Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'PhD Planner'

The aim of this thesis is to evaluate the short and long term effectiveness of foot orthoses in the treatment of plantar fasciitis.Three studies were undertaken, the first two informing the third. The aim of the first study was to establish prescription habits of Australian and New Zealand podiatrists in order to ascertain the most commonly prescribed foot orthoses. The second study was conducted to establish the most appropriate outcome measure to assess the effectiveness of foot orthoses in the treatment of plantar faciitis. The main study, a pragmatic single-blind randomised control trial, was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of three types of foot orthoses in the treatment of plantar fasciitis. The research concluded that provision of appropriate foot orthoses produces small short-term benefits in function for people with plantar fasciitis, but no effect is apparent at twelve months.

After introducing the concepts of language maintenance and language-planning, the thesis outlines the current status of a selection of European minority languages. These are later drawn upon in order to make comparisons about the present state of Scots and possible ways forward for its language activists. The language's identity crisis and consequent problems for language maintenance are examined, and the conclusion reached that major intervention in both status and corpus planning is required for the language to have any secure future. Potential areas for status planning are discussed, focusing on the options for the short and medium terms. The latter part of the thesis concentrates on the problems for corpus-planners, discussing the alternatives for solutions in the fields of orthography, lexicon and grammar. The greatest problem for Scots is the depth of public and official ignorance surrounding it. The author's argument is that will only change when Scots' own advocates understand that the case for language maintenance is more than a case for Scots poetry. Rather, it implies an extensive campaign for status-planning measures, most of which have implications in the field of corpus planning. The thesis is written in Scots.

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is one of the leading causes of hospitalisation, morbidity and mortality in the UK. The incidence and prevalence of CHF is expected to increase due to the aging population and improved survival in heart disease. Exercise has been recognised as a valuable treatment and has proved to be beneficial in CHF. The present study applied the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and the Commonsense Model of Self-regulation to fitness, daily activity and medication-adherence in elderly patients with CHF. The study was in parallel with a randomised controlled trial of a 3-month exercise programme. A TPB questionnaire was used at baseline and at 3 months. Illness representations were assessed by IPQ-R at baseline. Fitness (measured by 6 minute walk test) and daily activity (measured by an accelerometer) were assessed at baseline, 3 and 6 months. ACEI-adherence (assessed by measuring serum ACE level) was assessed at baseline. The main findings from 81 CHF patients (mean age = 81 years) showed that Subjective norm (SN) was the only predictor of Intention (IN1) at baseline; Attitude, Perceived behavioural control (PBC) were predictors of INT at 3 months; fitness was predicted by PBC at 3 months. The exercise intervention led to significant changes in Attitude and PBe. The finding also indicated that the participants were more likely to attribute their illness to Chance, BiolOgical factors and God. Identity and Illness coherence predicted fitness, and Consequences predicted daily activity. Participants who believed that their illness was chronic or serious were less likely to adhere to ACEI medication. Conclusion: both the TPB and IPQ-R were useful instruments to predict behaviours in elderly patients with CHF. The IPQ-R had a greater predictive power than the TPB in this population. Illness representations may play a role in influencing the formation of intention as background factors.

The European Space Agency's ExoMars 2020 mission gives the astrobiology community the opportunity to scrutinise instrumentation, landing sites and proposed biosignatures in preparation for this mission. A miniaturised Raman spectrometer will be included as part of the payload instrumentation. The main focus of this work is to test the capabilities of this technique in support of this mission. The impact crater environment is one of the most valuable targets in search for life on Mars. One of the most well preserved craters on earth has evidence of microbial life in the post-impact hydrothermal deposits and the surface mineral crusts. Raman spectroscopy is able to identify more habitable forms of sulphate and detect photo-protective microbial pigments in the crusts. One of the building blocks of life is organic carbon. Raman spectroscopy will primarily be used to characterise organics, and as Mars has a limited atmosphere and lacks a global magnetic field, the surface of Mars is heavily oxidised. The effect that oxidation has on the Raman carbon signal is therefore important. Results show that hematite has an interfering band at the same frequency as the carbon D band, which could result in a misinterpretation of the carbon order, so caution must be taken. Oxidised iron could be a viable energy source of iron-reducing bacteria. One of the most common reduction morphologies in the geological record is the reduction spheroid. They are most likely formed by iron-reducing bacteria, and could be used as a biosignature on Mars. Results show that Raman spectroscopy is able to detect reduction spheroids by tracking the presence of hematite. Experimental work aiming to simulate the formation of a reduction spheroid was unsuccessful but shed light on the complexity of crystalline Fe(III) reduction. This work has highlighted the capabilities and limitations of Raman spectroscopy prior to the ExoMars mission.

Le développement, la reproduction et la survie d’un organisme, dépendent de son environnement physique et/ou écologique. La sélection en faveur de certains traits d’histoire de vie découle donc de la stabilité de l’environnement (i. E. Reproduction sexuée versus asexuée). La stratégie de reproduction d’une espèce est par conséquent susceptible de se modifier en fonction des changements environnementaux, pouvant survenir en limite d’aire de distribution qui se caractérisent par des fluctuations abiotiques plus importantes. Les grandes algues brunes (Phaeophyceae, Laminariales) sont des espèces structurant les communautés benthiques marines. Elles présentent un cycle de reproduction hétéromorphe avec alternance de phase haploïde microscopique (gamétophyte) et de phase diploïde macroscopique (sporophyte). Les connaissances sur la biologie et la distribution géographique de la plupart de ces espèces n’étaient basées jusqu’à présent que sur l’étude des sporophytes. Mes travaux de thèse ont permis de mettre en évidence l’importance de ces gamétophytes dans le maintien des populations, en comparant les modes de reproduction de trois espèces de laminaires. Les résultats suggèrent que le déterminisme du sexe est principalement génétique et que l’effet de la température de l’eau de mer sur la phase microscopique peut expliquer les distributions géographiques de certaines espèces. Par ailleurs, différents stratégies reproductives ont été observées au sein et entre espèces suggérant l’existence de phénomènes d’adaptations locales. En particulier, en limite d’aire de distribution des espèces, nos résultats montrent l’existence de la parthénogenèse géographique.

Physical activity is important to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Levels of physical activity decrease across the lifespan, and findings suggest only between 13-32% of University students are physically active at the recommended level. Research has found that ca. 50% of motivated individuals fail to enact on their intentions to be physically active. The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) was described, limitations and additions identified and its use outlined in three areas of investigation predicting physical activity: motivation, volition and intervention. Method: Student Activity and Lifestyle Study at Aberdeen (SALSA), a web-based survey, invited all students at the University of Aberdeen to respond to three questionnaires across the 2005/06 and 2006/07 academic years. SALSA received responses from 1418 and 1273 participants at the start of each academic year, respectively. Social cognitions (e.g. intention, perceived control), self-reported physical activity levels and attendance to the University’s sport facilities were measured. A double-blind randomised controlled trial investigated the efficacy two planning interventions, delivered via the internet, aiming to increase PA. Results and Summary: Findings suggest that students who are motivated benefit from making plans when, where and how to take part in physical activity, and plan how to cope with potential barriers and obstacles. Participants who are more certain of their intentions, aware of effort, the standards required and monitor themselves are more likely to be physically active, even though they are equally motivated and perceive themselves to be in control. Participant who were active in the past were more likely to attend the University’s sport facilities. However, the planning interventions did not increase students’ activity levels or attendance to the University’s sport facilities. Adherence to intervention protocol was low (between 58.8% to 76.7%) and participants dropping out of SALSA were large across both academic years.

2015 - 2016<br>Il presente lavoro di tesi è volto ad indagare le variabili che influenzano le decisioni degli insegnanti nel mettere in atto e nell’implementare pratiche inclusive in classe. Un’analisi dettagliata della letteratura scientifica ha consentito di individuare la Teoria del Comportamento Pianificato (Ajzen, 1988) come framework teorico dell’intero lavoro. Negli ultimi anni questa teoria ha occupato un posto di notevole rilievo nelle scienze sociali al fine di studiare il comportamento umano; inoltre, numerose ricerche in ambito educativo hanno adottato tale teoria per guidare la pianifica degli studi e la loro realizzazione. Sulla base della Teoria del Comportamento Pianificato e dell’individuazione di studi simili già condotti e riportati nella letteratura scientifica internazionale, la principale ipotesi di ricerca comprende tre variabili predittive ed una variabile dipendente. Per quanto riguarda le prime, esse sono: le percezioni degli insegnanti circa la loro auto-efficacia per insegnare in contesti inclusivi, gli atteggiamenti verso l’inclusione e le preoccupazioni che gli insegnanti hanno circa le pratiche inclusive. La variabile dipendente è relativa alle intenzioni dei docenti di implementare pratiche inclusive. L’ipotesi è che più gli atteggiamenti dei docenti sono positivi e più alte sono le auto-percezioni di efficacia, più alta è la possibilità che gli insegnanti adottino pratiche inclusive. Per quanto concerne le preoccupazioni, in questo caso, meno esse sono, più alte sono le intenzioni di adottare pratiche inclusive. Inoltre, è stato ipotizzato che, studiate insieme, queste tre variabili aumentino il livello di predittività delle intenzioni rispetto a quando sono prese in considerazione singolarmente. Il questionario comprende quattro scale finalizzate a misurare le variabili predittive e dipendenti, mentre una sezione a parte è dedicata alla raccolta dei dati socio-demografici. Dopo la traduzione delle scale dall’inglese all’italiano, è stato condotto uno studio pilota per accertare che il linguaggio fosse appropriato per il contesto e che non vi fossero eventuali interpretazioni sbagliate o ambiguità. Le quattro scale utilizzate sono state la “Teacher self-Efficacy for Inclusive Practices Scale” (Sharma, Loreman & Forlin, 2011), la “Attitudes towards Inclusion Scale” (Sharma & Jacobs, 2016), la “Concerns about Inclusive Education Scale” (Sharma & Desai, 2002), e la “Intentions to Teach in Inclusive Classrooms Scale” (Sharma & Jacobs, 2016). Nell’ultima sezione del questionario vi sono due domande a risposta aperta atte a sollecitare i partecipanti all’individuazione di tre fattori che possano favorire l’adozione di pratiche inclusive e tre fattori che possano rappresentare degli ostacoli. Il questionario è stato somministrato all’inizio di un percorso di formazione per il conseguimento della specializzazione per le attività di sostegno didattico agli alunni con disabilità tenutosi presso l’Università degli Studi di Salerno nell’anno accademico 2015/2016. Il numero degli intervistati (docenti di scuola dell’infanzia, scuola primaria, scuola secondaria di primo e di secondo grado) è pari a 156, la maggior parte dei quali donne (93%); quanto all’età, oscillano tra i 31 e i 40 anni (64%). I punteggi medi hanno dimostrato che il gruppo di docenti ha atteggiamenti positivi, bassi livelli di preoccupazioni, alti livelli di auto-percezioni di efficacia ed un elevato grado di intenzioni di insegnare in classi inclusive. L'analisi di regressione multipla ha confermato l'ipotesi principale di questa tesi e cioè che le tre variabili insieme sono predittori significativi per spiegare le intenzioni di insegnare in classi inclusive. Secondo gli intervistati, il principale fattore che favorisce l'educazione inclusiva è l'implementazione di strategie e di attività didattiche partecipative e costruttive, mentre valori, credenze ed atteggiamenti non sono favorevoli per la promozione di contesti inclusivi sono stati considerati come il maggiore ostacolo. Questa tesi sostiene che la Teoria del Comportamento Pianificato possa guidare gli studi sulle relazioni tra le variabili che incidono sull’inclusione e possa risultare utile per la progettazione di programmi di formazione degli insegnanti, andandone a valutare la loro efficacia. Tuttavia, è necessaria l'integrazione di studi qualitativi per ridurre la vulnerabilità dei dati raccolti con strumenti self-report. [a cura dell'autore]<br>The aim of this thesis was to investigate the variables that impinge on teachers’ decisions to implement inclusive classroom practices. A thorough literature review on this research topic led to the identification of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) (Ajzen, 1988) as an underpinning framework for this thesis. This theory has gained considerable approval in social sciences to investigate human behaviour and an increasing amount of studies on this area of educational research have adopted it as a guiding theory and model for the research design and implementation. On the basis of the TPB and similar studies conducted, the principal research hypothesis included three predictor variables and a dependent variable. The former are teachers’ self-percepts of efficacy to work in inclusive contexts, attitudes towards, and concerns about inclusion, whereas the dependent variable is intentions to implement inclusive classroom practices. It was hypothesised that the more positive the teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion are and the higher the self-percepts of efficacy, the more likely teachers are to adopt inclusive practices. With regards to the third predictor variable, the fewer the concerns the higher are teachers’ intentions to implement inclusive practices. Moreover, it was hypothesised that studied together, these three variables would be more predictive of intentions than when taken singularly. Four scales comprised the questionnaire that aimed at measuring these variables. These were the Teacher self-efficacy for Inclusive Practices Scale (Sharma, Loreman & Forlin, 2011), the Attitudes towards Inclusion Scale (Sharma & Jacobs, 2016), the Concerns about Inclusive Education Scale (Sharma & Desai, 2002), and the Intentions to Teach in Inclusive Classrooms Scale (Sharma & Jacobs, 2016). An additional section collected demographic data, while two concluding open-ended questions asked respondents to identify factors that, in their opinion, facilitate and hinder inclusion. The questionnaire was administered at the beginning of a course which was aimed at student-teachers interested in acquiring the Learning Support Teachers Warrant to work in either nursery and primary school or lower and upper secondary school. The total number of respondents was 156 of whom the majority were female (93%) and were between 31 and 40 years old (64%). Mean scores showed that this group of respondents have positive attitudes, low levels of concerns, high levels of teacher self-efficacy, and high degrees of intentions to teach in inclusive classrooms. Multiple regression analysis confirmed the main hypothesis in this thesis that the three variables together are significant predictors to explain intentions to teach in inclusive classrooms. According to the respondents, the major factor that fosters inclusive education is the implementation of active, hands-on teaching strategies and activities, whereas values, beliefs and attitudes that are not conducive for the promotion of inclusive contexts were considered as the main hindrance. This thesis argues that the TPB can guide studies on the relationships between the variables impacting on inclusion, and may be useful for designing teacher education programmes and evaluate their effectiveness. However, the integration of qualitative studies to reduce the vulnerability of data collected from self-reports is required. [edited by author]<br>XV n.s.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:56:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PedroIAN_DISSERT.pdf: 1986241 bytes, checksum: 386b7b9f50f9765c6f2575f4e58ea4e5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-12-11<br>Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico<br>Due to major progress of communication system in the last decades, need for more precise characterization of used components. The S-parameters modeling has been used to characterization, simulation and test of communication system. However, limitation of S-parameters to model nonlinear system has created new modeling systems that include the nonlinear characteristics. The polyharmonic distortion modeling is a characterizationg technique for nonlinear systems that has been growing up due to praticity and similarity with S-parameters. This work presents analysis the polyharmonic distortion modeling, the test bench development for simulation of planar structure and planar structure characterization with X-parameters<br>O grande desenvolvimento dos sistemas de comunica??o nas ?ltimas d?cadas trouxe a necessidade de uma caracteriza??o cada vez mais precisa dos componentes utilizados. A modelagem por meio de par?metros-S ? utilizada para caracteriza??o, simula??o e testes de sistemas de comunica??o desde meados dos anos 60. Contudo a limita??o dos par?metros-S para sistemas lineares fez crescer a necessidade por novos tipos de parametriza??es que incluam as caracter?sticas de sistemas n?o lineares. A modelagem por distor??o poli-harm?nica ? uma t?cnica de caracteriza??o aplicada a sistemas n?o lineares que vem ganhando espa?o na literatura por sua praticidade e semelhan?a conceitual com os par?metros-S. Este trabalho apresentar? uma an?lise da modelagem por distor??o harm?nica, o desenvolvimento de um banco de testes para simula??o de estruturas planares e a caracteriza??o destas estruturas por meio de par?metros-X. Com isso pretende-se analisar a utiliza??o, precis?o e efici?ncia da modelagem por distor??o poli-harm?nica para estruturas planares

Les travaux présentés dans cette thèse ont porté sur la specificité des réponses cellulaires de l’halophyte obligatoire Cakile maritima au choc salin et la régulation des événements précoces impliqués dans la mort cellulaire programmée et la survie en condition de salinité. Dans une première étape, nous avons montré que cette plante est aussi tolérante aux chocs salins répétés qu’au stress salin progressif. Cependant, on a observé de zones de mort cellulaires sur les feuilles âgées soumises à un choc salin sévère (400 mM NaCl). Pour mieux cerner la cascade d’événements impliqués dans ce processus de mort cellulaire, nous avons poursuivi nos expériences sur des suspensions cellulaires de C. maritima, dont nous avons-nous même optimisé les conditions d’obtention, et des suspensions cellulaires d’Arabidopsis thaliana (glycophyte modèle). Chez les deux espèces, nous avons observé une mort cellulaire programmée qui dépend de la durée et l’intensité du traitement salin appliqué, et qui met en jeu les mêmes événements cellulaires notamment la dépolarisation de la membrane plasmique due à l’entrée de Na+ par les NSCCs, un dysfonctionnement mitochondrial, une production d’anions superoxydes et une activation de protéines de type caspase. La tolérance de C. maritima au stress salin serait potentiellement due à une forte accumulation d’ascorbate qui permettrait à cette halophyte de mieux réduire les dommages générés par le stress oxydatif. C. maritima s’est aussi distinguée par une meilleure capacité de contrôler l’accumulation cytoplasmique de Na+, conduisant à la survie de ses cellules en condition de salinité. Cette étude sur la mort cellulaire induite par le NaCl chez les cellules en culture de C. maritima nous a aussi permis de mettre en évidence deux types de comportement dans cette population de cellules en culture : l’un lié à une dépolarisation soutenue en réponse au NaCl conduisant probablement à la mort de ces cellules, l’autre lié à une dépolarisation transitoire indiquant que l’influx de Na+ au travers des NSCC était régulé permettant probablement aux cellules présentant ce comportement de survivre en évitant l'accumulation excessive de Na+ dans le cytosol. Dans la dernière partie de ce travail, nous avons mis en évidence la capacité de C. maritima d’exclure Na+ via le système SOS. Ce résultat suggère l’existence d’une deuxième voie de signalisation induite parallèlement à celle conduisant à la mort cellulaire. Cette voie, impliquant une production rapide d’oxygène singulet, pourrait permettre un influx de Ca2+ dans le cytoplasme activant la protéine SOS3 et en cascade SOS2 et SOS1 et les H+-ATPases de la membrane plasmique permettant un efflux du Na+ via SOS1 hors des cellules<br>AbstractThis work aimed at understanding the specificity of cellular responses of the obligate halophyte Cakile maritima to salt shock and regulation of early events involved in programmed cell death and survival under salinity conditions. In a first step, we have shown that this plant is tolerant upon both repetitive salt shocks and gradual salt application. However, we have observed a cell death zones on older leaves subjected to a severe shock saline (400 mM NaCl). To better understand the cascade of events involved in the cell death process, we continued our experiments on suspension culture of C. maritima, which we have optimized ourselves the conditions for establishment and suspension culture of Arabidopsis thaliana (glycophyte model). In both species, salinity induced programmed cell death that depends on the duration and the intensity of the applied salt treatment. Also, the same cellular events, including depolarization of the plasma membrane due to the Na+ influx by NSCCs, mitochondrial dysfunction, production of superoxide anions and activation of caspase-like proteins, occurs early in response to salt stress. C. maritima tolerance to salt stress is potentially due to a strong accumulation of ascorbate that would allow this halophyte to better reduce damage generated by oxidative stress. C. maritima is also distinguished by a better ability to control the cytoplasmic accumulation of Na+, leading to the survival of its cells under salinity conditions. This study on cell death induced by NaCl in cell culture of C. maritima also allowed us to identify two types of behavior in this population of cells in culture: one related to a sustained depolarization in response to NaCl probably leading to death of these cells, the other linked to a transient depolarization indicating that the Na+ influx through the NSCC was probably regulated allowing cells exhibiting this behavior to survive by avoiding excessive accumulation of Na+ in the cytosol. In the last part of this work, we have demonstrated the ability of C. maritima to exclude Na+ via the SOS system. This result suggests the existence of a second signaling pathway induced in parallel to that leading to cell death. This pathway, involving a rapid production of singlet oxygen, could allow a Ca2+ influx in the cytoplasm that acts as an elicitor for activation of SOS3 protein and SOS2-SOS1 cascade and H+- ATPases of the plasma membrane allowing Na+ efflux via SOS1 out of cells

Organic semiconductors are a new key technology for large-area and flexible thin-film electronics. They are deposited as thin films (sub-nanometer to micrometer) on large-area substrates. The technologically most advanced applications are organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) and organic photovoltaics (OPV). For the improvement of performance and efficiency, correct modeling of the electronic processes in the devices is essential. Reliable characterization and validation of the electronic properties of the materials is simultaneously required for the successful optimization of devices. Furthermore, understanding the relations between material structures and their key characteristics opens the path for innovative material and device design. In this thesis, two material characterization methods are developed, respectively refined and applied: a novel technique for measuring the charge carrier mobility μ and a way to determine the ionization energy IE or the electron affinity EA of an organic semiconductor. For the mobility measurements, a new evaluation approach for space-charge limited current (SCLC) measurements in single carrier devices is developed. It is based on a layer thickness variation of the material under investigation. In the \"potential mapping\" (POEM) approach, the voltage as a function of the device thickness V(d) at a given current density is shown to coincide with the spatial distribution of the electric potential V(x) in the thickest device. On this basis, the mobility is directly obtained as function of the electric field F and the charge carrier density n. The evaluation is model-free, i.e. a model for μ(F, n) to fit the measurement data is not required, and the measurement is independent of a possible injection barrier or potential drop at non-optimal contacts. The obtained μ(F, n) function describes the effective average mobility of free and trapped charge carriers. This approach realistically describes charge transport in energetically disordered materials, where a clear differentiation between trapped and free charges is impossible or arbitrary. The measurement of IE and EA is performed by characterizing solar cells at varying temperature T. In suitably designed devices based on a bulk heterojunction (BHJ), the open-circuit voltage Voc is a linear function of T with negative slope in the whole measured range down to 180K. The extrapolation to temperature zero V0 = Voc(T → 0K) is confirmed to equal the effective gap Egeff, i.e. the difference between the EA of the acceptor and the IE of the donor. The successive variation of different components of the devices and testing their influence on V0 verifies the relation V0 = Egeff. On this basis, the IE or EA of a material can be determined in a BHJ with a material where the complementary value is known. The measurement is applied to a number of material combinations, confirming, refining, and complementing previously reported values from ultraviolet photo electron spectroscopy (UPS) and inverse photo electron spectroscopy (IPES). These measurements are applied to small molecule organic semiconductors, including mixed layers. In blends of zinc-phthalocyanine (ZnPc) and C60, the hole mobility is found to be thermally and field activated, as well as increasing with charge density. Varying the mixing ratio, the hole mobility is found to increase with increasing ZnPc content, while the effective gap stays unchanged. A number of further materials and material blends are characterized with respect to hole and electron mobility and the effective gap, including highly diluted donor blends, which have been little investigated before. In all materials, a pronounced field activation of the mobility is observed. The results enable an improved detailed description of the working principle of organic solar cells and support the future design of highly efficient and optimized devices<br>Organische Halbleiter sind eine neue Schlüsseltechnologie für großflächige und flexible Dünnschichtelektronik. Sie werden als dünne Materialschichten (Sub-Nanometer bis Mikrometer) auf großflächige Substrate aufgebracht. Die technologisch am weitesten fortgeschrittenen Anwendungen sind organische Leuchtdioden (OLEDs) und organische Photovoltaik (OPV). Zur weiteren Steigerung von Leistungsfähigkeit und Effizienz ist die genaue Modellierung elektronischer Prozesse in den Bauteilen von grundlegender Bedeutung. Für die erfolgreiche Optimierung von Bauteilen ist eine zuverlässige Charakterisierung und Validierung der elektronischen Materialeigenschaften gleichermaßen erforderlich. Außerdem eröffnet das Verständnis der Zusammenhänge zwischen Materialstruktur und -eigenschaften einen Weg für innovative Material- und Bauteilentwicklung. Im Rahmen dieser Dissertation werden zwei Methoden für die Materialcharakterisierung entwickelt, verfeinert und angewandt: eine neuartige Methode zur Messung der Ladungsträgerbeweglichkeit μ und eine Möglichkeit zur Bestimmung der Ionisierungsenergie IE oder der Elektronenaffinität EA eines organischen Halbleiters. Für die Beweglichkeitsmessungen wird eine neue Auswertungsmethode für raumladungsbegrenzte Ströme (SCLC) in unipolaren Bauteilen entwickelt. Sie basiert auf einer Schichtdickenvariation des zu charakterisierenden Materials. In einem Ansatz zur räumlichen Abbildung des elektrischen Potentials (\"potential mapping\", POEM) wird gezeigt, dass das elektrische Potential als Funktion der Schichtdicke V(d) bei einer gegebenen Stromdichte dem räumlichen Verlauf des elektrischen Potentials V(x) im dicksten Bauteil entspricht. Daraus kann die Beweglichkeit als Funktion des elektrischen Felds F und der Ladungsträgerdichte n berechnet werden. Die Auswertung ist modellfrei, d.h. ein Modell zum Angleichen der Messdaten ist für die Berechnung von μ(F, n) nicht erforderlich. Die Messung ist außerdem unabhängig von einer möglichen Injektionsbarriere oder einer Potentialstufe an nicht-idealen Kontakten. Die gemessene Funktion μ(F, n) beschreibt die effektive durchschnittliche Beweglichkeit aller freien und in Fallenzuständen gefangenen Ladungsträger. Dieser Zugang beschreibt den Ladungstransport in energetisch ungeordneten Materialien realistisch, wo eine klare Unterscheidung zwischen freien und Fallenzuständen nicht möglich oder willkürlich ist. Die Messung von IE und EA wird mithilfe temperaturabhängiger Messungen an Solarzellen durchgeführt. In geeigneten Bauteilen mit einem Mischschicht-Heteroübergang (\"bulk heterojunction\" BHJ) ist die Leerlaufspannung Voc im gesamten Messbereich oberhalb 180K eine linear fallende Funktion der Temperatur T. Es kann bestätigt werden, dass die Extrapolation zum Temperaturnullpunkt V0 = Voc(T → 0K) mit der effektiven Energielücke Egeff , d.h. der Differenz zwischen EA des Akzeptor-Materials und IE des Donator-Materials, übereinstimmt. Die systematische schrittweise Variation einzelner Bestandteile der Solarzellen und die Überprüfung des Einflusses auf V0 bestätigen die Beziehung V0 = Egeff. Damit kann die IE oder EA eines Materials bestimmt werden, indem man es in einem BHJ mit einem Material kombiniert, dessen komplementärer Wert bekannt ist. Messungen per Ultraviolett-Photoelektronenspektroskopie (UPS) und inverser Photoelektronenspektroskopie (IPES) werden damit bestätigt, präzisiert und ergänzt. Die beiden entwickelten Messmethoden werden auf organische Halbleiter aus kleinen Molekülen einschließlich Mischschichten angewandt. In Mischschichten aus Zink-Phthalocyanin (ZnPc) und C60 wird eine Löcherbeweglichkeit gemessen, die sowohl thermisch als auch feld- und ladungsträgerdichteaktiviert ist. Wenn das Mischverhältnis variiert wird, steigt die Löcherbeweglichkeit mit zunehmendem ZnPc-Anteil, während die effektive Energielücke unverändert bleibt. Verschiedene weitere Materialien und Materialmischungen werden hinsichtlich Löcher- und Elektronenbeweglichkeit sowie ihrer Energielücke charakterisiert, einschließlich bisher wenig untersuchter hochverdünnter Donator-Systeme. In allen Materialien wird eine deutliche Feldaktivierung der Beweglichkeit beobachtet. Die Ergebnisse ermöglichen eine verbesserte Beschreibung der detaillierten Funktionsweise organischer Solarzellen und unterstützen die künftige Entwicklung hocheffizienter und optimierter Bauteile

The focus of this study is the formation of 'community' in contemporary greenfield master planned estates.The project is cast against the historical backdrop of modern utopian place-making, and the idea that a particular permutation of urban design, infrastructure and social programs can produce an ideal of community: of connectivity, social support and social identity. A further ambition of contemporay urban design is the marketable idea of securing a physical and social space. The thesis comprises four parts. Part I presents the theoretical framework of the thesis, a task which incorporates a review of theoretical concepts and of the relevant literature. Part II discusses methodological issues, the research design and research process, before providing background information needed to support the following empirical chapters. Part III comprises these empirical chapters and sets about detailing and analysing data captured through the comparative case study of Harrington Park and Garden Gates. The final section of the thesis provides an interpretation of the empirical and research data. It draws conclusions as to the character of the Master Planned Community (MPC)and the dynamics which contribute to its contemporary character. It concludes by attempting a tentative theory of the MPC.

碩士<br>國立臺灣大學<br>應用力學研究所<br>93<br>A loading-unloading apparatus that combined clinical ultrasound and load cell was built to investigate the mechanical properties of the plantar heel pad tissues in living activities. A 5-10 MHz 26mm compact linear array transducer was used to record the continuous B-mode images of the deformation of the plantar heel pad, and then derive their mechanical properties. Elastography of the plantar heel pad were constructed to investigate the biomechanics during normal walking condition. The boundaries of each layer of the soft tissue were estimated by tracking either by the maximum gradient of gray scale or by the k-value of correlative deformation. Axial strain, lateral strain, elastic modulus, and the ratio of axial strain to lateral strain were computed in various layers of tissues. Compressive index, stiffness, loading and unloading strain rate were taken into account for the quantification of mechanical properties of soft tissues. The elastic modulus of heel pad, at eight different depths calculated, were 124.8 (19.7) kPa, 119.6 (13.7) kPa, 92.6 (32.1) kPa, 73.0 (30.6) kPa, 62.5 (15.4) kPa, 62.2 (14.7) kPa, 55.0 (14.1) kPa and 58.4 (10.2) kPa respectively, which resulted in an equivalent elastic modulus of 39.5 (7.401) kPa. Moreover, the overall stiffness, compressive index, loading and unloading strain rate measured were about 247.5 (58.7) kPa, 0.593 (0.008), 0.315 (0.0387) s-1 and -0.292 (0.0524) s-1 respectively. The macro-chamber near the calcaneus has a lower stiffness than the micro-chamber next to the plantar skin. Under the action of larger strain rate, the macro-chamber reduces shock from ground effectively. Because of hysteresis, the larger loading strain rate, results a steeper slope in stress-strain curve. There is a large lateral deformation in the transverse scanning plane of the calcaneus, and the amount of lateral distortion is affected by boundary condition and the collagen fibrous spacing.

碩士<br>國立臺北科技大學<br>機電整合研究所<br>102<br>Due to the load transfer mechanism, the propulsive ground reaction force is often concentrated on the area beneath the first and second metatarsal heads during human ambulation. The pain and discomfort resulted at this area are known as metatarsalgia. In order to relieve this symptom, metatarsal pad is commonly prescribed for patients with metatarsalgia in clinical practice. Although the effectiveness of metatarsal pad on the plantar pressure reduction had been investigated in previous studies using plantar pressure measurement system, the experiment itself is very difficult to eliminate the relative motion between the foot sole and insole, and to define the location precisely. For this reason, no clear conclusion on the metatarsal pad design and placement that can achieve best effectiveness in plantar pressure reduction so far. Due to the finite element analysis has the advantages in modifying the model and adjusting the parameters easily, this study aimed to investigate the effects of different placements and geometrical designs of metatarsal pad on the plantar pressure distribution through dynamic finite element analysis. A three-dimensional finite element model of the foot-shoe complex, including the foot bony and ligamentous structure, soft tissue, metatarsal pad, insole, outsole and shoe cover, was adopted in this study. The trajectory of the reflective markers and the kinematic data of the foot obtained from gait analysis were used to define the boundary condition in the finite element analysis. After validation of the model, the effects of metatarsal pad on the plantar pressure distribution beneath the metatarsus and the second metatarsal head were investigated by changing five different placements, two different heights, and three different sizes of the metatarsal pad. According to the results from the dynamic finite element analysis, when the pad was placed 10 mm proximal to the second metatarsal head, better efficacy of pressure reduction than other placements was found. Under the appropriate placement, the efficacy would be further improved by raising the height of the pad from 5 mm to 10 mm, but causing high pressure concentration beneath the metatarsus. However, increasing the pad size by 10% would relieve the concentrated high pressure. As a result, increasing the height as well as area of metatarsal pad properly may enhance the efficacy of plantar pressure reduction beneath the second metatarsal head, and relieve high pressure concentration beneath the metatarsus. The current results from the dynamic finite element analysis were focused on one single subject. Different foot dimension and structural classification were not considered in this study. More subjects with different size and structure of foot should be recruited in the future in order to provide a more comprehensive recommendation on the prescription of metatarsal pad.

Planned obsolescence refers to the situation where a company has too high an incentive to create a new product that renders the old durable goods non-compatible or obsolete. Does this incentive persist when the firm can choose what quality level the new product has, instead of simply introducing a new product of a given improved quality? Assuming the outcome of innovation is quality increase in next periods, this dissertation focuses on the effect of planned obsolescence in relation to a monopolist’s R&D investment and quality choices. The monopolist is not choosing whether or not to introduce a new product, but rather how much quality the new product should have, or in other words, how long the continuous R&D investment should last. When a minor evolution (i.e. lower quality improvement) and a major revolution (i.e. higher quality improvement) of durable goods are mutually exclusive, for a certain range of R&D investment cost, a monopolist is found to have too low an incentive to introduce the major revolution. This situation is defined as planned obsolescence of quality. The reason for such a behavior is time inconsistency, i.e. a monopolist’s failure to commit to its original profit-maximizing quality strategy once it enters the latter stage of the game. However if evaluated from a social planner’s perspective, planned obsolescence of quality, or the lack of commitment, turns out to be beneficial in alleviating the problem of socially excessive quality at least partially. Once it can be perceived that the monopolist will not commit to its original optimal quality choice, a new discrepancy would emerge between the monopolist and a social planner. It is still beneficial for a social planner to intervene for certain ranges of R&D investment cost. Under such circumstances, R&D subsidies may be considered to induce the monopolist to move out of the range of discrepancy, provided that the gain in social welfare is larger than the cost of subsidy. This cost is smaller when the monopolist’s marginal production cost is smaller.<br>acase@tulane.edu

Plantar heel pain is a common disorder that can involve considerable pain. Many treatments have been suggested to manage the condition however few have been rigorously evaluated. Two treatments commonly recommended in clinical practice are adhesive taping applied to the foot and calf muscle stretching. The effectiveness of neither treatment is supported by good quality evidence. Aim: To examine the effectiveness of two short-term interventions, low-Dye taping and calf muscle stretching, for the treatment of plantar heel pain. In addition, the effect of the interventions on biomechanical variables was investigated. Design: Four studies were undertaken in the thesis. The first study in the thesis (Chapter 3) investigated the biomechanical effect of low-Dye taping on the lower limb by systematically reviewing appropriate clinical trials. Meta-analyses were undertaken where appropriate. The second study (Chapter 4) was a blinded randomised trial conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of low-Dye taping for the short-term treatment of plantar heel pain. The third study (Chapter 5) investigated the effect of calf muscle stretching on ankle joint range of motion by systematically reviewing appropriate clinical trials. Meta analyses were again undertaken where appropriate. The fourth and final study (Chapter 6) was another blinded randomised trial conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of calf muscle stretching for the short-term treatment of plantar heel pain. Setting: Both randomised trials were conducted at a university-based clinic in Sydney, Australia. Participants In the randomised trials, 184 participants who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria for plantar heel pain were recruited from the local community. In the first trial 92 participants were evaluated over a one-week period and randomly allocated to receive either low-Dye taping or a sham intervention. In the second trial 92 participants were evaluated over a two-week period and randomly allocated to receive either calf muscle stretching or a sham intervention. Outcome measures In the first systematic review, all trials that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria evaluated the effect of low-Dye taping on kinematic, kinetic and electromyographic outcomes. For the second systematic review, all trials that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria examined the effect of calf muscle stretching on the outcome of ankle joint dorsiflexion range of motion. Both randomised trials in this thesis used the Visual Analogue Scale and the Foot Health Status Questionnaire as primary outcomes. In the stretching randomised trial secondary outcomes were also assessed, namely the Foot Posture Index-6 and the Ankle Lunge Test. Results: The first systematic review found that low-Dye taping provides a small, statistically significant increase in navicular height immediately after application (weighted mean difference 5.90mm; 95% confidence interval 0.41 to 11.39; p=0.04)1 indicating a reduction in foot pronation. However, after exercise, taping had no statistically significant effect on navicular height (weighted mean difference 4.70mm; 95% confidence interval –0.61 to 10.01; p=0.08). In addition, taping had no statistically significant effect on maximum rear foot eversion (weighted mean difference –0.59°; 95% confidence interval ����2.53 to 1.35; p=0.55) or total rear foot range of motion while walking (weighted mean difference 2.3°; 95% confidence interval –0.64 to 5.24; p=0.13). The first randomised trial found that low-Dye taping had a significantly greater decrease in ‘first-step’ pain compared to a control group. The estimate of the mean difference between the groups (measured on 100mm Visual Analogue Scale) favoured the taping group (-12.3mm; 95% confidence interval -22.4 to -2.2; p=0.017). There 1 P values are provided to three decimal places except when values were generated using systematic review software, Review Manager 4.2.7, which sometimes only calculates results to two decimal places. were no differences detected in any of the other outcome measures. The taping was associated with mild to moderate short-lived adverse events that could be minimised with the use of hypoallergenic tape and careful application of the tape to reduce tightness. The second systematic review found that calf muscle stretching provides a small, statistically significant increase in ankle joint dorsiflexion. Stretching for ≤15 minutes (in a single session or accumulated over multiple sessions) provides a weighted mean difference of 2.07° (95% confidence interval 0.86 to 3.27; p(less than)0.001). 15 to 30 minutes (accumulated over multiple sessions) increased dorsiflexion by a weighted mean difference of 3.03° (95% confidence interval 0.31 to 5.75; p=0.03), and >30 minutes of stretching (accumulated over multiple sessions) increased dorsiflexion by a weighted mean difference of 2.49° (95% confidence interval 0.16 to 4.82; p=0.04) indicating no further increase in dorsiflexion is achieved by stretching for >30 minutes. The second randomised trial found that calf muscle stretching compared to a control group, had no significant effect on ‘first-step’ pain, foot pain, foot function or general foot health. Stretching was associated with mild to moderate adverse effects that were short-lived once stretching ceased. Conclusion: When used for the treatment of plantar heel pain, low-Dye taping provides a small increase in navicular height, and after one week, produces a small reduction in the ‘first-step’ pain. Calf muscle stretching increases ankle joint dorsiflexion approximately 2 to 3 degrees but has no effect on plantar heel pain after two weeks. It can therefore be concluded that low-Dye taping is effective for the short-term treatment of the ‘first-step’ pain associated with plantar heel pain, but calf muscle stretching is not effective for plantar heel pain.

Over the last three decades master-planned estates (MPEs) have grown in popularity in developed and developing countries alike. Building on the body of Australian research on this topic, this thesis is concerned with MPEs developed since the early 1980s in Australia, and with analysing some of the social and cultural factors underpinning their contemporary growth and popularity. The thesis examines the relationship between MPEs in Australia as a consumer product and the aspiration of its residents for social distinction. A number of social, political and cultural trends related to the consumption of social and spatial geography such as exclusivity, tendency for private governance, lifestyle and taste, consumer culture such as brand and subculture, and the motivation behind this consumption have been examined and matched to an empirical study involving residents of MPEs as consumers, in addition to developers and officers of local governments. The study relies on qualitative research method based on case study design consisting of two MPEs in the Sydney metropolitan area. The findings based on the two estates support the argument that MPEs as consumer product that consumed in pursuit of a desire of social distinction. The findings also suggest that the estates are a product through which residents live an imagined sense of community and the house as walls and roof become a symbolic mark for that social distinction. Furthermore, the study finds that the estates could constitute a subcultural capital in addition to the current social capital residents are accumulating. Findings also suggest that MPEs represented in these estates have the potential to become a brand culture in the future due to the high level of interest from the growing number of buyers seeking to procure social and cultural distinction.

The 'Washington Consensus' over Neoliberal reform has fallen significantly short of a consensus, at least among some Latin American nations maintaining vestiges of state-led development strategies. Instead, this study shows how Venezuela is fashioning a 'hybrid' strategy, incorporating elements of statist theories of regional development with free market principles of economic reform such as privatization and decentralization. It examines the extent neoliberal principles have been adopted, assesses the social impacts of different approaches to development, and uncovers social and political forces complicating a shift from state to market-led development Three dimensions of the impacts of retreating states and a strengthening market are analyzed: regional planning, firm performance, and political participation. I conducted in-depth interviews, archival research, and content analysis where the Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana (CVG) built a planned city and Latin America's largest state-owned industrial complex. Legacies of state intervention in Ciudad Guayana were a context for examining how the State, firms, and civil society are negotiating industrial restructuring, increased global competition and political decentralization. My own face-to-face household survey, focus groups, participant observation, and annual survey data reveal impacts of these processes and provide evidence of and reasons for resistance to change My results challenge key assumptions about both statist and market-based development models, and in doing so indicate that neoliberalism's hegemony is subject to reexamination. First, despite origins in competing ideologies, both approaches advocate exploiting comparative advantages in natural resources. Second, contrary to empirical evidence from other resource-based development projects, residents' standard of living was very adequate, indicating long-term returns on public investment associated with state-led capitalism. Third, regardless of global universality and uniformity of neoliberalism, locally implemented policies stopped short of structural reform. Fourth, global economic restructuring has wrought enormous local change independent of neoliberal reform. Industries struggle with global oversupply of commodities, debt, and technological shortcomings; unemployment is increasing; wages are stagnant; and the service sector is growing. Finally, while local actors agree that they must look beyond public enterprise for a development strategy, the centralization associated with state-led development makes it difficult for local government, led by 'La Causa R', to foster participatory democracy<br>acase@tulane.edu

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2009.<br>Title from title screen (site viewed October 13, 2009). PDF text: v, 179 p. : ill. ; 2 Mb. UMI publication number: AAT 3355613. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Diabetes can affect the structure and function of the foot, resulting in severe limitation of mobility and reduction of life expectancy. Early warning signs include limited joint mobility (LJM), soft tissue changes, high plantar pressure (HPP), high pressure time integrals (P/TI) and plantar callus. These abnormalities were examined in 216 young people with diabetes and 57 controls. The fingers, toes, ankle subtalar and first metatarsophalangeal joints shows reduced motion and the plantar aponeurosis was thicker in diabetic subjects. Skin thickness was the same for diabetic and control subjects. LJM in the feet was more common in males and older subjects. Subtalar and finger LJM was associated with early sensory nerve changes and finger LJM was associated with retinopathy and higher HbAtc. Thicker plantar aponeurosis was associated with male gander and larger feet. High peak pressure, high P/TI and callus were no more common in diabetic subjects than controls. However, high P/TI and callus were associated with early sensory nerve changes in young people with diabetes. Diabetic subjects with callus were significantly older than those without callus. Those with HPP had higher body mass index and less motion at the first MTP joints than those without HPP. Although plantar callus, HPP and high P/TI were no more common in young people with diabetes these abnormailities may be complicated by diabetes. Cushioning, custom orthoses or both in combination significantly reduced peak pressure and P/TI in diabetic subjects.

The financial planning environment has experienced significant change and development in the last decade with the global financial crisis (GFC) being blamed for loss of the public’s trust in the financial services industry (Collett, 2009). The GFC has also provided a turning point for the industry as it moves from a ‘transactional, investment-and-product-focused industry, to one offering principally strategic advice and services’ (Hoyle, 2010, p.1). Further changes are on the horizon, stemming from regulatory reform which was a direct result of the Parliamentary Joint Committee (PJC) on Corporations and Financial Services, commissioned after the collapse of prominent financial product and services providers. However, there is still much debate on whether such regulatory reform will increase trust in the financial advice environment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of trust of financial planning participants within this context. This study is therefore a significant one in what is a relatively under-researched area of interest. The study’s purpose was divided into six research questions to explore the various dimensions of trust in the financial advice environment.

Organic semiconductors are a new key technology for large-area and flexible thin-film electronics. They are deposited as thin films (sub-nanometer to micrometer) on large-area substrates. The technologically most advanced applications are organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) and organic photovoltaics (OPV). For the improvement of performance and efficiency, correct modeling of the electronic processes in the devices is essential. Reliable characterization and validation of the electronic properties of the materials is simultaneously required for the successful optimization of devices. Furthermore, understanding the relations between material structures and their key characteristics opens the path for innovative material and device design. In this thesis, two material characterization methods are developed, respectively refined and applied: a novel technique for measuring the charge carrier mobility μ and a way to determine the ionization energy IE or the electron affinity EA of an organic semiconductor. For the mobility measurements, a new evaluation approach for space-charge limited current (SCLC) measurements in single carrier devices is developed. It is based on a layer thickness variation of the material under investigation. In the \"potential mapping\" (POEM) approach, the voltage as a function of the device thickness V(d) at a given current density is shown to coincide with the spatial distribution of the electric potential V(x) in the thickest device. On this basis, the mobility is directly obtained as function of the electric field F and the charge carrier density n. The evaluation is model-free, i.e. a model for μ(F, n) to fit the measurement data is not required, and the measurement is independent of a possible injection barrier or potential drop at non-optimal contacts. The obtained μ(F, n) function describes the effective average mobility of free and trapped charge carriers. This approach realistically describes charge transport in energetically disordered materials, where a clear differentiation between trapped and free charges is impossible or arbitrary. The measurement of IE and EA is performed by characterizing solar cells at varying temperature T. In suitably designed devices based on a bulk heterojunction (BHJ), the open-circuit voltage Voc is a linear function of T with negative slope in the whole measured range down to 180K. The extrapolation to temperature zero V0 = Voc(T → 0K) is confirmed to equal the effective gap Egeff, i.e. the difference between the EA of the acceptor and the IE of the donor. The successive variation of different components of the devices and testing their influence on V0 verifies the relation V0 = Egeff. On this basis, the IE or EA of a material can be determined in a BHJ with a material where the complementary value is known. The measurement is applied to a number of material combinations, confirming, refining, and complementing previously reported values from ultraviolet photo electron spectroscopy (UPS) and inverse photo electron spectroscopy (IPES). These measurements are applied to small molecule organic semiconductors, including mixed layers. In blends of zinc-phthalocyanine (ZnPc) and C60, the hole mobility is found to be thermally and field activated, as well as increasing with charge density. Varying the mixing ratio, the hole mobility is found to increase with increasing ZnPc content, while the effective gap stays unchanged. A number of further materials and material blends are characterized with respect to hole and electron mobility and the effective gap, including highly diluted donor blends, which have been little investigated before. In all materials, a pronounced field activation of the mobility is observed. The results enable an improved detailed description of the working principle of organic solar cells and support the future design of highly efficient and optimized devices.:1. Introduction 2. Organic semiconductors and devices 2.1. Organic semiconductors 2.1.1. Conjugated π system 2.1.2. Small molecules and polymers 2.1.3. Disorder in amorphous materials 2.1.4. Polarons 2.1.5. Polaron hopping 2.1.6. Fermi-Dirac distribution and Fermi level 2.1.7. Quasi-Fermi levels 2.1.8. Trap states 2.1.9. Doping 2.1.10. Excitons 2.2. Interfaces and blend layers 2.2.1. Interface dipoles 2.2.2. Energy level bending 2.2.3. Injection from metal into semiconductor, and extraction 2.2.4. Excitons at interfaces 2.3. Charge transport and recombination in organic semiconductors 2.3.1. Drift transport 2.3.2. Charge carrier mobility 2.3.3. Thermally activated transport 2.3.4. Diffusion transport 2.3.5. Drift-diffusion transport 2.3.6. Space-charge limited current 2.3.7. Recombination 2.4. Mobility measurement 2.4.1. SCLC and TCLC 2.4.2. Time of flight 2.4.3. Organic field effect transistors 2.4.4. CELIV 2.5. Organic solar cells 2.5.1. Exciton diffusion towards the interface 2.5.2. Dissociation of CT states 2.5.3. CT recombination 2.5.4. Flat and bulk heterojunction 2.5.5. Transport layers 2.5.6. Thin film optics 2.5.7. Current-voltage characteristics and equivalent circuit 2.5.8. Solar cell efficiency 2.5.9. Limits of efficiency 2.5.10. Correct solar cell characterization 2.5.11. The \"O-Factor\" 3. Materials and experimental methods 3.1. Materials 3.2. Device fabrication and layout 3.2.1. Layer deposition 3.2.2. Encapsulation 3.2.3. Homogeneity of layer thickness on a wafer 3.2.4. Device layout 3.3. Characterization 3.3.1. Electrical characterization 3.3.2. Sample illumination 3.3.3. Temperature dependent characterization 3.3.4. UPS 4. Simulations 5.1. Design of single carrier devices 5.1.1. General design requirements 5.1.2. Single carrier devices for space-charge limited current 5.1.3. Ohmic regime 5.1.4. Design of injection and extraction layers 5.2. Advanced evaluation of SCLC – potential mapping 5.2.1. Potential mapping by thickness variation 5.2.2. Further evaluation of the transport profile 5.2.3. Injection into and extraction from single carrier devices 5.2.4. Majority carrier approximation 5.3. Proof of principle: POEM on simulated data 5.3.1. Constant mobility 5.3.2. Field dependent mobility 5.3.3. Field and charge density activated mobility 5.3.4. Conclusion 5.4. Application: Transport characterization in organic semiconductors 5.4.1. Hole transport in ZnPc:C60 5.4.2. Hole transport in ZnPc:C60 – temperature variation 5.4.3. Hole transport in ZnPc:C60 – blend ratio variation 5.4.4. Hole transport in ZnPc:C70 5.4.5. Hole transport in neat ZnPc 5.4.6. Hole transport in F4-ZnPc:C60 5.4.7. Hole transport in DCV-5T-Me33:C60 5.4.8. Electron transport in ZnPc:C60 5.4.9. Electron transport in neat Bis-HFl-NTCDI 5.5. Summary and discussion of the results 5.5.1. Phthalocyanine:C60 blends 5.5.2. DCV-5T-Me33:C60 5.5.3. Conclusion 6. Organic solar cell characteristics: the influence of temperature 6.1. ZnPc:C60 solar cells 6.1.1. Temperature variation 6.1.2. Illumination intensity variation 6.2. Voc in flat and bulk heterojunction organic solar cells 6.2.1. Qualitative difference in Voc(I, T) 6.2.2. Interpretation of Voc(I, T) 6.3. BHJ stoichiometry variation 6.3.1. Voc upon variation of stoichiometry and contact layer 6.3.2. V0 upon stoichiometry variation 6.3.3. Low donor content stoichiometry 6.3.4. Conclusion from stoichiometry variation 6.4. Transport material variation 6.4.1. HTM variation 6.4.2. ETM variation 6.5. Donor:acceptor material variation 6.5.1. Donor variation 6.5.2. Acceptor variation 6.6. Conclusion 7. Summary and outlook 7.1. Summary 7.2. Outlook A. Appendix A.1. Energy pay-back of this thesis A.2. Tables and registers<br>Organische Halbleiter sind eine neue Schlüsseltechnologie für großflächige und flexible Dünnschichtelektronik. Sie werden als dünne Materialschichten (Sub-Nanometer bis Mikrometer) auf großflächige Substrate aufgebracht. Die technologisch am weitesten fortgeschrittenen Anwendungen sind organische Leuchtdioden (OLEDs) und organische Photovoltaik (OPV). Zur weiteren Steigerung von Leistungsfähigkeit und Effizienz ist die genaue Modellierung elektronischer Prozesse in den Bauteilen von grundlegender Bedeutung. Für die erfolgreiche Optimierung von Bauteilen ist eine zuverlässige Charakterisierung und Validierung der elektronischen Materialeigenschaften gleichermaßen erforderlich. Außerdem eröffnet das Verständnis der Zusammenhänge zwischen Materialstruktur und -eigenschaften einen Weg für innovative Material- und Bauteilentwicklung. Im Rahmen dieser Dissertation werden zwei Methoden für die Materialcharakterisierung entwickelt, verfeinert und angewandt: eine neuartige Methode zur Messung der Ladungsträgerbeweglichkeit μ und eine Möglichkeit zur Bestimmung der Ionisierungsenergie IE oder der Elektronenaffinität EA eines organischen Halbleiters. Für die Beweglichkeitsmessungen wird eine neue Auswertungsmethode für raumladungsbegrenzte Ströme (SCLC) in unipolaren Bauteilen entwickelt. Sie basiert auf einer Schichtdickenvariation des zu charakterisierenden Materials. In einem Ansatz zur räumlichen Abbildung des elektrischen Potentials (\"potential mapping\", POEM) wird gezeigt, dass das elektrische Potential als Funktion der Schichtdicke V(d) bei einer gegebenen Stromdichte dem räumlichen Verlauf des elektrischen Potentials V(x) im dicksten Bauteil entspricht. Daraus kann die Beweglichkeit als Funktion des elektrischen Felds F und der Ladungsträgerdichte n berechnet werden. Die Auswertung ist modellfrei, d.h. ein Modell zum Angleichen der Messdaten ist für die Berechnung von μ(F, n) nicht erforderlich. Die Messung ist außerdem unabhängig von einer möglichen Injektionsbarriere oder einer Potentialstufe an nicht-idealen Kontakten. Die gemessene Funktion μ(F, n) beschreibt die effektive durchschnittliche Beweglichkeit aller freien und in Fallenzuständen gefangenen Ladungsträger. Dieser Zugang beschreibt den Ladungstransport in energetisch ungeordneten Materialien realistisch, wo eine klare Unterscheidung zwischen freien und Fallenzuständen nicht möglich oder willkürlich ist. Die Messung von IE und EA wird mithilfe temperaturabhängiger Messungen an Solarzellen durchgeführt. In geeigneten Bauteilen mit einem Mischschicht-Heteroübergang (\"bulk heterojunction\" BHJ) ist die Leerlaufspannung Voc im gesamten Messbereich oberhalb 180K eine linear fallende Funktion der Temperatur T. Es kann bestätigt werden, dass die Extrapolation zum Temperaturnullpunkt V0 = Voc(T → 0K) mit der effektiven Energielücke Egeff , d.h. der Differenz zwischen EA des Akzeptor-Materials und IE des Donator-Materials, übereinstimmt. Die systematische schrittweise Variation einzelner Bestandteile der Solarzellen und die Überprüfung des Einflusses auf V0 bestätigen die Beziehung V0 = Egeff. Damit kann die IE oder EA eines Materials bestimmt werden, indem man es in einem BHJ mit einem Material kombiniert, dessen komplementärer Wert bekannt ist. Messungen per Ultraviolett-Photoelektronenspektroskopie (UPS) und inverser Photoelektronenspektroskopie (IPES) werden damit bestätigt, präzisiert und ergänzt. Die beiden entwickelten Messmethoden werden auf organische Halbleiter aus kleinen Molekülen einschließlich Mischschichten angewandt. In Mischschichten aus Zink-Phthalocyanin (ZnPc) und C60 wird eine Löcherbeweglichkeit gemessen, die sowohl thermisch als auch feld- und ladungsträgerdichteaktiviert ist. Wenn das Mischverhältnis variiert wird, steigt die Löcherbeweglichkeit mit zunehmendem ZnPc-Anteil, während die effektive Energielücke unverändert bleibt. Verschiedene weitere Materialien und Materialmischungen werden hinsichtlich Löcher- und Elektronenbeweglichkeit sowie ihrer Energielücke charakterisiert, einschließlich bisher wenig untersuchter hochverdünnter Donator-Systeme. In allen Materialien wird eine deutliche Feldaktivierung der Beweglichkeit beobachtet. Die Ergebnisse ermöglichen eine verbesserte Beschreibung der detaillierten Funktionsweise organischer Solarzellen und unterstützen die künftige Entwicklung hocheffizienter und optimierter Bauteile.:1. Introduction 2. Organic semiconductors and devices 2.1. Organic semiconductors 2.1.1. Conjugated π system 2.1.2. Small molecules and polymers 2.1.3. Disorder in amorphous materials 2.1.4. Polarons 2.1.5. Polaron hopping 2.1.6. Fermi-Dirac distribution and Fermi level 2.1.7. Quasi-Fermi levels 2.1.8. Trap states 2.1.9. Doping 2.1.10. Excitons 2.2. Interfaces and blend layers 2.2.1. Interface dipoles 2.2.2. Energy level bending 2.2.3. Injection from metal into semiconductor, and extraction 2.2.4. Excitons at interfaces 2.3. Charge transport and recombination in organic semiconductors 2.3.1. Drift transport 2.3.2. Charge carrier mobility 2.3.3. Thermally activated transport 2.3.4. Diffusion transport 2.3.5. Drift-diffusion transport 2.3.6. Space-charge limited current 2.3.7. Recombination 2.4. Mobility measurement 2.4.1. SCLC and TCLC 2.4.2. Time of flight 2.4.3. Organic field effect transistors 2.4.4. CELIV 2.5. Organic solar cells 2.5.1. Exciton diffusion towards the interface 2.5.2. Dissociation of CT states 2.5.3. CT recombination 2.5.4. Flat and bulk heterojunction 2.5.5. Transport layers 2.5.6. Thin film optics 2.5.7. Current-voltage characteristics and equivalent circuit 2.5.8. Solar cell efficiency 2.5.9. Limits of efficiency 2.5.10. Correct solar cell characterization 2.5.11. The \"O-Factor\" 3. Materials and experimental methods 3.1. Materials 3.2. Device fabrication and layout 3.2.1. Layer deposition 3.2.2. Encapsulation 3.2.3. Homogeneity of layer thickness on a wafer 3.2.4. Device layout 3.3. Characterization 3.3.1. Electrical characterization 3.3.2. Sample illumination 3.3.3. Temperature dependent characterization 3.3.4. UPS 4. Simulations 5.1. Design of single carrier devices 5.1.1. General design requirements 5.1.2. Single carrier devices for space-charge limited current 5.1.3. Ohmic regime 5.1.4. Design of injection and extraction layers 5.2. Advanced evaluation of SCLC – potential mapping 5.2.1. Potential mapping by thickness variation 5.2.2. Further evaluation of the transport profile 5.2.3. Injection into and extraction from single carrier devices 5.2.4. Majority carrier approximation 5.3. Proof of principle: POEM on simulated data 5.3.1. Constant mobility 5.3.2. Field dependent mobility 5.3.3. Field and charge density activated mobility 5.3.4. Conclusion 5.4. Application: Transport characterization in organic semiconductors 5.4.1. Hole transport in ZnPc:C60 5.4.2. Hole transport in ZnPc:C60 – temperature variation 5.4.3. Hole transport in ZnPc:C60 – blend ratio variation 5.4.4. Hole transport in ZnPc:C70 5.4.5. Hole transport in neat ZnPc 5.4.6. Hole transport in F4-ZnPc:C60 5.4.7. Hole transport in DCV-5T-Me33:C60 5.4.8. Electron transport in ZnPc:C60 5.4.9. Electron transport in neat Bis-HFl-NTCDI 5.5. Summary and discussion of the results 5.5.1. Phthalocyanine:C60 blends 5.5.2. DCV-5T-Me33:C60 5.5.3. Conclusion 6. Organic solar cell characteristics: the influence of temperature 6.1. ZnPc:C60 solar cells 6.1.1. Temperature variation 6.1.2. Illumination intensity variation 6.2. Voc in flat and bulk heterojunction organic solar cells 6.2.1. Qualitative difference in Voc(I, T) 6.2.2. Interpretation of Voc(I, T) 6.3. BHJ stoichiometry variation 6.3.1. Voc upon variation of stoichiometry and contact layer 6.3.2. V0 upon stoichiometry variation 6.3.3. Low donor content stoichiometry 6.3.4. Conclusion from stoichiometry variation 6.4. Transport material variation 6.4.1. HTM variation 6.4.2. ETM variation 6.5. Donor:acceptor material variation 6.5.1. Donor variation 6.5.2. Acceptor variation 6.6. Conclusion 7. Summary and outlook 7.1. Summary 7.2. Outlook A. Appendix A.1. Energy pay-back of this thesis A.2. Tables and registers