A Case Study of Polar Bear Co-Management in Alaska

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Technological and financial approaches to risk management in agriculture: an integrated approach

In the present paper, risk-management problems where farmers manage risk both through production decisions and through the use of market-based and informal risk-management mechanisms are considered. It is shown that many of these problems share a common structure, and that a unified and informative treatment of a broad spectrum of risk-management tools is possible within a cost-minimisation framework, under minimal conditions on their objective functions. Fundamental results are derived that apply regardless of the producer's preference towards risks, using only the no-arbitrage condition that agricultural producers never forego any opportunity to lower costs without lowering returns.

Measuring crime prevention through environmental design

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) has considerable support among the built environment professions. Yet the underlying assumptions on which it is based have rarely been, effectiveness or efficacy. This paper reports the development and use of a evaluated to assess their of scale that measured the actual levels of incidental CPTED in two residential areas in Gold Coast, Australia. The scale was administered in parallel with a victimization and social attitude survey. Analysis based on the combination of the two suggests that CPTED measures may have some effect on reducing victimization, particularly the kind of CPTED measures that apply to the group of dwellings on a single street, but the effect on fear of crime is surprisingly limited. It also indicates that there is on a single street, but the of potential in the application of such a scale in a wider assessment of the effectiveness of operationalizing CPTED design measures.

Dynamic binary translation using run-time feedbacks

Dynamic binary translation is the process of translating, modifying and rewriting executable (binary) code from one machine to another at run-time. This process of low-level re-engineering consists of a reverse engineering phase followed by a forward engineering phase. UQDBT, the University of Queensland Dynamic Binary Translator, is a machine-adaptable translator. Adaptability is provided through the specification of properties of machines and their instruction sets, allowing the support of different pairs of source and target machines. Most binary translators are closely bound to a pair of machines, making analyses and code hard to reuse. Like most virtual machines, UQDBT performs generic optimizations that apply to a variety of machines. Frequently executed code is translated to native code by the use of edge weight instrumentation, which makes UQDBT converge more quickly than systems based on instruction speculation. In this paper, we describe the architecture and run-time feedback optimizations performed by the UQDBT system, and provide results obtained in the x86 and SPARC® platforms.

Architectural design in object-z

We present a process for introducing an object-oriented architecture into an abstract functional specification written in Object-Z. Since the design is derived from the specification, correctness concerns are addressed as pan of the design process. We base our approach on refactoring rules that apply to class structure, and use the rules to implement design patterns. As a motivating example, we introduce a user-interface design that follows the model-view-controller paradigm into an existing specification.

RELAÇÕES INTERPESSOAIS E ATUAÇÃO PROFISSIONAL: A VISÃO DO CONTABILISTA

Esta pesquisa tem por objetivo analisar a importância das relações e habilidades interpessoais para o contabilista em seu ambiente de trabalho. Aumenta-se a exigência na qualidade da informação e o contador evolui em seu papel como provedor, tendo que lidar com diferentes situações, agindo como um norteador para o administrador na captação de informações que mostre a situação real da empresa, as possibilidades, demandas e participação no mercado. (SÁ, 2004; MARION, 2009). Serviram de referencial teórico proposições de Iudicibus (2006); Marion (2009) e Sá (2004). Para o desenvolvimento desta dissertação adotou-se uma abordagem qualitativa de cunho exploratório com entrevistas semiestruturadas em profundidade. Constatou-se a importância que o relacionamento interpessoal ocupa nas dimensões de atuação do contador, que precisa saber o que fazer com a informação obtida, entender e colocar num formato mais adequado para os seus usuários, desta forma, as habilidades interpessoais aprimoram os relacionamentos que favorecem a qualidade das informações proporcionando aos usuários da contabilidade a visão da situação real da empresa.

LITURGIA E ECOLOGIA: APONTAMENTOS PARA UMA PRÁXIS PASTORAL ECOLITÚRGICA NA IGREJA METODISTA.

Esta pesquisa propõe-se a analisar a práxis pastoral litúrgica ecológica na Igreja Metodista. A práxis é a atividade reflexiva e material do ser humano, é ação transformadora, para uma pastoral ecoliturgica na dimensão pública da fé. A pesquisa consiste em estudar a interrelação que deve existir entre Liturgia e Ecologia, a partir dos conceitos bilbicos e a forma como a práxis pode influir e se articular para o desenvolvimento de uma ecoliturgia na realidade atual, tendo como espaço de referência a Igreja Metodista. A pesquisa se desenvolve em três etapas: Na primeira analisa conceitos teóricos de liturgia, sua história, mudanças e experiências do ser humano nas celebrações ligadas aos elementos da natureza; Na segunda, os conceitos de ecologia, sua crise e suas inter-relações com o Todo. Na terceira, os apontamentos para uma práxis pastoral ecolitúrgica na Igreja Metodista, como referencial para criar ações que conscientizem, mobilizem, para o reencantamento da espiritualidade, do sentido da vida e da ecologia, a fim de produzir esperança, diante das causas sociais que dizem respeito à vida integral do ser humano. O resultado será um conjunto de referenciais históricos e teóricos capazes de desconstruir, construir e reconstruir, a fim de sustentar uma práxis pastoral ecolitúrgica. Com o objetivo de realizar uma nova hermenêutica do tema num novo paradigma para as questões da realidade, tendo em vista a dimensão publica da fé na relação de Deus na criação e a práxis da igreja na sociedade. Na necessidade que o ser humano tem de se reencantar, reconhecer, saber cuidar, reconstruir tudo que nos garante a possibilidade da vida e a sustentabilidade no planeta.

Contribuições da COMSAÚDE na construção do conhecimento em Comunicação para a Saúde: resgate histórico e tendências dessa linha de pesquisa

O trabalho busca resgatar historicamente o surgimento e desenvolvimento da linha de pesquisa da Comunicação para a Saúde e fazer o mapeamento dos estudos dessa área nos Estados Unidos, América Latina e Brasil. Procura-se apresentar os principais grupos de pesquisa no Brasil em ambos os espaços Comunicação e Saúde e analisar as contribuições as sete edições da Conferência Brasileira de Comunicação para a Saúde (COMSAÚDE) para a consolidação da linha de pesquisa no Brasil, fazendo uma análise comparativa entre os trabalhos apresentados, autores e obras, com o que está sendo produzido em forma de teses e dissertações em outras universidades brasileiras, bem como na literatura americana. Utilizou-se o estudo exploratório, documental e análise de conteúdo para a realização do trabalho que apontou a difusão de inovações como raiz da linha de pesquisa em Comunicação para a Saúde.

Contribuições da COMSAÚDE na construção do conhecimento em Comunicação para a Saúde: resgate histórico e tendências dessa linha de pesquisa

O trabalho busca resgatar historicamente o surgimento e desenvolvimento da linha de pesquisa da Comunicação para a Saúde e fazer o mapeamento dos estudos dessa área nos Estados Unidos, América Latina e Brasil. Procura-se apresentar os principais grupos de pesquisa no Brasil em ambos os espaços Comunicação e Saúde e analisar as contribuições das sete edições da Conferência Brasileira de Comunicação para a Saúde (COMSAÚDE) para a consolidação da linha de pesquisa no Brasil, fazendo uma análise comparativa entre os trabalhos apresentados, autores e obras, com o que está sendo produzido em forma de teses e dissertações em outras universidades brasileiras, bem como na literatura americana. Utilizouse o estudo exploratório, documental e análise de conteúdo para a realização do trabalho que apontou a difusão de inovações como raiz da linha de pesquisa em Comunicação para a Saúde.

Marital counselling: follow-up study of marriage guidance clients: perceptions of the agency, the process and outcomes. Available in 2 volumes.

This study is a consumer-survey conducted with former Marriage Guidance Council clients. The objectives were to identify and examine why they chose the agency, what their expectations and experiences were of marital counselling and whether anything was achieved. The material was derived from tape recorded interviews with 51 former M.G. clients (17 men and 34 women) from 42 marriages and with 21 counsellors; data from written material and a card-sort completed by the research sample; and the case record sheets of the research population (174 cases). The results from the written data of clients showed that 49% were satisfied with counselling, 25.5% were satisfied in some ways but not in others, and 25.5% were dissatisfied. Forty-six percent rated they had benefited from counselling, either a great deal or to some degree, 4% were neutral and 50% recorded they had not benefited. However the counsellors' assessments were more optimistic. It was also ascertained that 50% of the research sample eventually separated or divorced subsequent to counselling. A cross-check revealed that the majority who rated they were satisfied with counselling were those who remained married, whilst dissatisfied clients were the ones who unwillingly separated or divorced. The study then describes, discusses and assesses the experiences of clients in the light of these findings on a number of dimensions. From this it was possible to construct a summary profile of a "successful" client describing the features which would contribute to "success". Two key themes emerged from the data. (1) the discrepancy between clients expectations and the counselling offered, which included mis­ match over the aims and methods of counselling, and problem definition; and (2) the importance of the client/counsellor relationship. The various implications for the agency are then discussed which include recommendations on policy, the training of counsellors and further research.

Economic aspects of safety in the Greek construction industry

The thesis addresses the economic impacts of construction safety in Greece. The research involved the development of a methodology for determining the overall costs of safety, namely the sum of the costs of accidents and the costs of safety management failures (with or without accident) including image cost. Hitherto, very little work has been published on the cost of accidents in practical case studies. Moreover, to the author’s belief, no research has been published that seeks to determine in real cases the costs of prevention. The methodology developed is new, transparent, and capable of being replicated and adapted to other employment sectors and to other countries. The methodology was applied to three construction projects in Greece to test the safety costing methodology and to offer some preliminary evidence on the business case for safety. The survey work took place between 1999 and 2001 and involved 27 months of costing work on site. The study focuses on the overall costs of safety that apply to the main (principal) contractor. The methodology is supported by 120 discrete cost categories, and systematic criteria for determining which costs are included (counted) in the overall cost of safety. A quality system (in compliance with ISO9000 series) was developed to support the work and ensure accuracy of data gathering. The results of the study offer some support for the business case for safety. Though they offer good support for the economics of safety as they demonstrate need for cost effectiveness. Subject to important caveats, those projects that appeared to manage safety more cost-effectively achieved the lowest overall safety cost. Nevertheless, results are significantly lower than of other published works for two main reasons; first costs due to damages with no potential to injury were not included and second only costs to main constructor were considered. Study’s results are discussed and compared with other publish works.

Fixed-dose single tablet antidiabetic combinations

Combinations of two or more oral agents with different mechanisms of action are often used for the management of hyperglycaemia in type 2 diabetes. While these combinations have customarily been taken as separate tablets, several fixed-dose single tablet combinations are now available. These are based on bioequivalence with the separate tablets, giving similar efficacy to the separate tablets and necessitating the same cautions and contraindications that apply to each active component. Fixed-dose combinations can offer convenience, reduce the pill burden and simplify administration regimens for the patient. They increase patient adherence compared with equivalent combinations of separate tablets, and this is associated with some improvements in glycaemic control. Presently available antidiabetic fixed-dose combinations include metformin combined with a sulphonylurea, thiazolidinedione, dipeptidylpeptidase-4 inhibitor or meglitinide as well as thiazolidinedione-sulphonylurea combinations, each at a range of dosage strengths to facilitate titration. Anticipated future expansion of multiple drug regimens for diabetes management is likely to increase the use of fixed-dose single tablet combinations. © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Form follows function:model-driven engineering for clinical trials

We argue that, for certain constrained domains, elaborate model transformation technologies-implemented from scratch in general-purpose programming languages-are unnecessary for model-driven engineering; instead, lightweight configuration of commercial off-the-shelf productivity tools suffices. In particular, in the CancerGrid project, we have been developing model-driven techniques for the generation of software tools to support clinical trials. A domain metamodel captures the community's best practice in trial design. A scientist authors a trial protocol, modelling their trial by instantiating the metamodel; customized software artifacts to support trial execution are generated automatically from the scientist's model. The metamodel is expressed as an XML Schema, in such a way that it can be instantiated by completing a form to generate a conformant XML document. The same process works at a second level for trial execution: among the artifacts generated from the protocol are models of the data to be collected, and the clinician conducting the trial instantiates such models in reporting observations-again by completing a form to create a conformant XML document, representing the data gathered during that observation. Simple standard form management tools are all that is needed. Our approach is applicable to a wide variety of information-modelling domains: not just clinical trials, but also electronic public sector computing, customer relationship management, document workflow, and so on. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.