Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Criteria identification'

In the Commonwealth of Virginia, gifted education plans are submitted to the state every five years for state approval. The plans must indicate the use of a minimum of four criteria out of the eight criteria provided by the Commonwealth in the identification process. The concept of using multiple criteria stems from research. Research has shown that the criteria used in the identification of gifted students affect the number of identified students as well as the proportions of the underrepresented (Donovan & Cross, 2002). Research has also shown that the use of multiple criteria leads to a higher proportion of underrepresented students identified (Callahan, Hunsaker, Adams, Moore, and Bland, 1995). The purpose of this study was to compare the gifted identification criteria used within the Commonwealth of Virginiaâ s public school divisions and analyze the effects of the criteria on the percentages of underrepresented gifted within the divisions. In this study, the researcher analyzed the numbers of each minority in the total populations against the total gifted minority populations to identify those divisions that were proportional for traditionally underrepresented minorities. All aspects of the gifted identification process for each division were then analyzed. The aspects were then used to compare the proportional divisions to the non-proportional divisions for commonalities in the identification process. Findings revealed that there were no divisions with reported minorities that were proportional in all traditionally underrepresented ethnicities. In addition, no one specific standardized measure was successfully used in identifying non-traditionally gifted minorities in all ethnic groups. The implication that can be drawn from this research is that despite all attempts to put research into practice by using multiple criteria in the identification of the gifted, there is no one criterion that ensures the proportional identification of underrepresented minorities.<br>Ph. D.

School-related mistakes and low pass rates have led this researcher to perceive that some students are not adequately prepared for Mathematics 1. To address the problem of under-preparedness overseas universities use placement or diagnostic tests. Diagnostic testing identifies areas of weakness and provides information to guide the development of appropriate remedial support. This researcher embarked on a study to identify the sub-domains (criteria) that should be included in a diagnostic Mathematics test battery at the NMMU. An analysis of first-year curricula was undertaken to determine the required Mathematical pre-knowledge and skills entry-level students should have. Thereafter, the required pre-knowledge and skills were reflected against the standard grade school syllabi. From this it was determined that the school learners should acquire the necessary pre-knowledge and skills for university success as part of the school syllabus. However, in reality this is not the case as the researcher and other Mathematics lecturers identified a number of basic errors that incoming students make. This suggests that they have not developed all the required knowledge and skills. Furthermore, their performance in the matriculation examinations does not provide an adequate measure of the requisite Mathematical pre-knowledge and skills necessary for success at university-level Mathematics. No suitable existing diagnostic Mathematics test could be found. By utilizing both an action research as well as a test development methodology, the researcher thus proceeded to delineate the sub-domains that should be included in a diagnostic Mathematics test battery. Thereafter, test specifications were developed for two pilot tests and items were developed or sourced. The constructed response item-type was chosen for the pilot tests as it was argued that this item-type was more useful to use in a diagnostic test than a multiple-choice item format, for example. The pilot test battery, which consisted of a pilot Arithmetic and Algebra and Calculus tests, was administered to a sample of first-year students at the NMMU in 2004 and their performance in Mathematics at the end of the first year was tracked. Tests were scored holistically and analytically to provide a rich source of information. Thereafter, the test results were analysed to obtain evidence on the content validity of the pilot tests, including the item difficulty values and the item-total correlations; to determine the predictive validity of performance on the pilot tests with respect to final first-year Mathematics marks; and their reliability was determined using the Cronbach’s Alpha statistic. These findings suggest that appropriate sub-domains (criteria) were delineated and the items appropriately covered these sub-domains (i.e. the content validity of the pilot tests is acceptable). Furthermore, the predictive validity of the pilot ix tests was found to be acceptable in that significant correlations were found between the pilot tests and performance in first-year Mathematics. Finally, the pilot tests were found to be reliable. Based on the results, suggestions are made regarding how to refine the diagnostic test battery and the research related to it. The final diagnostic Mathematics test battery holds much potential to be able to assist in the early identification of at-risk students who can be timeously placed in developmentally appropriate Mathematics modules or provided with appropriate remedial intervention.

Maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) is caused by highly penetrant, mutations in a single gene that result in non-insulin dependent diabetes typically presenting in lean young adults. MODY accounts for approximately 1 % of diabetes and is often misdiagnosed as Type 1 diabetes or Type 2 diabetes. Over 80% of MODY patients in the UK remain unidentified. The aim of this thesis was to develop, characterise and determine the diagnostic accuracy of existing and novel biomarkers that could be used to identify patients with a monogenic form of diabetes. Blood C-peptide can aid in the diagnosis of MODY, but practical reasons limit its widespread use. In chapters 1 and 2 the measurement of C-peptide in urine is explored. We find Urinary C-peptide creatinine ratio is a stable and reproducible measure of endogenous insulin secretion, which correlates strongly with 24 hour urine C-peptide and, both fasting and stimulated, blood C-peptide in non- diabetic controls and patients with Type 2 diabetes. In chapter 3 we assess assay specific stability of C-peptide and insulin in blood on a number of analytical platforms and storage conditions. In contrast to many published reports we find C-peptide is stable in K +-EDTA whole blood for at least 24 hours at ambient room temperature. The aim of chapter 4 was to determine the prevalence of GADA and IA-2 autoantibodies in a large cohort (n=508) of patients with a confirmed genetic diagnosis of MODY. Less than 1 % of MODY patients had islet autoantibodies and a combination of GADA and IA-2A testing gave the best discrimination between Type 1 diabetes and MODY (sensitivity of 99% and specificity of 82%). A pilot study previously showed hsCRP is lower in HNF1A-MODY than in other forms of diabetes. In chapter 5 we confirm that plasma hsCRP levels are lower in HNF1A-MODY than Type 2 diabetes, Type 1 diabetes, GCK-, HNF4A- and HNF1 B-MODY. In addition, an hsCRP level of <0.75 mg/L discriminates HNF1A-MODY from Type 2 diabetes with a sensitivity of 79% and specificity of 70%. In chapter 6 we investigate the lipid profiles in HNF1A-MODY. The plasma-lipid profiles of HNF1A-MODY and the lipid constituents of HDL are similar to non- diabetic controls. HDL-cholesterol was higher in HNF1A-MODY than in Type 2 diabetes and could be used as a biomarker to aid in the identification of patients with HNF1A-MODY (sensitivity of 75% and specificity of 63%). In the final chapter we determine the diagnostic accuracy of the biomarkers studied in this thesis (C-peptide, islet antibodies, HDL-cholesterol and hsCRP) within a single test set of patients. We determine that all the biomarkers with the exception of hsCRP add discriminative value to a clinical prediction model for MODY compared to using clinical criteria alone. An overview of the major findings of each chapter, the clinical implications and areas of future research are discussed in chapter 8.

The proposal generalization of expert estimates concordance idea for the case of nonlinear preferance function guaranties on optimal concordance of mesuarement and expert data, whereas machine learning approach ensure the possibility of more accurate approximation expert preference function with complex structure.<br>Предложен подход согласования экспертных оценок для случая нелинейных функций предпочтения, который гарантирует оптимальное согласование данных измерений и экспертных данных, который при использовании методов машинного обучения обеспечивает возможность построения более точной аппроксимационной функции предпочтений эксперта.

The presented thesis investigates the identification of burst locations in water distribution systems (WDS) by analysis of field and simulation experimental data. This required the development of a new hybrid method of burst detection and sizing, and also a burst location identification algorithm. Generally, existing practice relies on a combination of some simple procedure and experience of the involved staff and cannot be easily automated. The practical methods are based on direct manifestation of burst on the surface or on systematically surveying suspected areas e.g. by using listening sticks, such methods are very time consuming. The proposed burst location algorithm is based on comparing data by means of statistical analysis of field data with results of water network simulation. An extended network hydraulic simulator is used to model pressure dependent leakage terms. The presence of a burst changes the flow pattern and also pressure at network nodes which may be used to estimate the burst size and its location. The influence of such random factors as demand flows and background leakage on the process of burst detection is also considered. The field data is from a generalised fixed area and variable area (FAVOR) test where inlet pressure is being stepped up and down and the following variables are measured: inlet flow, inlet pressure (head) and pressure at a number of selected sensitive nodes. The method has three stages and uses two different models, one is inlet flow model (IFM) to represent the total inlet flow and another is the extended hydraulic model to simulate different burst locations. Initially the presence of a potential burst is investigated. If this is confirmed precise values of the demand, background leakage flow and burst flow in IFM are subsequently estimated. They are used to identify the burst site at the third stage of the method. The method can be easily adapted for practical use. It requires data from experiments carried out at night between 1am and 5am and involves placing typically about 20 temporary loggers to collect the measurements during this period. It also requires the availability of a hydraulic model which normally is in the possession of a water company. The program has been implemented in the Matlab package and is easy to use. The current methodology is tuned to identify a single burst but can be generalised to identify locations of multiple bursts.

The business environment of today is characterised by great risks for organisations as well as for individuals. New principles and ways of working that differ significantly from what was done even as little as a decade ago are required. To keep to traditional stances in the corporate environment may mean that existing competitive advantages may not be enough anymore to ensure success. This also applies to the financial services sector where there is currently a clear shift from a product focus to a client focus. In the light of changes taking place in the financial services sector, it is also necessary to think differently about the mediators (brokers) delivering related services since the delivery channels have also changed due to technological development. Competitive advantages lie in a client and market focus rather than a product focus, and a process focus rather than a functional focus. The client’s voice must be heard and it is possible that a successful person in this focus is different from a successful person in the old focus. For the sake of quality in service delivery and alignment in the same direction, it is necessary for management to have a shared mental model when looking at staff decisions concerning brokers. They must also be aware of their own thoughts about staff within the changing focus and they must realise the impact this can have on their decisions. The main objective of this study is to determine whether the managers under investigation have a shared mental model in terms of success criteria for brokers. In order to do this, it is necessary to first investigate the concepts mental model and shared mental model and the impact they may have in an organisational environment. The Repertory Grid technique was used for data collection. As a result of the wide variety of Repertory Grid techniques, together with the various ways of application, it is essential to be familiar with the techniques and modes of application in order to choose the most suitable technique and application method for a specific study. Kelly’s Personal Construct theory contains the assumptions underlying this technique and it is important for a researcher to be aware of these regardless of whether this is the theory s/he will be using since the underlying assumptions will definitely have an influence on the interpretation of the results. The data was presented as a qualitative description of each manager’s mental model in terms of the successful broker as well as a short description of the person’s construction system regarding success in their business environment. Conclusions were made from a synthesis of the results regarding the extent to which there could be referred to a shared mental model and its possible impact on decisions and efficiency in the work and business environment. The results confirmed that the objectives of this research project were met. It emerged that this management team does not effectively share a mental model and that this may impact negatively on their business decisions. Recommendations were made regarding the change or establishment of a client-focused mental model. Suggestions for future research regarding broker efficiency were also made.<br>Thesis (MA (Research Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2004.<br>Psychology<br>unrestricted

The study of human palaeopathology has developed considerably in the last three decades resulting in a structured and standardised framework of practice, based upon skeletal lesion patterning and differential diagnosis. By comparison, disarticulated zooarchaeological assemblages have precluded the observation of lesion distributions, resulting in a dearth of information regarding differential diagnosis and a lack of standard palaeopathological recording methods. Therefore, zoopalaeopathology has been restricted to the analysis of localised pathologies and ‘interesting specimens’. Under present circumstances, researchers can draw little confidence that the routine recording of palaeopathological lesions, their description or differential diagnosis will ever form a standard part of zooarchaeological analysis. This has impeded the understanding of animal disease in past society and, in particular, has restricted the study of systemic disease. This research tackles this by combining the disciplines of human palaeopathology and zoopalaeopathology and focusing on zoonotic disease. The primary aim of this research was to investigate the skeletal manifestation of bTB in cattle, sheep/goat and pig to establish differential diagnostic criteria for its identification in zooarchaeological assemblages. Methods commonplace in human palaeopathology were adapted and applied to zoopalaeopathology, in addition to radiography and aDNA analysis. The results emphasise the difficulties but also the potential associated with the identification of systemic diseases in zooarchaeological assemblages. An approach to the classification of potentially infectious lesions is presented that enables the calculation of crude prevalence in disarticulated assemblages. In addition, the potential for a DNA analysis to shed further light on animal disease in the past is emphasised.<br>Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)<br>Many of the images have been removed from the online version due to copyright restrictions. The embargo period for the thesis ended: 16th January 2018.

Deep slurry injection is a process of solid waste disposal that involves grinding the solid waste to a relatively fine-grained consistency, mixing the ground waste with water and/or other liquids to form slurry, and disposing of the slurry by pumping it down a well at a high enough pressure that fractures are created within the target formation. This thesis describes the site assessment criteria involved in selecting a suitable target reservoir for deep slurry injection. The main goals of this study are the follows: <ul> <li>Identify the geological parameters important for a prospective injection site</li> <li>Recognize the role of each parameter</li> <li>Determine the relationships among different parameters</li> <li>Design and develop a model which can assemble all the parameters into a semi-quantitative evaluation process that could allow site ranking and elimination of sites that are not suitable</li> <li>Evaluate the model against several real slurry injection cases and several prospective cases where slurry injection may take place in future</li> </ul> The quantitative and qualitative parameters that are recognized as important for making a decision regarding a target reservoir for deep slurry injection operations are permeability, porosity, depth, areal extent, thickness, mechanical strength, and compressibility of a reservoir; thickness and flow properties of the cap rock; geographical distance between an injection well and a waste source or collection centre; and, regional and detailed structural and tectonic setup of an area. Additional factors affecting the security level of a site include the details of the lithostratigraphic column overlying the target reservoir and the presence of overlying fracture blunting horizons. Each parameter is discussed in detail to determine its role in site assessment and also its relationship with other parameters. A geological assessment model is developed and is divided into two components; a decision tree and a numerical calculation system. The decision tree deals with the most critical parameters, those that render a site unsuitable or suitable, but of unspecified quality. The numerical calculation gives a score to a prospective injection site based on the rank numbers and weighting factors for the various parameters. The score for a particular site shows its favourability for the injection operation, and allows a direct comparison with other available sites. Three categories have been defined for this purpose, i. e. average, below average, and above average. A score range of 85 to 99 of 125 places a site in the ?average? category; a site will be unsuitable for injection if it belongs to the ?below average? category, i. e. if the total score is less than 85, and the best sites will generally have scores that are in the ?above average? category, with a score of 100 or higher. One may assume that for sites that fall in the ?average? category there will have to be more detailed tests and assessments. The geological assessment model is evaluated using original geological data from North America and Indonesia for sites that already have undergone deep slurry injection operations and also for some possible prospective sites. The results obtained from the model are satisfactory as they are in agreement with the empirical observations. Areas for future work consist of the writing of a computer program for the geological model, and further evaluation of the model using original data from more areas representing more diverse geology from around the world.

Les villes sont les lieux de la plus grande concentration d'activités sociales et économiques. La logistique est l'une des plus importants éléments de la durabilité et de l'économie d’une la ville. Pour la logistique urbaine, il est nécessaire de prendre en compte les caractéristiques de la ville et les objectifs de toutes les parties prenantes (expéditeurs, destinataires, transporteurs, prestataires de services logistiques, résidents, gouvernement de la ville). Les plans de logistique urbaine durable pourraient avoir un impact significatif sur la qualité de la vie en milieu urbain. L'évaluation d'initiatives de logistique de ville durable (SCLI) telles que les centres de distribution urbains, la tarification de la congestion, le délai de livraison et les restrictions d'accès est un problème complexe, car plusieurs critères et contraintes subjectifs et objectifs doivent être pris en compte. Les administrations municipales investissent dans des initiatives de logistique urbaine durable telles que les centres de distribution urbains, la tarification de la congestion, le calendrier de livraison et les restrictions d'accès afin d'améliorer les conditions de transport de marchandises dans les villes et de réduire leurs impacts négatifs sur les citoyens et leur environnement. Cependant, il y a toujours des risques dynamiques associés à la sélection. L’analyse des risques des initiatives de logistique urbaine est une tâche complexe en raison de la multiplicité des facteurs de risque et de leurs dépendances. Bien qu'il n'y ait pas beaucoup d'études sur les risques liés à la logistique urbaine, aucune attention n'a été portée à l'analyse des risques liés à la logistique urbaine en prenant en compte les dépendances entre les facteurs de risque et leurs critères. Considérer les dépendances entre les facteurs de risque pourrait conduire à une analyse plus précise des risques et augmenter le taux de réussite de la sélection des initiatives de logistique urbaine. Méthodes: pour résoudre ce problème, nous proposons un outil avancé d'aide à la décision appelé «cartescognitives floues» (FCM), capable de gérer les risques associés à des systèmes aussi complexes. La FCM représente avec précision le comportement de systèmes complexes et peut prendre en compte les incertitudes, les informations imprécises, les interactions entre les facteurs de risque, la rareté de l'information et les opinions de plusieurs décideurs. En outre, il pourrait être appliqué à différents problèmes de prise de décision liés aux initiatives de logistique de ville durable (SCLI). Par conséquent, l'outil proposé aiderait les praticiens à gérer les risques liés à la logistique urbaine d'une manière plus efficace et proactive et offrirait de meilleures solutions d'atténuation des risques. Dans les études précédentes, les méthodes de décision multicritères étaient principalement utilisées pour l'évaluation, la comparaison et la sélection d'initiatives logistiques de villes en fonction des effets obtenus ou prévus résultant de leur introduction dans divers environnements urbains. Afin d'évaluer l'adéquation des solutions conceptuelles aux exigences des différentes parties prenantes et conformément aux attributs spécifiques de l'environnement urbain, il convient de définir des solutions conceptuelles associant différentes initiatives de logistique urbaine en utilisant un processus artificiel; outils de renseignement, y compris la FCM.<br>Les villes sont les lieux de la plus grande concentration d'activités sociales et économiques. La logistique est l'une des plus importants éléments de la durabilité et de l'économie d’une la ville. Pour la logistique urbaine, il est nécessaire de prendre en compte les caractéristiques de la ville et les objectifs de toutes les parties prenantes (expéditeurs, destinataires, transporteurs, prestataires de services logistiques, résidents, gouvernement de la ville). Les plans de logistique urbaine durable pourraient avoir un impact significatif sur la qualité de la vie en milieu urbain. L'évaluation d'initiatives de logistique de ville durable (SCLI) telles que les centres de distribution urbains, la tarification de la congestion, le délai de livraison et les restrictions d'accès est un problème complexe, car plusieurs critères et contraintes subjectifs et objectifs doivent être pris en compte. Les administrations municipales investissent dans des initiatives de logistique urbaine durable telles que les centres de distribution urbains, la tarification de la congestion, le calendrier de livraison et les restrictions d'accès afin d'améliorer les conditions de transport de marchandises dans les villes et de réduire leurs impacts négatifs sur les citoyens et leur environnement. Cependant, il y a toujours des risques dynamiques associés à la sélection. L’analyse des risques des initiatives de logistique urbaine est une tâche complexe en raison de la multiplicité des facteurs de risque et de leurs dépendances. Bien qu'il n'y ait pas beaucoup d'études sur les risques liés à la logistique urbaine, aucune attention n'a été portée à l'analyse des risques liés à la logistique urbaine en prenant en compte les dépendances entre les facteurs de risque et leurs critères. Considérer les dépendances entre les facteurs de risque pourrait conduire à une analyse plus précise des risques et augmenter le taux de réussite de la sélection des initiatives de logistique urbaine. Méthodes: pour résoudre ce problème, nous proposons un outil avancé d'aide à la décision appelé «cartescognitives floues» (FCM), capable de gérer les risques associés à des systèmes aussi complexes. La FCM représente avec précision le comportement de systèmes complexes et peut prendre en compte les incertitudes, les informations imprécises, les interactions entre les facteurs de risque, la rareté de l'information et les opinions de plusieurs décideurs. En outre, il pourrait être appliqué à différents problèmes de prise de décision liés aux initiatives de logistique de ville durable (SCLI). Par conséquent, l'outil proposé aiderait les praticiens à gérer les risques liés à la logistique urbaine d'une manière plus efficace et proactive et offrirait de meilleures solutions d'atténuation des risques. Dans les études précédentes, les méthodes de décision multicritères étaient principalement utilisées pour l'évaluation, la comparaison et la sélection d'initiatives logistiques de villes en fonction des effets obtenus ou prévus résultant de leur introduction dans divers environnements urbains. Afin d'évaluer l'adéquation des solutions conceptuelles aux exigences des différentes parties prenantes et conformément aux attributs spécifiques de l'environnement urbain, il convient de définir des solutions conceptuelles associant différentes initiatives de logistique urbaine en utilisant un processus artificiel; outils de renseignement, y compris la FCM.<br>The cities are the places of the largest concentration of social activities and economic. Logistics is one of the most important for the sustainability and the economy of the city. Inselecting the city logistics concept, it is necessary to consider the characteristics of the city and the goals of all the stakeholders (shippers, receivers, carriers, logistics service providers, residents, city government). Sustainable city logistics (SCL) plans could significantly affect the quality of life in the urban environment. Evaluating sustainable city logistics initiatives (SCLI) such as urban distribution centres, congestion pricing, delivery timing and access restrictions is a complex problem since several subjective and objective criteria and constraints should be considered. Municipal administrations are investing in sustainable city logistics initiatives (SCLI) such as urban distribution centres, congestion pricing, delivery timing and access restrictions in order to improve the condition of goods transport in cities and reduce their negative impacts on citizens and their environment. However, there is always some dynamic risks associated that should be selected. Risk analysis of sustainable city logistics initiatives is a complex task due to consisting of many risk factors with dependencies among them. Although there are no lots of studies on sustainable city logistics risks, no attention has been paid to the risk analysis of sustainable city logistics by considering the dependencies among risk factors and their criteria. Considering the dependencies among risk factors could lead to more precise risks analysis and increase the success rate of selecting sustainable city logistics initiatives. Methods: To address this, we are proposing an advanced decision support tool called "Fuzzy Cognitive Maps" (FCM) which can deal with risks of such complicated systems. FCM represents the behaviour of complex systems accurately and is able to consider uncertainties, imprecise information, the interactions between risk factors, information scarcity, and several decision maker's opinions. In addition, it could be applied to different decision makings problems related to sustainable city logistics initiatives (SCLI). Therefore, the proposed tool would help practitioners to manage sustainable city logistics risks in a more effective and proactive way and offer better risk mitigation solutions. In previous studies, multi-criteriadecision-making methods are mainly used for the evaluation, comparison and selection of individual sustainable city logistics initiatives in relation to the achieved or planned effects resulting from their introduction in various urban environments. In order to assess the suitability of the conceptual solutions to the requirements of different stakeholders, and in accordance with the specific attributes of the urban environment, there is the definition of conceptual solutions that combine different sustainable city logistics initiatives by using an artificial; intelligence tools including FCM.<br>The cities are the places of the largest concentration of social activities and economic. Logistics is one of the most important for the sustainability and the economy of the city. Inselecting the city logistics concept, it is necessary to consider the characteristics of the city and the goals of all the stakeholders (shippers, receivers, carriers, logistics service providers, residents, city government). Sustainable city logistics (SCL) plans could significantly affect the quality of life in the urban environment. Evaluating sustainable city logistics initiatives (SCLI) such as urban distribution centres, congestion pricing, delivery timing and access restrictions is a complex problem since several subjective and objective criteria and constraints should be considered. Municipal administrations are investing in sustainable city logistics initiatives (SCLI) such as urban distribution centres, congestion pricing, delivery timing and access restrictions in order to improve the condition of goods transport in cities and reduce their negative impacts on citizens and their environment. However, there is always some dynamic risks associated that should be selected. Risk analysis of sustainable city logistics initiatives is a complex task due to consisting of many risk factors with dependencies among them. Although there are no lots of studies on sustainable city logistics risks, no attention has been paid to the risk analysis of sustainable city logistics by considering the dependencies among risk factors and their criteria. Considering the dependencies among risk factors could lead to more precise risks analysis and increase the success rate of selecting sustainable city logistics initiatives. Methods: To address this, we are proposing an advanced decision support tool called "Fuzzy Cognitive Maps" (FCM) which can deal with risks of such complicated systems. FCM represents the behaviour of complex systems accurately and is able to consider uncertainties, imprecise information, the interactions between risk factors, information scarcity, and several decision maker's opinions. In addition, it could be applied to different decision makings problems related to sustainable city logistics initiatives (SCLI). Therefore, the proposed tool would help practitioners to manage sustainable city logistics risks in a more effective and proactive way and offer better risk mitigation solutions. In previous studies, multi-criteriadecision-making methods are mainly used for the evaluation, comparison and selection of individual sustainable city logistics initiatives in relation to the achieved or planned effects resulting from their introduction in various urban environments. In order to assess the suitability of the conceptual solutions to the requirements of different stakeholders, and in accordance with the specific attributes of the urban environment, there is the definition of conceptual solutions that combine different sustainable city logistics initiatives by using an artificial; intelligence tools including FCM.

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited<br>Numerous optimization problems involve systems with multiple and often contradictory criteria. Such contradictory criteria have been an issue for marine/naval engineering design studies for many years. This problem becomes more important when one considers novel ship types with very limited or no operational record. A number of approaches have been proposed to overcome these multiple criteria design optimization problems. This Thesis follows the Parameter Space Investigation (PSI) technique to address these problems. The PSI method is implemented with a software package called MOVI (Multi-criteria Optimization and Vector Identification). Two marine/naval engineering design optimization models were investigated using the PSI technique along with the MOVI software. The first example was a bulk carrier design model which was previously studied with other optimization methods. This model, which was selected due to its relatively small dimensionality and the availability of existing studies, was utilized in order to demonstrate and validate the features of the proposed approach. A more realistic example was based on the "MIT Functional Ship Design Synthesis Model" with a greater number of parameters, criteria, and functional constraints. A series of optimization studies conducted for this model demonstrated that the proposed approach can be implemented in a naval ship design environment and can lead to a large design parameter space exploration with minimum computational effort.<br>Lieutenant Junior Grade, Turkish Navy

Distance education is one means of delivering theological education which is being used increasingly. This delivery method is particularly helpful to nontraditional students who desire higher education but who cannot leave family and work commitments for residential study. For some in both developing and developed countries, distance education is the only route open to higher theological education. Criteria for assessing effective delivery of distance education have not been established in the literature. The purpose of this study was to identify such criteria. Data were collected with a three-round Delphi from an international panel of seventy-four members comprised of denominational and non-denominational educational administrators and distance educators, denominational district representatives, accreditation representatives, and adult education representatives. Two pilot studies were conducted to test the questions used for round one. Criteria statements were retained if they were deemed "important" or "very important" by at least 80 percent of the respondents on rounds two and three. The panel's responses were found to be independent of respondent location--national or international--and the category of the respondent's group membership. The findings of the study led to the identification of a set of thirty-one criteria in eight categories which may be useful for evaluating existing distance education programs or guiding the development of new programs. The eight categories were ethical concerns, commitment, curriculum, evaluation, support, technology, feedback, and faculty. There was a 100 percent consensus in rating these thirty-one criteria as "important" or "very important" by the panel members.<br>Ph. D.

Distributed rainfall runoff hydrologic models can be highly effective in improving flood forecasting capabilities at ungauged, interior locations of the watershed. However, their implementation in operational decision-making is hindered by the high dimensionality of the state-parameter space and by lack of methods/understanding on how to properly exploit and incorporate available spatio-temporal information about the system. This dissertation is composed of a sequence of five studies, whose overall goal is to improve understanding on problems relating to parameter identifiability in distributed models and to develop methodologies for their calibration.The first study proposes and investigates an approach for calibrating catchment scale distributed rainfall-runoff models using conventionally available data. The process, called regularization, uses spatial information about soils and land-use that is embedded in prior parameter estimates (Koren et al. 2000) and knowledge of watershed characteristics, to constrain and reduce the dimensionality of the feasible parameter space.The methodology is further extended in the second and third studies to improve extraction of `hydrologically relevant' information from the observed streamflow hydrograph. Hydrological relevance is provided by using signature measures (Yilmaz et al 2008) that correspond to major watershed functions. While the second study applies a manual selection procedure to constrain parameter sets from the subset of post calibrated solutions, the third develops an automatic procedure based on a penalty function optimization approach.The fourth paper investigates the relative impact of using the commonly used multiplier approach to distributed model calibration, in comparison with other spatial regularization strategies and also includes investigations on whether calibration to data at the catchment outlet can provide improved performance at interior locations. The model calibration study conducted for three mid sized catchments in the US led to the important finding that basin outlet hydrographs might not generally contain information regarding spatial variability of the parameters, and that calibration of the overall mean of the spatially distributed parameter fields may be sufficient for flow forecasting at the outlet. This then was the motivation for the fifth paper which investigates to what degree the spatial characteristics of parameter and rainfall fields can be observable in catchment outlet hydrographs.

Many new teachers will be hired in the decades to come. A school administrator screening candidates for teaching positions is faced with a decision that can have long-term consequences for a community, a school, and thousands of children. Finding the best candidates for teaching positions has never been more important. A variety of questions centering on prior experience, knowledge, or expertise may be asked by those responsible for screening candidates, yet there is another area of importance to be considered in the process, that of dispositions. The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation [CAEP], formerly known as the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education [NCATE] (2008), and the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium [INTASC] (2010) have emphasized the need to identify dispositions in addition to the knowledge and skills that have historically received emphasis by school districts seeking candidates and institutions preparing them. In response to this emphasis, administrators may benefit from a greater understanding of dispositions when interviewing and making hiring decisions. Administrators will also benefit by greater knowledge of the questions asked to determine if a candidate possessed a particular disposition. The research procedure uses a focus group format to conduct a multi-round survey/discussion to obtain input and consensus on two asked of school administrators: (1)'What do administrators believe are the critical dispositions a teacher candidate must possess?' and (2) 'Do administrators believe that a person can ask candidates questions to determine if they possess those dispositions? If so, what are the questions administrators can ask to determine if the candidates possess those dispositions?' Recommendations on dispositions that should be assessed and questions that may be used in the assessment of those dispositions will be developed from the results of the study. The focus group identified 19 dispositions and 74 interview questions within 5 theme groupings. These groupings included: beliefs about children, attitudes/beliefs – willingness to act, job-related skill, structure, and other personal attributes/traits.<br>Ed. D.

This thesis covers two separate but complimentary themes. Firstly, work on the spinel composition of the ultramafic rocks of has provided evidence that they formed as Alaskan-type intrusions. This has implications both for prospectivity and for the understanding of neoproterozoic plate movements. Additionally, the study of the rock and soil geochemistry has been used to identify exploration targets and evaluate the prospectivity of the major complexes. It is proposed here that the ultramafic complexes Tulu Dimtu, Kingy, Daleti, Ankori and Yubdo, in the Western Ethiopian Shield are Alaskan type intrusions. Alaskan-type intrusions are concentrically zoned ultramafic intrusions thought to be the feeder pipes of volcanoes. They have dunite at the core and grade outwards to clinopyroxenite and sometimes hornblendite. These intrusions typically occur in continental arc settings such as Alaska, British Colombia and the Urals. This compares with ophiolite complexes which are thought to be obducted oceanic upper mantle and crust. The two types of complex may be difficult to distinguish because if ophiolites are dismembered and deformed fragments, they may resemble Alaskan-type intrusions. This thesis documents several features of these Ethiopian complexes that are typical of Alaskan type intrusions. Mapping of the Yubdo complex has shown a circular out crop pattern with concentric zones of clinopyroxenite at the edge to dunite at the centre. New mapping of the Tulu Dimtu area has shown a similar zoned circular body. Both the Yubdo and Tulu Dimtu complexes show concentric zones of Cr values, where the greatest values occur at the edge and the lowest in the centre. These mafic and ultramafic intrusions are very altered by surface weathering but contain chrome- spinels which have a geochemistry which is unlike ophiolites and similar to Alaskan-type intrusions. The analysis of these spinels demonstrates how the compositions of spinel Fe2+ and Cr values may be used to distinguish between an Alaskan type or ophiolite complexes. In Alaskan-type intrusions, spinels with Fe2+ values greater than 0.85 frequently have Cr values which are lower than 0.5. Such low Cr values in spinels with high Fe2+ values are rare in ophiolite complexes. The variations in Ni, Cu, Cr and Al contents of highly altered ultramafics and fresher ultramafics have been used to investigate the magmatic and post-magmatic ore forming processes that have influenced the Pt and Pd content of the complexes. It is expected that medium to low temperature hydrothermal activity may have had a significant impact on the geochemistry of even the fresher rocks. The discovery of high Pd values and low Pt in lithologies such as talc-schists and quartzite support the idea that Pd is more mobile than Pt in medium to low temperature conditions. Furthermore, in the Tulu Dimtu Main Intrusion, the altered rocks indicate that Pd has been removed from the magmatic sites of concentration. In a few places it is possible to see through the extensive alteration and potential magmatic processes can be considered. Within the Tulu Dimtu Main Intrusion and the Main Yubdo Intrusion, the most primitive rocks occur at the flanks. Furthermore, it is indicated that sulphide segregation may have occurred in the Tulu Dimtu Main Intrusion and Daleti Ultramafic. In the Daleti Ultramafic, regardless of the presence of sulphides, the Pt and Pd values remain low - it is therefore unlikely that the complex hosts economic grades. However, at Tulu Dimtu and Yubdo, it is recommended that any future exploration be targeted at the flanks of the complexes, where magmatic and post-magmatic processes may potentially co-incide to elevate the grade. Much work has been published to document the nature of platinum-group minerals (PGM) in the alluvial and eluvial placers around the Yubdo area and some PGM have been discovered in the serpentinsed dunites of the main Yubdo intrusion. In this thesis further discoveries of PGM have been made in the serpentinised dunites and chromites from the Yubdo area. In the course of this work new base maps covering the ultramafic complexes and the surrounding basement have been produced. These have revealed many smaller ultramafic bodies which are referred to here as the Lensoid Ultramafics. Both spinel and whole rock geochemistry supports the hypothesis that these are slivers of rock "sheared-off" the outside of larger complexes. The conclusion that these complexes have an Alaskan-type origin has consequences for the understanding of plate movements in this part of the Neoproterozoic Western Ethiopian Shield. Additionally, the identification of exploration targets will help focus efforts to uncover any potential economic mineralisation.

Phishing websites are forged web pages that are created by malicious people to mimic web pages of real websites and it attempts to defraud people of their personal information. Detecting and identifying Phishing websites is really a complex and dynamic problem involving many factors and criteria, and because of the subjective considerations and the ambiguities involved in the detection, Fuzzy Logic model can be an effective tool in assessing and identifying phishing websites than any other traditional tool since it offers a more natural way of dealing with quality factors rather than exact values. In this paper, we present novel approach to overcome the `fuzziness¿ in traditional website phishing risk assessment and propose an intelligent resilient and effective model for detecting phishing websites. The proposed model is based on FL operators which is used to characterize the website phishing factors and indicators as fuzzy variables and produces six measures and criteria¿s of website phishing attack dimensions with a layer structure. Our experimental results showed the significance and importance of the phishing website criteria (URL & Domain Identity) represented by layer one, and the variety influence of the phishing characteristic layers on the final phishing website rate.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 1999.<br>Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xiii, 274 p. : ill. (some col.), maps (some col.) Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 179-192).

A centrifugal compressor for turbocharging application often has to work in conditions far from optimal conditions, due to the different operating conditions it is subjected in an automotive application. Therefore, the knowledge of the operating limits of a centrifugal compressor is fundamental in a first design phase. In particular, can predict the surge limit range, at a given speedline, is a serious challenge. In the literature there are extensive studies on the phenomena that lead the compressor to work in unstable operation, in particular the rotating stall. However, there is a lack of precise methods that can establish with certainty the correct surge massflow rate. Nowadays with the ever increasing computational resources a large contribution can be provided by the CFD techniques. In this regard, in this thesis the main goal is to able to identify some criteria to predict the surge line, through simplified models, which do not require excessive computational resources. For the compressors with a vaned diffuser, a stability parameter is developed, which shows excellent reliability in this type of turbomachinery. However, in the case of compressors with vaneless diffuser, has been necessary to develop further criteria due to the loss of effectiveness of the previous criterion. In more details for the centrifugal compressors with vaneless diffuser, through a deep fluid dynamic analysis, has been possible to identify two different fields of application to develop the appropriate criteria, based on the fluid-dynamic phenomena that lead the compressor to unstable operation. In particular in this work, for the case with vaneless diffuser, the following criteria have been developed at the low rotational speed: the critical angle (a modified version respect to the Senoo’s criterion) and the recirculation zone at the diffuser, while for the impeller the criterion of the diffusion ratio. Finally, it has been shown how, increasing the rotational speed, the volute acquires a key role in the inception of unstable machine phenomena; so a criterion based on this last component has been developed for high rotational speed.

L'usage des matériaux composites, et en particulier des stratifiés d'unidirectionnels, ne cesse de croître dans les structures aéronautiques en raison de leur rapport masse/rigidité/résistance très intéressant. Leur utilisation s'étend désormais aux structures primaires (jusqu'ici en matériaux métalliques) des futures gammes d'avions. Dans les structures vitales de l'avion, les pièces en composites contenant des cornières composites sont de plus en plus nombreuses. Ces pièces sont soumises à des sollicitations complexes qui induisent des modes de rupture tridimensionnelle. Or, la tenue mécanique hors-plan est l'une des principales faiblesses des stratifiés d'unidirectionnels et la prévision de la tenue de structures soumises à des chargements tridimensionnelles reste actuellement un challenge scientifique. Il semble indispensable de proposer des modèles matériaux innovants offrant un degré moindre d'empirisme que les approches actuellement utilisées en bureau d'études pour le dimensionnement de structures composites mais aussi il s'avère nécessaire de proposer les procédures d'identification associées. L'objectif de cette thèse est donc de proposer une stratégie robuste pour l'analyse de la tenue de structures composites soumises à des sollicitations tridimensionnelles. Nous avons proposé une approche progressive de la rupture 3D permettant de prévoir les différents types d'endommagement et modes de ruine pouvant intervenir dans un composite stratifié. Une procédure originale d'identification des résistances hors-plan de traction et de cisaillements à partir d'essais sur cornières composites stratifiées a également été proposée. Enfin, des essais de dépliages/pliages sur cornières ont été réalisés afin valider l'approche 3D de la rupture proposée<br>Composite materials, particularly unidirectional laminates, are increasingly used for the design of airplane structures because of their interesting mass/rigidity/strength ratio. Their use is now extended to the design of primaries structures (in metallic so far) for the future range of aircrafts. In those primaries structures, lots of composite components are subjected to complex out-of-plane loadings such as L-angle structures. The main failure mechanism encountered is delamination in the radius mainly due to the applied out-of-plane loadings. Nevertheless, the main weakness of the unidirectional laminates is their out-of-plane mechanical properties and the prediction of this failure mode in laminated structures (subjected to 3D loadings) remains a scientific challenge. It is thus necessary to propose an innovative 3D failure approach, physically based, and the associated identification procedure for the out-of-plane strengths. The aim of this Phd-thesis is thus to propose a 3D strength analysis method dedicated to 3D loadings and matching the requirements of a design office (low time of computation and easy to identify and to carry out). A 3D progressive failure approach which permits to predict damages and failure modes encountered in laminated structures has been proposed. The out-of-plane strengths (tensile and shears) are identified through the analysis of tests performed on L-angle structures, representative of the final aeronautical components. Finally, some unfolding/folding tests on L-angle specimens have been performed in order to validate the proposed 3D failure approach

Costa Rica’s annual mean precipitation is above 3300 mm, but this precipitation is not evenly distributed in time or space, producing clear differentiated wet and dry seasons in most of the country. Droughts are also common phenomena which greatly affect the availability of water resources. Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) schemes are being taken into consideration to enhance the underground water storage capacity of the country. The present study constitutes the first assessment for the identification of suitable sites for the implementation of MAR technology spreading methods (SM) in Costa Rica. The suitable sites are identified by means of a geographic information system multi-criteria decision analysis (GIS-MCDA) based on four criteria: hydrogeological aptitude, terrain slope, top soil texture and drainage network density. Four steps are performed in order to identify these sites: problem definition, screening for suitable areas, suitability mapping, and sensitivity analysis. The suitability map was divided in two zones after the screening: suitable and unsuitable, the first zone was further divided in five classes according to the weighted linear combination (WLC) ranking. The results indicate that 61% of the country is suitable for conducting SM. This map is a tool for future implementation of MAR techniques in the country.

Costa Rica’s annual mean precipitation is above 3300 mm, but this precipitation is not evenly distributed in time or space, producing clear differentiated wet and dry seasons in most of the country. Droughts are also common phenomena which greatly affect the availability of water resources. Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) schemes are being taken into consideration to enhance the underground water storage capacity of the country. The present study constitutes the first assessment for the identification of suitable sites for the implementation of MAR technology spreading methods (SM) in Costa Rica. The suitable sites are identified by means of a geographic information system multi-criteria decision analysis (GIS-MCDA) based on four criteria: hydrogeological aptitude, terrain slope, top soil texture and drainage network density. Four steps are performed in order to identify these sites: problem definition, screening for suitable areas, suitability mapping, and sensitivity analysis. The suitability map was divided in two zones after the screening: suitable and unsuitable, the first zone was further divided in five classes according to the weighted linear combination (WLC) ranking. The results indicate that 61% of the country is suitable for conducting SM. This map is a tool for future implementation of MAR techniques in the country.

I denna kandidatuppsats undersöks berättelsers retoriska funktion i tidningen Situation Sthlm. Huvudsyftet är att undersöka om och i sådana fall hur berättelserna i tidningen bidrar till att uppnå tidningens publicistiska målsättning. I det ingår det underordnade syftet att undersöka om och i sådana fall hur berättelserna bidrar till att skapa identifikation hos läsarna. Materialet består av sex stycken berättelser som är tagna ur olika nummer av tidningen och samtliga berättelser handlar om hemlösa människor som själva är försäljare av tidningen. Uppsatsen bygger på teorier om vad en berättelse är, berättelsers retoriska funktion samt teorier om identifikation. Analyserna är gjorda efter Sonja K. Foss modell för narrativ analys om än i något reviderade version då inte alla analyskategorier som finns med i originalmodellen används i uppsatsen. Uppsatsen visar på att samtliga berättelser har potential att skapa identifikation och att bidra till den publicistiska målsättningen i någon mån men de berättelser som har potential att engagera flest läsare är de som är specifika på flera olika nivåer. Detta uppnås dels genom att ge detaljerade beskrivningar av miljöer och dels genom att karaktärerna skildras på ett mångdimensionellt och nyanserat sätt i kombination med att deras handlingar upplevs som motiverade och begripliga. Även användandet av topiker är centralt för att uppnå det retoriska syftet. Genom att vissa av berättelserna erbjuder läsarna flera olika topiker (mentala mötesplatser) minskar risken att vissa läsargrupper exkluderas.<br>This Bachelor thesis investigates the rhetorical function of stories published in the Stockholm based street newspaper, Situation Sthlm. The main purpose of the study is to investigate if, and in such a case how, the stories aid in obtaining the goals set by the newspaper with regards to their publishing criteria. A subordinate purpose to that is to investigate if, and in such a case how, the stories aid in creating a sense of identification for the readers. The materials used, include six stories retrieved from several different issues of Situation Sthlm, and in common each story depicts a homeless person who works as a vendor for the street newspaper. The thesis utilizes several different theories aimed at describing the concept of stories, the rhetorical function of stories as well as theories regarding the concept of identification. The model for narrative analysis established by Sonja K. Foss, has been applied for the analyses performed in this study, the model has however been slightly reduced due to the exclusion of certain categories that are included in the original model. It is concluded in this thesis that the six stories analyzed all have the potential of creating a sense of identification for the reader and that they, to an extent, contribute to the newspaper’s publishing criteria. Nevertheless, the stories that have the potential of capturing the largest amount of readers are those that include several different levels of specificity. This is partially achieved through highly detailed descriptions of the milieus in which the story takes place and partially through highly nuanced and multi-dimensional character portrayals in combination with creating an essence of the character’s actions as being well motivated and comprehendible. The usage of topos is also crucial in order to achieve the rhetorical aims in the stories analyzed. By offering an array of topos (fictional meeting places), which was the case for some of the stories, there is a reduced risk of excluding certain categories of readers.

Human hair profiling is an integral part of a forensic investigation but it is one of the most technically difficult subjects in forensic science. This thesis describes the research and development of a novel approach for the rapid identification of unknown human and other related keratin fibres found at a crime scene. The work presented here is developed systematically and considers sample collection, sample preparation, analysis and interpretation of spectral data for the profiling of hair fibres encountered in criminal cases. Spectral comparison of fibres was facilitated with the use of chemometrics methods such as PCA, SIMCA and Fuzzy Clustering, and the less common approach of multi-criteria decision making methodology (MCDM). The aim of the thesis was to investigate the potential of some vibrational spectroscopy techniques for matching and discrimination of single keratin hair fibres in the context of forensic evidence. The first objective (chapter 3) of the thesis was to evaluate the use of Raman and FT-IR micro-spectroscopy techniques for the forensic sampling of hair fibres and to propose the preferred technique for future forensic hair comparisons. The selection of the preferred technique was based on criteria such as spectral quality, ease of use, rapid analysis and universal application to different hair samples. FT-IR micro-spectroscopy was found to be the most appropriate technique for hair analysis because it enabled the rapid collection of spectra from a wide variety of hair fibres. Raman micro-spectroscopy, on the other hand, was hindered with fluorescence problems and did not allow the collection of spectra from pigmented fibres. This objective has therefore shown that FT-IR micro-spectroscopy is the preferable spectroscopic technique for forensic analysis of hair fibres, whilst Raman spectroscopy is the least preferred. The second objective (chapter 3) was to investigate, through a series of experiments, the effect of chemical treatment on the micro-environment of human hair fibres. The effect of bleaching agents on the hair fibres was studied with some detail at different treatment times and the results indicate a significant change in the chemical environment of the secondary structure of the hair fibre along with changes in the C-C backbone structure. One of the most important outcomes of this research was the behaviour of the fÑ-helix during chemical treatment. The hydrogen bonding in the fÑ-helix provides for the stable structure of the fibre and therefore any disruption to the fÑ-helix will inevitably damage the molecular structure of the fibre. The results highlighted the behaviour of the fÑ-helix, which undergoes a significant decrease in content during oxidation, and is partly converted to a random-coil structure, whilst the fÒ-sheet component of the secondary structure remains unaffected. The reported investigations show that the combination of FT-IR and Raman micro-spectroscopy can provide an insight and understanding into the complex chemical properties and reactions within a treated hair fibre. Importantly, this work demonstrates that with the aid of chemometrics, it is possible to investigate simultaneously FT-IR and Raman micro-spectroscopic information from oxidised hair fibres collected from one subject and treated at different times. The discrimination and matching of hair fibres on the basis of treatment has potential forensic applications. The third objective (chapter 4) attempted to expand the forensic application of FT-IR micro-spectroscopy to other keratin fibres. Animal fibres are commonly encountered in crime scenes and it thus becomes important to establish the origin of those fibres. The aim of this work was to establish the forensic applications of FT-IR micro-spectroscopy to animal fibres and to investigate any fundamental molecular differences between these fibres. The results established a discrimination between fibres consisting predominantly of fÑ-helix and those containing mainly a fÒ-sheet structure. More importantly, it was demonstrated through curve-fitting and chemometrics, that each keratin fibre contains a characteristic secondary structure arrangement. The work presented here is the first detailed FT-IR micro-spectroscopic study, utilising chemometrics as well as MCDM methods, for a wide range of keratin fibres, which are commonly, found as forensic evidence. Furthermore, it was demonstrated with the aid of the rank ordering MCDM methods PROMETHEE and GAIA, that it is possible to rank and discriminate keratin fibres according to their molecular characteristics obtained from direct measurements together with information sourced from the literature. The final objective (chapter 5) of the thesis was to propose an alternative method for the discrimination and matching of single scalp human hair fibres through the use of FT-IR micro-spectroscopy and chemometrics. The work successfully demonstrated, through a number of case scenarios, the application of the technique for the identification of variables such as gender and race for an unknown single hair fibre. In addition, it was also illustrated that known hair fibres (from the suspect or victim) can be readily matched to the unknown hair fibres found at the crime scene. This is the first time that a substantial, systematic FT-IR study of forensic hair identification has been presented. The research has shown that it is possible to model and correlate individual¡¦s characteristics with hair properties at molecular level with the use of chemometrics methods. A number of different, important forensic variables of immediate use to police in a crime scene investigation such as gender, race, treatment, black and white hair fibres were investigated. Blind samples were successfully applied both to validate available experimental data and extend the current database of experimental determinations. Protocols were posed for the application of this methodology in the future. The proposed FT-IR methodology presented in this thesis has provided an alternative approach to the characterisation of single scalp human hair fibres. The technique enables the rapid collection of spectra, followed by the objective analytical capabilities of chemometrics to successfully discriminate animal fibres, human hair fibres from different sources, treated from untreated hair fibres, as well as black and white hair fibres, on the basis of their molecular structure. The results can be readily produced and explained in the courts of law. Although the proposed relatively fast FT-IR technique is not aimed at displacing the two slower existing methods of hair analysis, namely comparative optical microscopy and DNA analysis, it has given a new dimension to the characterisation of hair fibres at a molecular level, providing a powerful tool for forensic investigations.

Human hair profiling is an integral part of a forensic investigation but it is one of the most technically difficult subjects in forensic science. This thesis describes the research and development of a novel approach for the rapid identification of unknown human and other related keratin fibres found at a crime scene. The work presented here is developed systematically and considers sample collection, sample preparation, analysis and interpretation of spectral data for the profiling of hair fibres encountered in criminal cases. Spectral comparison of fibres was facilitated with the use of chemometrics methods such as PCA, SIMCA and Fuzzy Clustering, and the less common approach of multi-criteria decision making methodology (MCDM). The aim of the thesis was to investigate the potential of some vibrational spectroscopy techniques for matching and discrimination of single keratin hair fibres in the context of forensic evidence. The first objective (chapter 3) of the thesis was to evaluate the use of Raman and FT-IR micro-spectroscopy techniques for the forensic sampling of hair fibres and to propose the preferred technique for future forensic hair comparisons. The selection of the preferred technique was based on criteria such as spectral quality, ease of use, rapid analysis and universal application to different hair samples. FT-IR micro-spectroscopy was found to be the most appropriate technique for hair analysis because it enabled the rapid collection of spectra from a wide variety of hair fibres. Raman micro-spectroscopy, on the other hand, was hindered with fluorescence problems and did not allow the collection of spectra from pigmented fibres. This objective has therefore shown that FT-IR micro-spectroscopy is the preferable spectroscopic technique for forensic analysis of hair fibres, whilst Raman spectroscopy is the least preferred. The second objective (chapter 3) was to investigate, through a series of experiments, the effect of chemical treatment on the micro-environment of human hair fibres. The effect of bleaching agents on the hair fibres was studied with some detail at different treatment times and the results indicate a significant change in the chemical environment of the secondary structure of the hair fibre along with changes in the C-C backbone structure. One of the most important outcomes of this research was the behaviour of the fÑ-helix during chemical treatment. The hydrogen bonding in the fÑ-helix provides for the stable structure of the fibre and therefore any disruption to the fÑ-helix will inevitably damage the molecular structure of the fibre. The results highlighted the behaviour of the fÑ-helix, which undergoes a significant decrease in content during oxidation, and is partly converted to a random-coil structure, whilst the fÒ-sheet component of the secondary structure remains unaffected. The reported investigations show that the combination of FT-IR and Raman micro-spectroscopy can provide an insight and understanding into the complex chemical properties and reactions within a treated hair fibre. Importantly, this work demonstrates that with the aid of chemometrics, it is possible to investigate simultaneously FT-IR and Raman micro-spectroscopic information from oxidised hair fibres collected from one subject and treated at different times. The discrimination and matching of hair fibres on the basis of treatment has potential forensic applications. The third objective (chapter 4) attempted to expand the forensic application of FT-IR micro-spectroscopy to other keratin fibres. Animal fibres are commonly encountered in crime scenes and it thus becomes important to establish the origin of those fibres. The aim of this work was to establish the forensic applications of FT-IR micro-spectroscopy to animal fibres and to investigate any fundamental molecular differences between these fibres. The results established a discrimination between fibres consisting predominantly of fÑ-helix and those containing mainly a fÒ-sheet structure. More importantly, it was demonstrated through curve-fitting and chemometrics, that each keratin fibre contains a characteristic secondary structure arrangement. The work presented here is the first detailed FT-IR micro-spectroscopic study, utilising chemometrics as well as MCDM methods, for a wide range of keratin fibres, which are commonly, found as forensic evidence. Furthermore, it was demonstrated with the aid of the rank ordering MCDM methods PROMETHEE and GAIA, that it is possible to rank and discriminate keratin fibres according to their molecular characteristics obtained from direct measurements together with information sourced from the literature. The final objective (chapter 5) of the thesis was to propose an alternative method for the discrimination and matching of single scalp human hair fibres through the use of FT-IR micro-spectroscopy and chemometrics. The work successfully demonstrated, through a number of case scenarios, the application of the technique for the identification of variables such as gender and race for an unknown single hair fibre. In addition, it was also illustrated that known hair fibres (from the suspect or victim) can be readily matched to the unknown hair fibres found at the crime scene. This is the first time that a substantial, systematic FT-IR study of forensic hair identification has been presented. The research has shown that it is possible to model and correlate individual¡¦s characteristics with hair properties at molecular level with the use of chemometrics methods. A number of different, important forensic variables of immediate use to police in a crime scene investigation such as gender, race, treatment, black and white hair fibres were investigated. Blind samples were successfully applied both to validate available experimental data and extend the current database of experimental determinations. Protocols were posed for the application of this methodology in the future. The proposed FT-IR methodology presented in this thesis has provided an alternative approach to the characterisation of single scalp human hair fibres. The technique enables the rapid collection of spectra, followed by the objective analytical capabilities of chemometrics to successfully discriminate animal fibres, human hair fibres from different sources, treated from untreated hair fibres, as well as black and white hair fibres, on the basis of their molecular structure. The results can be readily produced and explained in the courts of law. Although the proposed relatively fast FT-IR technique is not aimed at displacing the two slower existing methods of hair analysis, namely comparative optical microscopy and DNA analysis, it has given a new dimension to the characterisation of hair fibres at a molecular level, providing a powerful tool for forensic investigations.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:29:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Solange Tomiyama.pdf: 1534259 bytes, checksum: 8ebb6fdd4d1024a4a15359c197e09ebd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-05-26<br>Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico<br>The principles, at the science scope, correspond to the basic, typical and fundamental proposals for the construction of a system. These are considered species of norms to the side of the rules that compose all the structure of the legal system. In the scope of the environmental law the Brazilian doctrine is not homogenous in the boarding of its principles. One is about a legal uncertainty related to the identification of these principles and, consequently a difficult at the correct application in the interpretation and implementation of this legal branch by all operators of the right. That happens because of the analysis of the principles of the environmental law which are done based on different fundamentals: a) international declarations; b) law of the international politics of the environment; c) adaptation of the principles of other branches of the right; d) Federal Constitution e) junction of all the mentioned fundamentals. Through the analysis of the legal system of Brazilian ambient protection associated to the methodology of bibliographical research we intend to reach a common denominator to indicate the direction of the criteria capable to become objective the identification of the principles of the environmental law. At the end, we can contribute scientifically with the studies on the legal science of protection to the environment in order to attempt to help in the effective construction and consolidation that is adequate to its purpose: protection of the ambient goods that are guarantors of salutary quality of life for the present and future generations<br>Os princípios, no campo da ciência, correspondem a proposições básicas, típicas, fundamentais para a construção de um sistema. Estes são considerados espécies de normas, ao lado das regras, que compõem toda a estrutura do sistema jurídico. No âmbito do direito ambiental, a doutrina brasileira não é homogênea na abordagem de seus princípios. Trata-se de uma incerteza jurídica quanto à identificação desses princípios, e, por via de conseqüência, na dificuldade da correta aplicação, na interpretação e na implementação desse ramo jurídico, por todos os operadores do direito. Isso porque, os princípios de direito ambiental são identificados sob diferentes critérios: a) com base nas Declarações Internacionais; b) com base na Lei da Política Nacional do Meio Ambiente; c) com base na adaptação dos princípios de outros ramos do direito, aplicáveis à matéria ambiental; d) com base na Constituição Federal; e) com base na conjugação de todos os fundamentos acima mencionados. Através da análise do sistema jurídico de proteção ambiental brasileiro, associada à metodologia de pesquisa bibliográfica, envolvendo a literatura já publicada sobre o assunto, buscar-se-á a identificação de um denominador comum que possa indicar a direção dos critérios capazes de tornar objetiva a identificação dos princípios de direito ambiental. E ao final, poder contribuir cientificamente com os estudos sobre a ciência jurídica de proteção do meio ambiente, na tentativa de ajudar na sua construção e consolidação, efetiva e adequada aos fins a que foi criada: a proteção dos bens ambientais, garantidores de uma sadia qualidade de vida para as presentes e futuras gerações

The dynamic characteristics of a part are highly dependent on geometric and material properties of the part. The identification and tracking of vibrational mode shapes within an iterative design process becomes difficult and time consuming due to the frequently changing part definition. Currently, visual inspection of analysis results is used as the means to identify the shape of each vibrational mode determined by the modal analysis. This thesis investigates the automation of the mode shape identification process through the use of parametric geometry and the Modal Assurance Criterion. Displacement results from finite element modal analysis are used to create parametric geometry templates which can be compared one to another irrespective of part geometry or finite element mesh density. Automation of the mode shape identification process using parametric geometry and the Modal Assurance Criterion allows for the mode shapes from a baseline design to be matched to modified part designs, giving the designer a more complete view of the part's dynamic properties. It also enables the identification process to be completed much more quickly than by visual inspection.

<p> Crystallographic image processing (CIP) is a technique first used to aid in the structure determination of periodic organic complexes imaged with a high-resolution transmission electron microscope (TEM). The technique has subsequently been utilized for TEM images of inorganic crystals, scanning TEM images, and even scanning probe microscope (SPM) images of two-dimensional periodic arrays. We have written software specialized for use on such SPM images. A key step in the CIP process requires that an experimental image be classified as one of only 17 possible mathematical plane symmetry groups. The current methods used for making this symmetry determination are not entirely objective, and there is no generally accepted method for measuring or quantifying deviations from ideal symmetry. Here, we discuss the crystallographic symmetries present in real images and the general techniques of CIP, with emphasis on the current methods for symmetry determination in an experimental 2D periodic image. The geometric Akaike information criterion (AIC) is introduced as a viable statistical criterion for both quantifying deviations from ideal symmetry and determining which 2D Bravais lattice best fits the experimental data from an image being processed with CIP. By objectively determining the statistically favored 2D Bravais lattice, the determination of plane symmetry in the CIP procedure can be greatly improved. As examples, we examine scanning tunneling microscope images of 2D molecular arrays of the following compounds: cobalt phthalocyanine on Au (111) substrate; nominal cobalt phthalocyanine on Ag (111); tetraphenoxyphthalocyanine on highly oriented pyrolitic graphite; hexaazatriphenylene-hexacarbonitrile on Ag (111). We show that the geometric AIC procedure can unambiguously determine which 2D Bravais lattice fits the experimental data for a variety of different lattice types. In some cases, the geometric AIC procedure can be used to determine which plane symmetry group best fits the experimental data, when traditional CIP methods fail to do so.</p>

This dissertation creates an information agent that correctly identifies Web pages containing scholarly research approximately 96% of the time. It does this by analyzing the Web page with a set of criteria, and then uses a classification tree to arrive at a decision. The criteria were gathered from the literature on selecting print and electronic materials for academic libraries. A Delphi study was done with an international panel of librarians to expand and refine the criteria until a list of 41 operationalizable criteria was agreed upon. A Perl program was then designed to analyze a Web page and determine a numerical value for each criterion. A large collection of Web pages was gathered comprising 5,000 pages that contain the full work of scholarly research and 5,000 random pages, representative of user searches, which do not contain scholarly research. Datasets were built by running the Perl program on these Web pages. The datasets were split into model building and testing sets. Data mining was then used to create different classification models. Four techniques were used: logistic regression, nonparametric discriminant analysis, classification trees, and neural networks. The models were created with the model datasets and then tested against the test dataset. Precision and recall were used to judge the effectiveness of each model. In addition, a set of pages that were difficult to classify because of their similarity to scholarly research was gathered and classified with the models. The classification tree created the most effective classification model, with a precision ratio of 96% and a recall ratio of 95.6%. However, logistic regression created a model that was able to correctly classify more of the problematic pages. This agent can be used to create a database of scholarly research published on the Web. In addition, the technique can be used to create a database of any type of structured electronic information.

L'ecoulement d'une couche limite laminaire sur une paroi concave, donne naissance a des tourbillons longitudinaux via l'instabilite de taylor-gortler due a un desequilibre entre les forces de gradients de pression normales a la paroi et les forces centrifuges. Les tourbillons de gortler modifient de facon significative le transfert de quantite de mouvement et de chaleur. On se propose d'etudier experimentalement les differentes etapes du developpement de l'instabilite de gortler. La premiere phase du travail a consiste a developper les procedures experimentales sur un montage existant. Differents programmes d'acquisition et de traitement de donnees ont permis la mise en uvre de l'anemometrie a fil chaud. Des mesures de la composante longitudinale de la vitesse ont ete effectuees dans plusieurs sections perpendiculaires a l'ecoulement. Elles ont permis de suivre l'evolution et l'amplification spatiales de l'instabilite de gortler. Une grille de perturbation a permis de fixer la position des tourbillons. L'effet de cette perturbation sur la geometrie des tourbillons de gortler a ete etudie. Nous avons montre que chaque element de perturbation est a l'origine de deux paires de tourbillons de gortler. Leur apparition est liee a une interaction entre une instabilite dite de bord d'attaque et l'instabilite de gortler. Une etude theorique par la methode des perturbations a permis de valider les observations experimentales sur ces points. Plusieurs criteres de croissance des perturbations, fondes sur les profils de vitesse transversale et les profils de vitesse normale a la paroi ont ete calcules. Ils ont ete confrontes a la fonction d'intermittence qui caracterise l'etat (laminaire, transitionnel ou turbulent) de l'ecoulement. Il ressort que le parametre fonde sur les gradients transversaux de la composante longitudinale de la vitesse est le mieux adapte pour caracteriser l'amplification spatiale de l'instabilite. L'effet de la variation de la longueur d'onde initiale et de la vitesse de l'ecoulement moyen ont egalement ete etudies. La derniere partie du travail a consiste a construire et instrumenter une maquette thermique destinee a l'etude des transferts de chaleur en presence de l'instabilite de gortler. La surface utile de la maquette est recouverte d'une feuille resistive permettant d'imposer un flux constant a la paroi. La temperature parietale est mesuree par 191 thermocouples implantes a la surface de la maquette. L'objectif, qui constitue en meme temps une perspective de l'etude presente, est d'effectuer des mesures de temperature moyennes et instantanees dans l'ecoulement. Elles permettront de degager les grandeurs pertinentes qui seront utilisees pour effectuer un controle actif des transferts, via le controle de l'instabilite de gortler

La methode exposee consiste a realiser un apprentissage hors ligne sur le reseau simule soumis a une grande perturbation. Le nuage des valeurs numeriques de parametres riches en information sur le phenomene de la stabilite dynamique est traite dans le but de minimiser la probabilite d'erreur de decision. Cette phase est realisee hors ligne et permet la construction de discriminateurs. Dans la phase de discrimination faite en ligne, on calcule d'abord la valeur numerique des parametres precites relatives a l'etat du reseau puis on estime l'etat de surete du reseau a l'aide des trois discriminateurs que l'on propose dans cette etude. Les parametres proposes sont issus du critere energetique des deux aires

La protezione del patrimonio culturale e architettonico rappresenta una sfida interdisciplinare dovuta alla coesistenza di problemi storici, artistici e strutturali. Notevoli terremoti storici hanno evidenziato l'intrinseca vulnerabilità degli edifici in muratura, in particolare quelli appartenenti a complessi architettonici sotto forma di aggregati di edifici. L'attività delle autorità italiane ha mostrato un forte impegno in questo campo con il rilascio di un programma completo volto a valutare la vulnerabilità sismica di edifici e infrastrutture critiche, compresi i beni storici e architettonici. Alla luce delle incertezze derivanti dalla caratterizzazione materiale e dal comportamento strutturale, la prevenzione e la conservazione sono diventate un compito complesso nelle regioni sismiche. Le questioni relative alla definizione di un modello strutturale e dinamico appropriato spesso mettono a repentaglio l'affidabilità dell'analisi sismica. Una preoccupazione primaria è la discriminazione tra la risposta locale di macroelementi selezionati e la risposta globale della struttura. In tale contesto, le tecniche di identificazione dinamica basate sulle vibrazioni hanno visto l’ implementazione delle loro attrattiva grazie alla definizione di procedure automatizzate ed efficaci, in grado di estrarre i parametri modali dai record di misurazioni disponibili. Questo processo è fondamentalmente ben definito per queste strutture, in cui il comportamento dinamico è chiaramente definito mediante un ragionevole numero di gradi di libertà. Con riferimento a quanto descritto, viene presentata una nuova procedura basata su un indice di correlazione vettoriale ben consolidata (Modal Assurance Criterion - MAC), frequentemente utilizzato nel campo dell'analisi modale sperimentale, ed in grado di supportare la discriminazione razionale dei modi globali e locali nel campo dell'identificazione strutturale e del monitoraggio dinamico. La metodologia proposta è validata sulla base dei risultati ottenuti da un numero di casi studio numerici e attraverso un caso sperimentale. Nel processo di tutela del patrimonio esistente , la valutazione delle condizioni strutturali è necessaria per pianificare misure correttive efficaci in termini di costi, prima che l'estensione del danno porti i sistemi a interrompere lo stato di operabilità, richiedendo maggiori costi di intervento. In questo contesto, l'identificazione del danno strutturale in una fase iniziale svolge un ruolo importante nello sviluppo di procedure efficaci e affidabili per la valutazione delle prestazioni delle strutture storiche nelle aree sismiche. I danni sulle strutture in muratura si riferiscono principalmente a fessurazioni, insediamenti di fondazione, degrado del materiale e spostamenti. I metodi basati sulla dinamica per valutare il danno rappresentano uno strumento allettante per questo tipo di strutture, perché sono metodi non distruttivi e sono in grado di catturare il comportamento strutturale globale. Un affidabile algoritmo spettrale, adatto sia per tecniche di identificazione dinamica in uscita che in entrata, in grado di rilevare, localizzare e valutare il danno strutturale, viene validato mediante campagne esplicative numeriche e sperimentali eseguite sulla replica di un arco storico in muratura.<br>Protection of cultural and architectural heritage represents an interdisciplinary challenge due to the coexistence of historical, artistic and structural issues. Notable historical earthquakes pointed out the inherent vulnerability of the masonry buildings, in particular those belonging to architectural complexes in the form of building aggregates. The activity of the Italian Authorities showed a strong effort in this field with the release of a comprehensive program aimed at assessing the seismic vulnerability of critical buildings and infrastructures including historical and architectural assets. In the light of the uncertainties arising from material characterization and structural behaviour, prevention and preservation has become a complex task in seismic regions. The issues related to the definition of an appropriate structural and dynamic model often jeopardize the reliability of seismic analysis. A primary concern is the discrimination between the local response of selected macro elements and the global response of the structure. In such a context, vibration based dynamic identification techniques deployed their attractiveness due to definition of automated and effective procedures able to extracted modal parameters from available measurements records. This process is basically well established for these structures, where dynamics is clear and discussed by a reasonable number of degrees of freedom. In this framework, a new procedure based on well-established vector correlation ( Modal Assurance Criterion - MAC index), frequently used in the field of experimental modal analysis, point out how it can support a rational discrimination of the global and local mode, in the field of dynamic structural identification and monitoring is presented. The proposed methodology is validated based on the results obtained from a number of simulated case studies and by an experimental validation case. In the protection process of the cultural and architectural heritage, the assessment of the structural conditions is needed to plan cost-effective remedial measures, before the extension of damage leads the systems to stop operation, requiring expensive in depth interventions. In this context, structural damage identification at an early stage plays an important role for developing effective and reliable procedures for performance assessment of historical structures in seismic areas. Damage on masonry structures mainly relates to cracks, foundation settlements, material degradation and displacements. Dynamic based methods to assess the damage are an attractive tool to this type of structures because they are non-destructive methods and are able to capture the global structural behaviour. An existing robust spectral-based algorithm able to detect, locate and assess the structural damage, suitable for both output-only and input-output dynamic identification techniques, is validated by means of numerical and experimental explanatory campaign carried out on the masonry arch replica.

Existing methods of evaluating the structural system of a building after a seismic event consist of removing architectural elements such as drywall, cladding, insulation, and fireproofing. This method is destructive and costly in terms of downtime and repairs. This research focuses on removing the guesswork by using forced vibration testing (FVT) to experimentally determine the health of a building. The experimental structure is a one-story, steel, bridge-like structure with removable braces. An engaged brace represents a nominal and undamaged condition; a dis-engaged brace represents a brace that has ruptured thus changing the stiffness of the building. By testing a variety of brace configurations, a set of experimental data is collected that represents potential damage to the building after an earthquake. Additionally, several unknown parameters of the building’s substructure, lateral-force-resisting-system, and roof diaphragm are determined through FVT. A suite of computer models with different levels of damage are then developed. A quantitative analysis procedure compares experimental results to the computer models. Models that show high levels of correlation to experimental brace configurations identify the extent of damage in the experimental structure. No testing or instrumentation of the building is necessary before an earthquake to identify if, and where, damage has occurred.

Розглядається бортова геоінформаційна система (ГІС) реконструювання місцевості з метою подальшого розпізнавання і визначення координат об’єктів, що спостерігаються. Система ідентифікацій функціонує у двох режимах: навчання і екзамен, на якому здійснюється безпосередньо реконструювання місцевості.