In 2001 the then UK Government set a national target to get 50 per cent of young people between the ages of 18 and 30 into higher education by the year 2010. To achieve this goal, higher education institutions were required to deliver Widening Participation initiatives that would target under-represented groups in a bid to raise aspirations and bring them into the sector. The study that underpins this thesis was an investigation into the issues surrounding widening participation from the perspective of students in their final year of compulsory schooling. It began as a year-long longitudinal study of the students’ views as they moved towards a key transitional point in their lives. Nine students were identified from Year 11 in one school. Three were drawn from each of the following three categories or groups of students: (i) ‘traditional students’, these were students who were deemed as belonging to groups that were already well-represented in higher education; (ii) ‘non-traditional’ students, these were deemed ‘non-traditional’ in the sense that they were seen as belonging to groups that were under-represented in higher education; (iii) ‘widening participation’ students, these were recipients of a widening participation initiative delivered by their nearest university which, by implication, also deemed them as being ‘non-traditional’ in the sense that they were seen as belonging to groups that were under-represented in higher education. Each participant was interviewed in-depth three times whilst they were in Year 11; in December 2003, in March 2004, and again in June 2004. Whilst all interviews sought to elicit information about their lives at that point in time, the first interview was intended to gather relevant information about their past lives, the second a more in-depth look at their current lives, and the third focused on their future lives. Follow-up data were collected from some of the participants in 2009, 2010 and 2011. An in-depth interview also took place in June 2004 with the university’s Widening Participation Officer and the school’s Head of Year 11 and Widening Participation Co-ordinator. They are considered to be key informants to widening participation initiatives, more broadly in the case of the former, and specific to the school in the case of the latter. The thesis reports on the process through which participants were selected (or not selected) for widening participation intervention, learning identities in school and out, imagined futures, choices, and ultimately what happened to those students who were tracked beyond Year 11. Flaws in the widening participation policy agenda at the time of the main data collection period were identified as: (i) the individualization of the problem which drew attention away from the structural nature of the problem of under-representation and also from deep-rooted flaws within the education system; (ii) the lack of awareness of the longitudinal nature of the problem whereby entrance into higher education is dependent on prior learning and prior qualifications – this resulted in little or no account being taken in the selection process of widening participation-targeted individuals’ previous patterns of achievements, such that they may not be on a trajectory that makes higher education a viable option, and (iii) the valuing of non-participation in higher education. The thesis concluded by acknowledging that a new legislative framework about to be implemented in 2012 appears to be addressing some of these concerns. Issues that remain unaddressed include deep-rooted problems within the formal education system, the valuing of non-participation and of vocational training, and an appreciation that learning takes place on a trajectory.

The purpose of this master thesis is to provide suggestions of how composite bridges with I-beams (steel beams and concrete slab connected via shear connectors) can be prepared during the construction phase to withstand a future widening. As a case study the project "Bridge over Kalix river in Kalix" has been used. Tender documents were provided to the stakeholders in September 2018 and the tender answers were at the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) in mid-January 2019. The construction work is planned for the summer of 2019 and the bridge is planned to be operational by the end of 2020. Widening of bridges is an expensive change of the structure, but is done occasionally. This is mainly due to two factors; higher safety regulations and a higher number on passing vehicles per time unit compared to the 1950 when many of the bridges in Sweden were constructed. Beyond the increased amount of traffic, the vehicle and lorries are heavier nowadays and the expected life time of the bridge construction is longer. The thesis has resulted in three suggestions of widening constructions; one for the case study and two for the general case. The suggestions are based on the change in loads (both shear force and bending moment) caused by dead loads and traffic loads due to the theoretical widening of 2,5 meters. The widened part is constructed to withstand service vehicle (e.g. snow removal vehicle), but the carrying capacity for the rest of the bridge deck is 74-tonnes vehicle. The obtained result shows that both the shear force and the mid-span bending moment increases. The shear force increases in total 45,8 % (dead load 65,8 % and traffic load 7,3 %) and the bending moment 56,7 % (dead load 61,3 % and traffic load 10,0 %). With these value as base the suggested widening construction for the case study is a tilted column with tie beam, both with center distance of six meters. To the general case, two suggestions are provided; The first one with a steel plate placed in the same way as the tilted column, but with a greater load carrying cross section area and thus a greater area to spread the load onto the concrete slab and the web of the beam. The second suggestion is simply an extra I-beam parallel to the existing ones. This is an established method in widenings where the additional load is great, but it is a method highly dependent on the design of the bridge and the surrounding nature. / Syftet med examensarbetet är att ge förslag till hur samverkansbroar med I-balkar kan förberedas vid konstruktion för en eventuell framtida körfältsökning (brobreddning). Som fallstudie har projektet "Bro över Kalix älv i Kalix" använts. Förfrågningsunderlag var intressenter tillhanda under tidig höst 2018 och anbud inkom till Trafikverket i mitten av januari 2019. Byggstart planeras till sommaren 2019 och färdig bro planeras vara i drift till årsskiftet 2020/21. Att bredda broar i efterhand är en kostsamt åtgärd som sker med jämna mellanrum. Detta ingrepp motiveras med att befintliga broar ofta är undermåliga vad gäller säkerhet och framkomlighet, krav på dessa två faktorer har förändrats sedan 50-talet då många av broarna i Sverige byggdes. Utöver ökad trafikmängd har även lasterna ökat (nu till BK4 som innebär 74-tons fordon) och kraven på beständighet av brokonstruktionen, dagens broar ska klara av betydligt högre laster och dessutom dimensioneras för att upprätthålla sin funktion i 120 år. Studien har mynnat ut i tre förslag till breddningkonstruktioner, ett till fallstudien och två till det generella fallet, samverkansbroar med I-balkar. Förslagen grundar sig i beräkning av lastförändring av såväl egentyngder som trafiklaster laster till följd av en teoretisk brobreddning av 2,5 m. Vid konstruktion dimensioneras hela brobanan för BK4 men efter breddning dimensioneras den breddade delen enbart för servicefordon (t.ex. snöröjningsfordon). Erhållet resultat visade att såväl tvärkrafter som böjmoment i fältmitt ökade i den yttre balken i ett mittenstöd (där spannlängden är som störst). Tvärkraftsökningen uppgick till 45,8 % och böjmomentet till 56,7 %. Den föreslagna breddningskonstruktionen till fallstudien var en snedsträva med centrumavstånd om sex meter och med tvärförband mellan I-balkarna på samma S-avstånd som snedsträvorna. Till det allmänna fallet föreslogs en stålplåt, såsom snedsträvan men en utbredd plåt som dels fungerar som livavstyvare till I-balken och dels fördelar lasten på en större yta på såväl betongfarbanans underkant som I-balkens liv. Även ett förslag om att lägga till en extra balk presenterades som förslag då detta är en vedertagen metod då lastökningen är stor och då gestaltningskravet och den omgivande naturen tillåter ett ingrepp och utbyggnad som detta.

À partir du cas des dispositifs d’ouverture sociale lancés en France et en Angleterre, cette thèse aborde la question des effets des institutions d’élite sur les processus de stratification sociale, dans un contexte d’internationalisation de l’enseignement supérieur. En nous concentrant sur la mise en œuvre de ces dispositifs, nous avons apporté trois éclairages sur ce débat : - Le travail d’ajustement des institutions repose sur leur capacité à instituer des liens d’interdépendance, qui assurent une cohésion autour de la lecture commune des inégalités sociales. Plus précisément, les institutions contribuent à affecter le fonctionnement des politiques éducatives en matière d’ouverture sociale, en promouvant des modes de coopération entre des « univers » qui s’ignoraient relativement auparavant. - Par ailleurs, le travail d’ajustement engendre des changements dans les processus de certification. Il conduit les institutions à promouvoir de nouvelles conventions de jugement comme le potentiel. - Enfin, le travail des institutions concerne aussi leur capacité à transmettre des normes scolairement légitimes dans le cadre d’espaces de socialisation anticipatrice, comme le tutorat. La comparaison des dispositifs entre les deux pays étudiés souligne la convergence dans le traitement et la temporalité des ajustements. Alors que la question de la diversification des élites apparaît comme spécifique à chaque espace national, l’analyse comparée souligne l’existence de traits communs entre les institutions et l’impact de l’internationalisation sur cette question.Cette thèse porte sur les cas de Sciences Po, de l’ESSEC et de l’Université d’Oxford. / Widening participation programmes have been launched simultaneously in both France and England in the 2000s. They stem from the idea that it is necessary for elite universities, despite their traditional mission of elite education, to get involved in the field of antidiscrimination and thus develop measures to increase equality of opportunity and diversify their student body. This thesis highlights the impact of these programmes on the way to address social inequalities in the educational sector. In fact, widening participation schemes contribute to the dissemination of a new interpretation of social mobility on the basis of a compensation targeting talented pupils (Pupils identified as “with potential”) rather than sustaining the most deprived of them. It is allowed by the current withdrawal of the traditional role of the Welfare state in education (in a context of financial crisis) which increases the pressure on universities (through financial incentives), in the name of their social responsibility towards society. This work is based on an ethnographic survey led in three French and English elite institutions, including the University of Oxford, Sciences Po and ESSEC.

The Structural Funds, (namely the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Guidance Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund and lastly the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance) being the most important instruments of European Community Regional Policy have gone through a process of reform since their establishment as a consequence of European Union integration. This thesis aims to analyze the process of reform of the Structural Funds taking processes of widening and deepening of European Union as the main triggering factors. The thesis also traces the historical evolution of the Structural Funds and results of each main refom movement in a descriptive manner.

Reports an investigation of the effects of chemical and physical weathering on submerged karst surfaces that pairs laboratory studies with computer modeling studies. The first study attempts to quantify the production of carbonate fines; soluble sediments produced by the incomplete dissolution of karst minerals during chemical weathering. Results show carbonate fine production in relation to dissolutional action; Chalk: 42.8%; Coquina: 2.6%; Dolomite: 3.1%; Gray Limestone: 4.8%; Ocala Limestone: 3.1%; Shell Limestone: 6.1%; Travertine: 8.6%. Due to the use of hydrochloric acid as opposed to carbonic acid these results may not be fully valid for application to natural speleogenic processes. The Limestone Weathering Model, a numerical-computer model, was developed using these experimental findings as minimal values compared with published rates. Reported as the actual volume of rock mass lost to both dissolution and to carbonate fine production, the rates for carbonate fine production ranged from 5.8% to 10.9% (year 1- 5.8%, year 2- 8.5%, year 3- 9.7%, year 4-10.3%, year 5- 10.9%), with a mean value for carbonate fine production of 9%, but a continuing rate after five years approaching 11%. The second study uses metrological laser scanning to measure the erosive loss due hydraulic shearing force and corrasion on submerged limestone surfaces. The rates for material removed using increasing velocity values (0.3m/s, 0.5m/s, 1.0m/s, 1.5m/s, 2.0 m/s, 2.5m/s) during flow durations of less than 6 minutes duration were : 1) Hydraulic shearing force- 0.3µm/s, 0.5µm/s, 0.4-1.7µm/s, 2.5 µm/s, 5.5 µm/s, 2) Corrasion- 0.3 µm/s, 0.7 µm/s, 1.5 µm/s, 1.5-1.8 µm/s, 8.9 µm/s, 8.1 µm/s. The study model was modified to return these rates for hydraulic shearing force limited by the depth of the chemical corrosion of the surface. The model returns % rock volume lost to hydraulic shearing force compared to dissolutional rate (1mm/y) for 3 flow velocities (0.03m/s<, 1.0m/s<, 2.5m/s<) on 4 timing schedules: Annual 7.8,14.3,19.6, Semiannual 21.1,21.1,69.7, Quarterly- 32.8,43.6, 70.9, Monthly- 80.0, 109.3, 200.3. Model demonstrates significant effect (7.8% to 200% over dissolutional rate) on speleogenic rates from even infrequent, moderate changes in flow velocities due to storm events. Study’s results support the significance of chemical weathering by disaggregation and physical weathering by hydraulic shearing force as major factors in the processes of karst speleogenesis.

The policies that higher education institutions (HEIs) operate when choosing whom to select for admission raise profoundly important issues of social justice. Until recently, HEIs in England have selected applicants for admissions offers primarily on predicted and actual examination achievements. However, newer approaches to selection called ‘contextual admissions’ have emerged in some HEIs that attempt to view the examination achievement of applicants in a wider social context. For example, an increasing number of England’s most selective HEIs are prioritising admissions offers to applicants from less advantaged backgrounds, such as state schools students or those living in areas of low participation in higher education (HE). Despite increasing attention by government and HEIs to enhance ‘fairness’ in admissions through the use of contextual admissions policies, academic studies of this important phenomenon are curious by their absence. Using a policy scholarship approach, this study explores, describes and explains the contextual undergraduate admissions policies of England’s most selective HEIs in relation to the concept of social justice. Documentary content analysis of the policies of 20 English universities in the Russell Group is employed to originate an ideal-type classification system for how selective HEIs are enacting social justice through contextual admissions. Drawing principally on the work of Sharon Gewirtz and Alan Cribb, in-depth interviews with senior policy actors and qualitative documentary analysis are used across three purposively selected sites to suggest social justice can be thought about in three ways. Firstly, it is a multi-dimensional concept (having distributive, cultural and associational forms) where different dimensions can conflict with each other. Secondly it is mediated by structural constraints and other norms, which limit the pursuit of justice. Thirdly, it is context- and level-dependent. This study suggests that no philosophical resolution can be found for what counts as social justice in contextual admissions. Instead, justice in admissions should be understood in its real contexts of enactment and through its propensity to provide empirical outcomes in admissions-offers for less advantaged students that are at least equivalent to their more advantaged counterparts. A number of macro, meso and micro-level factors, that enable or constrain the pursuit of just outcomes for less advantaged learners through contextual admissions, are suggested. These provide the basis for a fruitful range of new potential quantitative and qualitative studies by scholars of social justice, stratification and mobility to an important but under-researched area of education policy.

Propose of this thesis is designing production technology of reducing part of tube. The production of requested part is designed on the base of calculations and simulation in one operation. This operation contains widening and squeezing. There is designed on the base of calculations a tool fixed in hydraulic press ZHW 40 for the production. To prepare a semi-product is used cutting by slitting saw.

Since the dawn of democracy in South Africa, significant progress has been made with regards to access to higher education. However, widening participation to under-represented groups in science and technology fields, with special reference to Biological Sciences, still remains a challenge. Despite the growing number of black students in this programme, there is still a substantial gap in terms of the enrolment numbers of student from this racial group in the Biological Sciences. This research is a case study carried out in the faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Pretoria, which is a historically white institution with a strong Afrikaans culture. The study used Osborne and Gallacher’s (2004) framework of getting in and getting through to explore access policy at this institution in relation to widening participation in Biological Sciences. The findings showed that, while there has been progress with regards to physical and epistemological access, getting in to Biological Sciences still proves difficult to attain, especially for black male students from under-represented groups, including those from township and rural areas. The challenges related to getting in are compounded by various factors. These include inadequate preparation of learners for university studies such as limited preparation for natural science studies, limited exposure to science laboratories, inadequate career guidance resulting in wrong subject mix, late submission of application forms and the ‘walk–in’ phenomenon. Funding is crucial for facilitating access to Biological Sciences but it is hard to come by and insufficient for students from low socioeconomic groups. The government initiated funding have potential to help needy students with talent but it is not sufficient to cover both tuition and residence fees. In addition to the financial assistance that the university offers, it also provides a strong academic and psychosocial support to students, particularly in first year in Biological Sciences. Both academic and psychosocial support are factors enabling access and widening participation in Biological Sciences. They also underpin getting through. However, students in residences tend to benefit more from these support initiatives. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第19282号 / 工博第4079号 / 新制||工||1629(附属図書館) / 32284 / 京都大学大学院工学研究科社会基盤工学専攻 / (主査)教授 中川 一, 教授 藤田 正治, 准教授 川池 健司 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DFAM

The aim of this thesis was to study change in the meaning of the word cool, comparing the 1890s, the 1950s and the 2010s. Examples where the word cool was used were obtained from the Corpus of Historical American English, which is created by Mark Davies, and analyzed in terms of in which senses and text types they were used. The results show that the biggest meaning change in cool between the 1890s and the 2010s is that the most prominent sense in the 1890s is ‘calm’, and ‘slightly cold in a pleasant way’ not far after, and in the 2010s the most prominent sense was ‘pleasant, enjoyable or likable’. The most frequent senses of cool in the 1950s were ‘slightly cold in a pleasant way’, ‘temperature that is too cold’, and ‘calm’ as the most commonly used. The most prominent text type where the word cool occurred was fiction in all three analyzed decades.