This study investigated a series of independent unassisted and device-assisted transfers from a wheelchair to vehicle mock-up and vice versa while simultaneously capturing kinematic, kinetic and electromyographic (EMG) data of impaired volunteers. The study provides a venue for observation and evaluation of upper extremity (UE) joint stresses, muscular force and functional demands associated with transfers in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) to ultimately prevent UE injury, minimize excessive stress, preserve functionality and limit pain. If people with SCI lose function of their UEs, due to pain and/or degeneration, they must then rely on others for everyday tasks. Five paraplegic males from the Tampa Bay area were recruited to take part in the study. Participants were asked to perform a series of transfers using 4 commercially available devices or mock-ups of that device as well as an unassisted transfer, which permitted the use of no assistive device. Three data types were captured: kinematic data using motion capture, kinetic data using force transducers which were integrated into the vehicle mock-up and EMG of 5 bilateral muscle groups. Data collection took approximately 4 hours per subject. Forces occurring during the unassisted transfers were found to be the highest. This is also supported by the EMG data. Performing level transfers lessened stresses at the UE versus non-level transfers. The highest moments of the UEs were found at the shoulders with high variability between subjects. It was also found that body mass index (BMI) had an affect on a subjects ability to perform transfers. Ultimately this study found that using an assistive device is better than not using an assistive device. This is proven by EMG and force data, which were both found to be less with the use of an assistive device as opposed to transferring independently with no assistance. Performing level transfers, maintaining ones body mass and staying active are all factors that will limit stresses at the UEs during wheelchair transfers to and from a vehicle.

Šiais laikais daugelis bankinių atsiskaitymų vyksta elektroninėje erdvėje. Operatyvumas bei patogumas per kelis dešimtmečius bankines sistemas integravo į viso pasaulio verslą. Vis populiarėjant e. komercijai elektroninės bankininkystės sistemos integravosi į WEB aplikacijas, kuriomis gali naudotis visi elektroninės erdvės vartotojai. Atsiskaitymai elektroninėje erdvėje sukuria didelę pridėtinę vertę visai ekonomikai tačiau dėl didelio panaudojimo masto išaugo ir opios saugumo grėsmės. Dėl piktavališkų veiksmų el.erdvėje per metus padaroma žala siekia 1 trilijoną dolerių, dėl šių patiriamų didelių nuostolių mažėja investicijos į naujų technologijų diegimą ko pasėkoje dar labiau sumažėja saugos lygis. Bankinių apmokėjimų programinė įranga, kuri apdoroja bankinius atsiskaitymus yra laikoma atskira sistemos dalimi, į kurią ji yra integruota. Ši posistemė lanksčiai ir paprastai integruojasi į bendrą sistemą ir efektyviai atlieka svarbias funkcijas susijusias su apmokėjimų apdorojimu. Bankinių apmokėjimų sistema skirta, operatyviai bei lanksčiai apdoroti mokėjimus bei apie įvykusius apmokėjimus informuoti tiek siuntėją, tiek ir gavėją. / Nowadays, many banking payments takes place in cyberspace. Timeliness and convenience through several decades integrated banking systems in the business world. However e.commerce popularity integrated electronic banking systems into Web applications that are available to all users of electronic space. Payments in cyberspace creates significant added value to the economy as a whole but on a large spread banking systems increase sensitive security threat. The hostile actions in e.space damage per year increase to 1 trillion dollars, for the losses incurred by major reduction in investment in new technologies it resulting in further decrease in the level of safety. All IT professionals can help create a safer online space, because the future of electronic payments become more closely associated with our business and life. The purpose of this work is to analyze banking systems safety and threats. In this work I designed and tested several banking systems and choose the best security solutions, to reduce security threats of electronic payments.

Cette thèse se donne pour ambition d'éclairer un aspect méconnu de l'oeuvre et de la pensée de Sergueï Eisenstein, en se concentrant sur la relation privilégiée qu'il entretient durant toute sa vie avec l'art de Daumier. Tout en traversant l'oeuvre graphique, théâtrale, cinématographique et théorique d'Eisenstein, cette recherche entend également révéler Daumier sous un nouveau jour, en faisant découvrir la réception dont il jouit en Russie et en U.R.S.S. Il s'agira par la même occasion d'exposer et d'interroger le regard stimulant et original qu'Eisenstein porte sur l'art de Daumier. Ce parcours se voudra nécessairement transdisciplinaire. / The aim of this PhD thesis is to cast a new light on Eisenstein's work and thought, by focusing on his privileged relationship with Daumier's art. As we will come across Eisenstein's graphic, theatrical, cinematographical and theoretical work, we will unveil Daumier's still unknown reception in Russia and in U.S.S.R. By the same token, we will expose and discuss Eisenstein's challenging and modern vision of Daumier. The methodology chosen here is necessarily transciplinar. / Cette thèse a été effectuée en cotutelle entre l'Université Paris-Ouest-Nanterre-La Défense et l'Université de Montréal. Elle a été réalisée avec le logiciel LateX.

Thèse numérisée par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

The history of now-developed countries implies a common transformation path of economic development. That is, within an economy, as wage grows in non-farm sectors, labour migrates out of agriculture. With fewer workers, agricultural land resources may concentrate into the hands of fewer but larger farm operations (agricultural land consolidation), with more investment and higher production specification. However, the development process of China is less likely to trace the same path as it does in these countries, given its distinctive institutions. To examine the development process in the unique context of China, this dissertation focuses on two questions: (1) how do China’s rural workers self-select into off-farm employment (OFE)? (2) How does agricultural land consolidation occur in China? In addressing the first question, I use Roy’s self-section model to analyze the following three occupational choices of China’s rural residents: farming only, local OFE, and migratory OFE. Based on household survey data from 101 communities in rural China in 2004 and 2007, the empirical results show that individual and household characteristics are important self-selecting factors for OFE participation. More importantly, I find that the increase of OFE in China is largely consistent with market-driven expectations. In addressing the question of whether and why the consolidation of farm operations develops in China’s agriculture, I assess the divergence between the size of farm operations from equal entitlements. The theoretical model predicts that a higher opportunity cost of farm labour, in the form of the urban wage, exerts a positive influence on consolidation of farm operations through rental arrangements. A Gini index is used to measure the inequality of farmland operations relative to equal farmland entitlements, with greater inequality being consist with higher consolidation of farm operations. Empirical results support the theoretical prediction, specifically, a 1000-yuan increase in the annual urban wage, holding all other influences constant, increases the Gini index by 0.012 (mean=0.26) over the 2004-2007 period.

The aim of this thesis is partly to create a dynamic decision model for Sandvik Machining Solutions distribution flows and partly to evaluate how the stock transfer system logic handle four specific exceptional situations. The purpose is to reduce the total costs while keeping or improving the service level. The thesis presents a total cost model and guidelines for the planning function when deciding the main supplier in the distribution. The thesis also presents a system logic evaluation of the stock transfer logic used by Sandvik Machining Solutions.

Essay I: In January, 2005, the EU launched the first international emissions trading system (EU ETS), aimed at reducing carbon emissions in a cost-effective way by means of a market-based instrument. In this paper, we use the treatment/control, before/after design of the natural experiment approach to investigate the treatment effect of the EU ETS on the profitability of a sample of Swedish energy firms in 2005 and 2006. We also investigate whether under-cap and over-cap firms respond differently to the EU ETS. The estimation results in general suggest no significant impact in 2005 and a negative significant impact in 2006. The sub-sample analysis suggests that profitability of under-cap and over-cap firms were affected differently by the EU ETS in 2005, but not in 2006. Essay II: The paper empirically explores the possible causes behind electricity price jumps in the Nordic electricity market, Nord Pool. A time-series model (a mixed GARCH-EARJI jump model) capturing the common statistical features of electricity prices is used to identify price jumps. By the model, a categorical variable is defined distinguishing no, positive and negative jumps. The causes for the jumps are then explored through the use of ordered probit models in a second stage. The empirical results indicate that the structure of the market plays an important role in whether shocks in the demand and supply for electricity translate into price jumps. Essay III: Scientific evidence indicates that human development faces multiple and interacting regime-switching environmental thresholds such as climate change, ocean acidification and biodiversity loss. And crossing one or more such thresholds would trigger rapid and large changes in our life-support system with widespread consequences. This paper attempts to study the effects of such thresholds on human well-being in a growth theoretical framework. We derive the accounting prices of pollution stocks such as the concentration of greenhouse gases for the risk of triggering catastrophic events, which are needed for conducting a dynamic cost-benefit analysis. We first analyze a simple model with a single threshold and then extend it to a planar system with correlated double thresholds with a joint probability distribution. the results can be applied for analyzing global climate change and ocean acidification risks, which are highlighted in a Nature article by Rockström et al. (2009). Essay IV: Lump-sum transfers as a means of tackling climate change are mainly perceived as a theoretical construct to achieve the first best Pareto optimum. The previous literature on lump-sum transfers normally focuses on the two polar cases: the absence of lump-sum transfers and perfect or unconstrained lump-sum transfers, leaving the middle way aside. In this paper, we attempt to explore the unmarked part by developing a model where transfer costs are explicitly taken into account. We show that whether the Pareto optimum characterized by the equalization of marginal abatement costs is attainable depends on the formation of transfer costs. When the marginal transfer cost is zero, the separability of equity and efficiency under perfect lump-sum transfers is kept. However, when the marginal transfer cost is positive, the optimum with equalization of marginal abatement costs is neither attainable, nor desirable. We also simulate a policy experiment in China to review the optimal abatement and transfer patterns between China's provinces within a framework of imperfect lump-sum transfers. The highlighted welfare gains is supportive of considering lump-sum transfers as a national climate change policy.

Abstract Recent estimates are that migrants send approximately US$300 billion in financial remittances from developed to developing countries annually and that such money is important at the micro and macro levels in relieving family poverty. As a migrant-receiving country with a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) population, Australia has many migrants from developing countries who are part of this phenomenon. Little is known, however, about the purposes for which migrants send money home, the role it plays in intergenerational care and the perceptions of the impact of these payments on the recipients and on their own families in Australia. This study has a specific focus. It is interested in understanding the financial support provided to aged relatives in developing countries from Australian citizens. The term intergenerational financial transfers (IFTs) is used to distinguish money sent overseas by migrant adult children to parents or older relatives from general remittances. In Australian government accounting systems, remittances, or money sent to the home country by migrants, is collected as aggregate data, and it is therefore not possible to obtain a statistical understanding of how much money is being sent for specific purposes. This thesis explores the practice of making IFTs within one group of Australian citizens - Filipino migrants. Filipinos are one of the more numerous recent groups migrating to Australia from within its own geographic region, are known to send IFTs home, and are known to have good English skills that will facilitate research participation. The exploratory study uses in-depth interviews with a purposive, cross-sectional sample of 20 permanent Filipino migrants (10 female and 10 male). The interviews explore participants’ current practices of sending money home to older relatives, the influences and motivation to send money over the life cycle, and the perceptions of the impacts of the practice on themselves and recipients. A thematic analysis of the transcribed data shows that sending money home is not only a migrant activity, since more than half the participants sent money home to parents before migrating to Australia. It also shows that this sample did not migrate to Australia primarily to make remittances, but for some, migration made it possible to do so. Cultural factors were the main motivation for making IFTs, followed by socio-economic circumstances of parents, and family values. No participant would consider abandoning their commitment and those who experienced difficulty in making IFTs over the life cycle were prepared to sell items or take out loans to continue their practice. The data analysis also showed that as well as females sending on average $500 per annum and males $1,000 per annum as cash or cheques through agents or banks, participants also purchased other one-off items, and sent substantial amounts of money for various emergency situations. Participants provided other forms of caregiving including practical care, gave ongoing psychological and emotional support, and sent large packages of goods home, thereby assisting parents with a wider variety of personal caregiving. On occasion participants co-operated with their siblings to provide a wider framework of family caregiving for their parents. IFTs are an important component of support for older people in many developing countries, and are made without expectation of financial return. The data showed that the practice of making IFTs was problematic for some participants at different stages of the life cycle. Because of the strong cultural values and obligations underpinning the practice, participants sometimes felt pressure to make IFTs from potential savings when, for example, school-age family expenses were high and had to be met; some women in their intercultural marriages who were unable to meet IFTs from their own earnings as their preferred option had to negotiate IFTs from household income. The thesis builds knowledge in the area of intergenerational financial transfers, transnational families and transnational caregiving for older people. It also adds depth to the understanding of the caregiving responsibilities and commitments to older people of some Australian citizens. This research adds an understanding of the practice of one group of migrants who send money home to ageing parents in the 21st century. It provides insight into current processes and practices and points to areas of policy where migrant Australian citizens might receive greater recognition for observing cultural obligations to care for parents and older relatives.

Abstract Recent estimates are that migrants send approximately US$300 billion in financial remittances from developed to developing countries annually and that such money is important at the micro and macro levels in relieving family poverty. As a migrant-receiving country with a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) population, Australia has many migrants from developing countries who are part of this phenomenon. Little is known, however, about the purposes for which migrants send money home, the role it plays in intergenerational care and the perceptions of the impact of these payments on the recipients and on their own families in Australia. This study has a specific focus. It is interested in understanding the financial support provided to aged relatives in developing countries from Australian citizens. The term intergenerational financial transfers (IFTs) is used to distinguish money sent overseas by migrant adult children to parents or older relatives from general remittances. In Australian government accounting systems, remittances, or money sent to the home country by migrants, is collected as aggregate data, and it is therefore not possible to obtain a statistical understanding of how much money is being sent for specific purposes. This thesis explores the practice of making IFTs within one group of Australian citizens - Filipino migrants. Filipinos are one of the more numerous recent groups migrating to Australia from within its own geographic region, are known to send IFTs home, and are known to have good English skills that will facilitate research participation. The exploratory study uses in-depth interviews with a purposive, cross-sectional sample of 20 permanent Filipino migrants (10 female and 10 male). The interviews explore participants’ current practices of sending money home to older relatives, the influences and motivation to send money over the life cycle, and the perceptions of the impacts of the practice on themselves and recipients. A thematic analysis of the transcribed data shows that sending money home is not only a migrant activity, since more than half the participants sent money home to parents before migrating to Australia. It also shows that this sample did not migrate to Australia primarily to make remittances, but for some, migration made it possible to do so. Cultural factors were the main motivation for making IFTs, followed by socio-economic circumstances of parents, and family values. No participant would consider abandoning their commitment and those who experienced difficulty in making IFTs over the life cycle were prepared to sell items or take out loans to continue their practice. The data analysis also showed that as well as females sending on average $500 per annum and males $1,000 per annum as cash or cheques through agents or banks, participants also purchased other one-off items, and sent substantial amounts of money for various emergency situations. Participants provided other forms of caregiving including practical care, gave ongoing psychological and emotional support, and sent large packages of goods home, thereby assisting parents with a wider variety of personal caregiving. On occasion participants co-operated with their siblings to provide a wider framework of family caregiving for their parents. IFTs are an important component of support for older people in many developing countries, and are made without expectation of financial return. The data showed that the practice of making IFTs was problematic for some participants at different stages of the life cycle. Because of the strong cultural values and obligations underpinning the practice, participants sometimes felt pressure to make IFTs from potential savings when, for example, school-age family expenses were high and had to be met; some women in their intercultural marriages who were unable to meet IFTs from their own earnings as their preferred option had to negotiate IFTs from household income. The thesis builds knowledge in the area of intergenerational financial transfers, transnational families and transnational caregiving for older people. It also adds depth to the understanding of the caregiving responsibilities and commitments to older people of some Australian citizens. This research adds an understanding of the practice of one group of migrants who send money home to ageing parents in the 21st century. It provides insight into current processes and practices and points to areas of policy where migrant Australian citizens might receive greater recognition for observing cultural obligations to care for parents and older relatives.

Thesis (M.S. in Defense Analysis)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2006. / Thesis Advisor(s): Kalev Sepp. "December 2006." AD-A462 564. Includes bibliographical references (p.83-89). Also available via the World Wide Web.