplish this is the ability to solve the underlying LP relaxations more effectively. One approach, to that end, is to solve these LP relaxations to (near-) optimality by using deflected subgradient methods on Lagrangian dual formulations. We solve the LP relaxation of our tightest formulation, ATSP6, to (near-) optimality by using a deflected subgradient algorithm with average direction strategy (SA_ADS) (see Sherali and Ulular [69]). We also use two nondifferentiable optimization (NDO) methods, namely, the variable target value method (VTVM) presented by Sherali et al. [66] and the trust region target value method (TRTV) presented by Lim and Sherali [46], on the Lagrangian dual formulation of ATSP6. The preliminary results show that the near-optimal values obtained by the VTVM on solving the problem in the canonical format are the closest to the target optimal values. Another approach that we use is to derive a set of strong valid inequalities based on our tighter formulations through a suitable surrogation process for inclusion within the more compact manageable formulations. Our computational results show that, when the dual optimal solution is available, the associated strong valid inequalities generated from our procedure can successfully lift the LP relaxation of a less tight formulation, such as ATSP2R¯, to be as tight as the tightest formulation, such as ATSP6. We extend our new formulations to include precedence constraints in order to enforce a partial order on the sequence of cities to be visited in a tour. The presence of precedence constraints within the ATSP framework is encountered quite often in practice. Examples include: disassembly optimization (see Sarin et al. [62]), and scheduling of wafers/ ICs on automated testing equipments in a semiconductor manufacturing facility (see Chen and Hsia [17]); among others. Our flow-based ATSP formulation can very conveniently capture these precedence constraints. We also present computational results to depict the tightness of our precedence-constrained asymmetric traveling salesman problem (PCATSP) formulations. We, then, apply our formulations to the hot strip rolling scheduling problem, which involves the processing of hot steel slabs, in a pre-specified precedence order, on one or more rollers. The single-roller hot strip rolling scheduling problem can be directly formulated as a PCATSP. We also consider the multiple-roller hot strip rolling scheduling problem. This gives rise to the multiple-asymmetric traveling salesman problem (mATSP). Not many formulations have been presented in the literature for the mATSP, and there are none for the mATSP formulations involving a precedence order among the cities to be visited by the salesmen, which is the case for the multiple-roller hot strip rolling scheduling problem. To begin with, we develop new formulations for the mATSP and show the validity of our formulations, and present computational results to depict their tightness. Then, we extend these mATSP formulations to include a pre-specified, special type of precedence order in which to process the slabs, and designate the resulting formulations as the restricted precedence-constrained multiple-asymmetric traveling salesman problem (rPCmATSP) formulations. We directly formulate the multiple-roller hot strip rolling scheduling problem as a rPCmATSP. Furthermore, we consider the hot strip rolling scheduling problem with slab selection in which not all slabs need to be processed. We model the single-roller hot strip rolling scheduling problem with slab selection as a multiple-asymmetric traveling salesman problem with exactly two traveling salesmen. Similarly, the multiple-roller hot strip rolling scheduling problem with slab selection is modeled as a multiple-asymmetric traveling salesman problem with (m+1) traveling salesmen. A series of computational experiments are conducted to exhibit the effectiveness of our formulations for the solution of hot strip rolling scheduling problems. Furthermore, we develop two mixed-integer programming algorithms to solve our formulations. These are based on Benders΄ decomposition [13] and are designated Benders΄ decomposition and Modified Benders΄ methods. In concert with a special type of precedence order presented in the hot strip rolling scheduling problems, we further introduce an adjustable density ratio of the associated precedence network and we use randomly generated test problems to study the effect of various density ratios in solving these scheduling problems. Our experimentation shows the efficacy of our methods over CPLEX. Finally, we present a compact formulation for the job shop scheduling problem, designated as JSCD (job shop conjunctive-disjunctive) formulation, which is an extension of our ATSP formulations. We use two test problems given in Muth and Thompson [53] to demonstrate the optimal schedule and the lower bound values obtained by solving the LP relaxations of our formulations. However, we observe that the lower bound values obtained by solving the LP relaxations of all variations of our JSCD formulation equal to the maximum total processing time among the jobs in the problem. / Ph. D.

The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) of 1977 requires that mine operators reclaim mined land to achieve productivity levels equal to or greater than premined conditions. Presently, the standard for evaluating reforestation success is based solely on tree-seedling survival. This method is an estimator of stand density and not an indication of site productivity. There exists a need to evaluate mine soils based on their capability of growing merchantable timber. This model would aid the reclamation process by providing a means for assessing mine soils based on their quality and productivity. / Master of Science

The objective of this study was to increase the bond strength at the surface interface of a thin stainless-steel panel for structural bonding on a helicopter. To achieve this objective, six activation methods for applying the coating to the panel in the surface preparation process are presented and explored. Adhesion and roughness tests were conducted to determine which method consistently initiates the etch and improves the bond at the surface. Based on the test results, three methods proved to be effective in initiating the etch. Of the three effective methods, only one method exhibited significantly improved bond strength at the surface interface as well as consistently initiated the etch in solution. The applicability of this method is discussed, and recommendations are presented for further study.

This research explores the lives and experiences of female exotic dancers with the aim of gaining an empathic understanding of their involvement in the stripping industry. The stereotypes and generalizations of exotic dancers and the stripping industry undermine the exotic dancer's ability to be seen as an individual with her own story and her own experiences. The participants of this research were selected through convenience sampling and consist of three female exotic dancers. The researcher interviewed the participants using a semi-structured interview format and focused on the dancer's experience within the exotic dancing industry, her family history, her relationships, and personal life. The data was analysed using thematic network analysis. The thematic networks are often contradictory and inconsistent with the common stereotypes and ideas held about exotic dancers. The results indicate that some exotic dancers experience meaning, healing, gratification, and power within their work and live responsible, productive lives. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

The goal in medical x-ray imaging is to obtain the image quality requiredfor a given detection task, while ensuring that the patient dose is kept as lowas reasonably achievable. The two most common strategies for dose reductionare: optimizing incident x-ray beams and utilizing energy informationof transmitted beams with new detector techniques (spectral imaging). Inthis thesis, dose optimization schemes were investigated in two x-ray imagingsystems: digital mammography and computed tomography (CT). In digital mammography, the usefulness of anti-scatter grids was investigatedas a function of breast thickness with varying geometries and experimentalconditions. The general conclusion is that keeping the grid is optimalfor breasts thicker than 5 cm, whereas the dose can be reduced without a gridfor thinner breasts. A photon-counting silicon-strip detector developed for spectral mammographywas characterized using synchrotron radiation. Energy resolution, ΔE/Ein, was measured to vary between 0.11-0.23 in the energy range 15-40 keV, which is better than the energy resolution of 0.12-0.35 measured inthe state-of-the-art photon-counting mammography system. Pulse pileup hasshown little effect on energy resolution. In CT, the performance of a segmented silicon-strip detector developedfor spectral CT was evaluated and a theoretical comparison was made withthe state-of-the-art CT detector for some clinically relevant imaging tasks.The results indicate that the proposed photon-counting silicon CT detector issuperior to the state-of-the-art CT detector, especially for high-contrast andhigh-resolution imaging tasks. The beam quality was optimized for the proposed photon-counting spectralCT detector in two head imaging cases: non-enhanced imaging and Kedgeimaging. For non-enhanced imaging, a 120-kVp spectrum filtered by 2half value layer (HVL) copper (Z = 29) provides the best performance. Wheniodine is used in K-edge imaging, the optimal filter is 2 HVL iodine (Z = 53)and the optimal kVps are 60-75 kVp. In the case of gadolinium imaging, theradiation dose can be minimized at 120 kVp filtered by 2 HVL thulium (Z =69). / <p>QC 20160401</p>

The erosion and transport of fertile topsoil is a serious problem in the U.S., Australia, China and throughout Europe. It results in extensive environmental damage, reduces soil fertility and productivity, and causes significant environmental loss. It is as big a threat to the future sustainability of global populations as climate change, but receives far less attention. With both chemicals (fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides) and biological pathogens (bacteria, viruses) preferentially sorbing to silt and clay sized soil particles, estimating contaminant fluxes in eroded soil also requires predicting the transported soils particle size distribution. The Hairsine-Rose (HR) erosion model is considered in this thesis as it is one of the very few that is specifically designed to incorporate the effect of particle size distribution, and differentiates between non-cohesive previously eroded soil compared with cohesive un-eroded soil. This thesis develops a new extended erosion model that couples the HR approach with the one-dimensional St Venant equations, and an Exner bed evolution equation to allow for feedback effects from changes in the local bed slope on surface hydraulics and erosion rates to be included. The resulting system of 2I +3 (where I = number of particle size classes) nonlinear hyperbolic partial differential equations is then solved numerically using a Liska-Wendroff predictor corrector finite difference scheme. Approximate analytical solutions and series expansions are derived to overcome singularities in the numerical solutions arising from either boundary or initial conditions corresponding to a zero flow depth. Three separate practical applications of the extended HR model are then considered in this thesis, (i) flow through vegetative buffer strips, (ii) modelling discharge hysteresis loops and (iii) the growth of antidunes, transportational cyclic steps and travelling wave solutions. It is shown by comparison against published experimental flume data that predictions from the extended model are able to closely match measurements of deposited sediment distribution both upstream and within the vegetative buffer strip. The experiments were conducted with supercritical inflow to the flume which due to the increased drag from the vegetative strip, resulted in a hydraulic jump just upstream of the vegetation. As suspended sediment deposited at the jump, this resulted in the jump slowly migrating upstream. The numerical solutions were also able to predict the position and hydraulic jump and the flow depth throughout the flume, including within the vegetative strip, very well. In the second application, it is found that the extended HR model is the first one that can produce all known types of measured hysteresis loops in sediment discharge outlet data. Five main loop types occur (a) clockwise, (b) counter-clockwise, (c,d) figure 8 of both flow orientations and (e) single curve. It is clearly shown that complicated temporal rainfall patterns or bed geometry are not required to developed complicated hysteresis loops, but it is the spatial distribution of previously eroded sediment that remains for the start of a new erosion event, which primarily governs the form of the hysteresis loop. The role of the evolution of the sediment distribution in the deposited layer therefore controls loop shape and behavior. Erosion models that are based solely on suspended sediment are therefore unable to reproduce these hysteretic loops without a priori imposing a hysteretic relationship on the parameterisations of the erosion source terms. The rather surprising result that the loop shape is also dominated by the suspended concentration of the smallest particle size is shown and discussed. In the third application, a linear stability analysis shows that instabilities, antidunes, will grow and propagate upstream under supercritical flow conditions. Numerical simulations are carried out that confirm the stability analysis and show the development and movement of antidunes. For various initial parameter configurations a series of travelling antidunes, or transportational cyclic steps, separated by hydraulic jumps are shown to develop and evolve to a steady form and wave speed. Two different forms arise whereby (a) the deposited layer completely shields the underlying original cohesive soil so that the cohesive layer plays no role in the speed or shape of the wave profile or (b) the cohesive soil is exposed along the back of the wave such that both the non-cohesive and cohesive layers affect the wave profile. Under (a) the solutions are obtained up to an additive constant as the actual location of the boundary of the cohesive soil is not required, whereas for (b) this constant must be determined in order to find the location on the antidune from where the cohesive soil becomes accessible. For single size class soils the leading order travelling wave equations are fairly straightforward to obtain for both cases (a) and (b). However for multi-size class soils, this becomes much more demanding as up to 2I + 3 parameters must be found iteratively to define the solution as each size class has its own wave profile in suspension and in the antidune.

Surface mining operations require a comparison of post-mining erosion rates with pre-mining soil loss to ascertain if remedial measures are needed. In this study the Universal Soil-Loss Equation (USLE) was modified to reflect conditions of western rangelands to develop a procedure for estimating pre-mining soil loss rates. The modification used back-calculation for the C-Factor and an adjusted R-Factor based on storm size. Soil loss simulation based on stochastic precipitation patterns is appropriate to the site--the La Plata mine area in northern New Mexico--and increases the flexibility of the USLE as a soil loss predictor for western rangelands.

Ce mémoire étudie, par la voie de la modélisation numérique, le comportement des murs en terre armée sous l'effet de la corrosion des armatures. L'analyse de données recueillies sur des ouvrages réels, âgés de plusieurs dizaines d'années, a montré la différence de comportement selon les types d'armatures, mais aussi la forte dispersion de l'ensemble des données. Elle a permis de proposer des relations entre la perte de masse et la diminution de la résistance et de l'allongement à la rupture des armatures.La présence des armatures très minces par rapport aux dimensions de l'ouvrage rend intéressante l'utilisation de méthodes d'homogénéisation. On a retenu une modélisation multiphasique, qui permet une modélisation satisfaisante de la traction dans les armatures.Quatre scénarios de corrosion ont été étudiés pour prendre en compte diverses situations susceptibles de conduire à des taux de corrosion élevés. La répartition spatiale de la corrosion peut avoir une influence importante sur le comportement du mur, sur le mécanisme de ruine et provoquer des phénomènes complexes de report des effort d'une armature sur une autre.Nous avons réalisé une étude paramétrique de l'effet de surcharges appliquées à l'ouvrage, et de certains détails de modélisation comme la jonction entre écailles, et la jonction entre armatures et écailles. Les résultats obtenus sont comparés à des mesures sur des ouvrages réels ou des modèles réduits, et à d'autres résultats de calcul.Les résultats conduisent à formuler des propositions concernant le suivi des déformations des ouvrages (nature et précision des mesures à effectuer, intervalles de temps entre inspections successives) / This thesis presents numerical simulations of the behavior of reinforced earth walls induced by the corrosion of the reinforcement strips. The preliminary analysis of a database, gathering results of laboratory tests, performed on soil and steel samples extracted from wall built several decades ago, has shown the difference in behavior between different types of reinforcement strips, and the large scattering of data. It served as a basis to derive relationships between weight loss, ultimate strength and ultimate strain of reinforcement strips.The presence of very thin strips compared to the size of the reinforced earth wall makes it interesting to use homogenization methods. We adopted a multiphase model, that makes it possible to get a satisfactory modeling of the tensile forces in reinforcement strips.We studied four corrosion scenarios to take into account various situations in which corrosion rates can become significant. The spatial distribution of corrosion can have a clear influence on the behavior of the wall, the failure mechanism, and create complex redistributions of tensile forces between adjacent strips. Parametric studies were carried out to investigate the effects of surcharges, and of some details of modeling, such as the junction between panels, or the junction between the reinforcement strips and the facing panels. Results have been compared with measures obtained on full scale reinforced earth walls or on physical models, and with results of other numerical simulations. Results provide elements for the definition of a strategy for the monitoring and the surveillance of reinforced earth walls