All industries occasionally experience technological shocks or 'discontinuities.' These discontinuities may be competence-enhancing or competence-destroying. Competence-destroying discontinuities threaten to render existing capabilities obsolete and lead to 'eras of ferment' in which the new technology competes with the old one. At the same time, several designs within the new technology struggle for dominance. Managers faced with such a situation need to make several important decisions, perhaps the most important of which involve the selection of technologies to adopt or develop. Existing competencies and market positions provide strong constraints on the objective of meeting evolving customer expectations. The decisions are expensive and fraught with risks. Naturally, a better understanding of how technologies tend to evolve and why particular designs become dominant, while others, equally plausible ones, do not, would help managers make more informed decisions and avoid costly mistakes or even the prospect of lock-out. / This primary aim of this dissertation was the development of a better theoretical understanding of this complex process. Relying primarily on archival data, narratives were constructed around four cases of radical technology shifts in the photographic industry. When woven with existing theoretical insights, these narratives yielded a new perspective on technology dominance. It proposes that contrary to the popular perception that customers eventually adopt technologies that meet their needs 'better,' the success or failure of a new technology is dependent on the extent to which its proponent can build it into the emerging institutional context. This involves opening the design up to embody the interests of key stakeholders as well as structuring the field. At the same time associations and linkages are created between the technology and existing structures. "Enrolling" institutions in this manner stabilizes the nascent technology, reducing its disruptiveness and creating positive externalities around it. How long the design stays dominant depends upon its position in the industry architecture (Christensen, 1997). If it is positioned as an obligatory passage point (Latour, 1987), it is likely to stay dominant for much longer than if it is simply the foremost technological solution to the central problem.

The enhancement of bioremediation by bioaugmentation in soil contaminated with diesel fuel No. 2 and No. 6 (Bunker C) is uncertain. A clayey soil was contaminated with 6,000 mg of either diesel fuel per kg of soil and seeded (5 x 10-7 cells/g of soil) with a Hawaii soil bacterium (UH138) known to utilize several hydrocarbons. The soil was limed, fertilized, and incubated in jars at 30°C for several months. The concentrations of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in soil were measured by gravimetry and immunoassay, respectively. Poisoned controls (0.6% HgCl2) were used to determine the extent of hydrocarbon degradation due to microbial activity. A rapid first order biodegradation of TPH (84% in 23 days) occurred in soil contaminated with diesel fuel No. 2, regardless of bacterial seeding. Biodegradation of PAH was linear and reached 84% by day 98 in both seeded and unseeded treatments. Bioaugmentation had no effect on bioremediation of diesel fuel No.2. The decrease in TPH and PAH was paralleled by an increase in populations of total bacteria, phenanthrene-degrading bacteria and microorganisms capable of utilizing hexadecane and diesel fuel No. 2 as well as by an enhancement in CO2 evolution by the soil. Indigenous Zygomycetes grew profusely in diesel fuel No. 2 contaminated soil. Cunninghamella echinulata var. echinulata was isolated from the soil and was shown to be able to utilize several hydrocarbons. Thus, Zygomycetes may have contributed to the rapid decrease in contaminant. In soil contaminated with diesel fuel No. 6, the measurements of TPH and PAH were more variable due to the uneven distribution of the product. No biodegradation of the contaminant occurred over a period of 138 days. The growth of Zygomycetes was scant. The counts of total bacteria remained unchanged after the addition of diesel fuel No. 6. However, counts of the indigenous phenanthrene-degrading bacteria increases dramatically ( 4 log units) during the first 54 days whereas the level of the seeded bacteria remained stable. The counts of mineral oil degraders decrease by 2 log units after day 2. Co2 evolution from the soil confirmed that diesel fuel No. 6 was not degraded by either the indigenous microflora or the seeded bacterium. Thus, diesel fuel No. 2 was highly degradable by the indigenous population, however, diesel fuel No. 6 was recalcitrant. / Thesis (M.S.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-117). / Available also on microfiche. / Department of the Interior; U.S Geological Survey via Water Resources Research Center

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 345-369).

No description available.

published_or_final_version / Literary and Cultural Studies / Master / Master of Arts

The intention of this exercise is to investigate a specific area in the growing field of urban design, while learning in the process. As urban design is one of the practices that are directly affected by the pressures resulting from the current fast changes in our environments, it will be useful and fascinating to explore this dimension in the discourse. The theme of the discourse is therefore to reflect on the different thoughts and deal with the continual change in the Urban Environment that is resulting from technological advancements. Technology is generally discussed as the human mastery in perfecting the tools by which humans attempt to control their environments.Therefore the Urban Environment is presented to be the reflection of human level of technological success. The thesis hence revises the understanding of the Urban Environment It emphasizes the fact that the Urban Environment is a continually transforming entity, whereby urban designers are expected to continually come to terms with the emerging new lifestyles, due to changing technology and its impacts on the structures of urban environments. While sharing the view that respects the values of the past (that have continued to shape human urban environments), this study advocates the maintenance of some sort of balance in design approaches, to also allow the accommodation of new technological environments. The study inciudes experimenting on reasonably bold but plausible design ideas. In doing so *''« exercise hopes to provide a stage for discussions and provoke iri-iovative thinking by urban designers, that will be useful to the discourse of urban design.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2007. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Lehigh University, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references and vita.

Project (M.A.) - Simon Fraser University, 2005. / Project (Dept. of Economics) / Simon Fraser University. Also issued in digital format and available on the World Wide Web.

Project (M.P.P.) - Simon Fraser University, 2006. / Theses (Master of Public Policy Program) / Simon Fraser University. Also issued in digital format and available on the World Wide Web.