The Treasure Mart

Established in 1960 by Grace L. Bigby and Demaris E.Cash, Ann Arbor's exclusive resale shop. Everything is sold on consignment. Sellers pay a nominal membership fee to dispose their merchandise incognito. Buyers delight in browsing among these "treasures." 529 Detroit St. - Ann Arbor Michigan NO 2-1363. Estate Sales Our Speciality . Mon. thru Sat. 9-5:30 Mon. & Fri. eves. 'til 9

The Treasure Mart

Established in 1960 by Grace L. Bigby and Demaris E.Cash. Ann Arbor's exclusive resale shop. Everything is sold on consignment. Sellers pay a nominal membership fee to dispose their merchandise incognito. Buyers delight in browsing among these "treasures." 529 Detroit St. - Ann Arbor Michigan NO 2-1363. Estate Sales Our Speciality . Mon. thru Sat. 9-5:30 Mon. & Fri. eves. 'til 9

Punctuated equilibrium and linear progression: Toward a new understanding of group development

This study proposes gaining a new understanding of group development by considering the integrative and the punctuated equilibrium models of group development as complementary rather than competing. We hypothesized that we would observe both punctuated equilibrium and linear progression in content-analyzed data from 25 simulated project teams, albeit on different dimensions. We predicted changes in time awareness and in task and pacing activity in line with the punctuated equilibrium model and changes in structure and process on task and socioemotional dimensions in line with the integrative model. Results partially supported predictions for both models.

Data flow and validation in workflow modelling

A complete workflow specification requires careful integration of many different process characteristics. Decisions must be made as to the definitions of individual activities, their scope, the order of execution that maintains the overall business process logic, the rules governing the discipline of work list scheduling to performers, identification of time constraints and more. The goal of this paper is to address an important issue in workflows modelling and specification, which is data flow, its modelling, specification and validation. Researchers have neglected this dimension of process analysis for some time, mainly focussing on structural considerations with limited verification checks. In this paper, we identify and justify the importance of data modelling in overall workflows specification and verification. We illustrate and define several potential data flow problems that, if not detected prior to workflow deployment may prevent the process from correct execution, execute process on inconsistent data or even lead to process suspension. A discussion on essential requirements of the workflow data model in order to support data validation is also given..

O SIMBOLISMO RELIGIOSO EM MIRCEA ELIADE: PASSIVIDADE, DINÂMICA E RESSIGNIFICAÇÃO

A pesquisa investiga o processo de simbolização no pensamento de Mircea Eliade. A investigação sobre o simbolismo religioso abrange as categorias do humano bem como as concepções e experiências com o sagrado, vivenciadas pelo homem religioso. O mundo se revela através dos símbolos, sendo possível através deles ter uma melhor compreensão do ser humano. A pesquisa auxilia na compreensão da religião enquanto fenômeno da cultura, considerando que o simbolismo revela o modo de ser humano no mundo. O trabalho contempla a proposta da hermenêutica eliadiana, que se refere a um estudo pela busca do sentido e das significações nos documentos religiosos. Além da compreensão do método hermenêutico foi verificada a possibilidade de indicação para uma nova epistemologia dos símbolos. A proposta de Eliade sobre o simbolismo religioso é também explorada na identificação do que há de passivo e dinâmico no processo de simbolização religiosa e como ocorre essa relação dialética. Passividade e dinâmica são categorias implícitas no pensamento de Eliade, portanto, essa temática constitui-se num esforço hermenêutico para compreender o autor. Outra etapa que foi observada no processo de simbolização foi a ressignificação dos símbolos religiosos. A ressignificação é trabalhada em relação à crise de sentidos vivenciada na contemporaneidade. Um trabalho que ressalta a importância da consideração das diversas disciplinas para compreensão do fenômeno religioso, mas que tem seu enfoque fenomenológico bem demarcado. Poderíamos dizer que a pesquisa abarca tanto as propostas da fenomenologia quanto da hermenêutica, na medida em que visa uma interpretação dos dados religiosos para se chegar à essência ou a uma estrutura que se encontra presente em todas as manifestações religiosas. A investigação pode ser caracterizada como uma interpretação do pensamento de Eliade, onde são apresentadas sistematizações e novas possibilidades de leituras de suas obras.

Implications of restructuring and privatisation for competitiveness and perfomance:two Brazilian steel companies

The thesis examines the effects of the privatisation process on productivity, competitiveness and performance in two major Brazilian steel companies, which were privatised in between 1991 and 1993. The case study method was adopted in this research due to its strengths as a useful technique allowing in-depth examination of the privatisation process, the context in which it happened and its effects on the companies. The thesis has developed a company analysis framework consisting of three components: management, competitiveness/productivity and performance and examined the evidence on the companies within this framework.The research indicates that there is no straightforward relationship between privatisation, competitiveness and performance. There were many significant differences in the management and technological capabilities, products and performance of the two companies, and these have largely influenced the effects of privatisation on each company. Company Alpha's strengths in technological and management capabilities and high value added products explain strong productivity and financial performance during and after privatisation. Company Beta's performance was weak before the privatisation and remained weak immediately after. Before the privatisation, weaknesses in management, commodity type low value added products and shortage of funds for investment were the major problems. These were compounded by greater government interference. Despite major restructuring, the poor performance has continued after privatisation largely because the company has not been able to improve its productivity sufficiently to be cost competitive in commodity type markets. Both companies state that their strategies have changed significantly. They claim to be more responsive to market conditions and customers and are attempting to develop closer links with major customers. It is not possible to assess the consequences of these changes in the short time that has elapsed since privatisation but Alpha appears to be more effective in developing a coherent strategy because of its strengths. Both companies accelerated their programme of organisational restructuring and reducing the number of their employees during the privatisation process to improve productivity and performance. Alpha has attained standards comparable to major international steel companies. Beta has had to make much bigger organisational changes and cuts in its labour force but its productivity levels still remain low in comparison with Alpha and international competitors.

Measurement of productivity index with dynamic DEA

Fare, Grosskopf, Norris and Zhang developed a non-parametric productivity index, Malmquist index, using data envelopment analysis (DEA). The Malmquist index is a measure of productivity progress (regress) and it can be decomposed to different components such as 'efficiency catch-up' and 'technology change'. However, Malmquist index and its components are based on two period of time which can capture only a part of the impact of investment in long-lived assets. The effects of lags in the investment process on the capital stock have been ignored in the current model of Malmquist index. This paper extends the recent dynamic DEA model introduced by Emrouznejad and Thanassoulis and Emrouznejad for dynamic Malmquist index. This paper shows that the dynamic productivity results for Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries should reflect reality better than those based on conventional model.

Formulation and characterisation of an effective particulate delivery vehicle for the novel sub-unit vaccine antigen, Ag85B-ESAT-6

This research focused on the formation of particulate delivery systems for the sub-unit fusion protein, Ag85B-ESAT-6, a promising tuberculosis (TB) vaccine candidate. Initial work concentrated on formulating and characterising, both physico-chemically and immunologically, cationic liposomes based on the potent adjuvant dimethyl dioctadecyl ammonium (DDA). These studies demonstrated that addition of the immunomodulatory trehalose dibehenate (TDB) enhanced the physical stability of the system whilst also adding further adjuvanticity. Indeed, this formulation was effective in stimulating both a cell mediated and humoural immune response. In order to investigate an alternative to the DDA-TDB system, microspheres based on poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) incorporating the adjuvants DDA and TDB, either alone or in combination, were first optimised in terms of physico-chemical characteristics, followed by immunological analysis. The formulation incorporating PLGA and DDA emerged as the lead candidate, with promising protection data against TB. Subsequent optimisation of the lead microsphere formulation investigated the effect of several variables involved in the formulation process on physico-chemical and immunological characteristics of the particles produced. Further, freeze-drying studies were carried out with both sugar-based and amino acid-based cryoprotectants, in order to formulate a stable freexe-dried product. Finally, environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) was investigated as a potential alternative to conventional SEM for the morphological investigation of microsphere formulations. Results revealed that the DDA-TDB liposome system proved to be the most immunologically efficient delivery vehicle studied, with high levels of antibody and cytokine production, particularly gamma-interferon (IFN-ϒ), considered the key cytokine marker for anti-mycobacterial immunity. Of the microsphere systems investigated, PLGA in combination with DDA showed the most promise, with an ability to initiate a broad spectrum of cytokine production, as well as antigen specific spleen cell proliferation comparable to that of the DDA-TDB formulation.

Outsourcing and offshoring engineering projects:understanding the value, sourcing models, and coordination practices

In this paper, we review recent developments in the field of outsourcing and offshoring and the implications for engineering management. We examine three aspects involved in outsourcing and offshoring, namely, sourcing models, coordination, and value extracted from outsourcing projects. We conclude that additional research is needed on recent trends in outsourcing and the impact of such change process on the practice of engineering management. © 2011 IEEE.

ESpotter : adaptive named entity recognition for web browsing

Browsing constitutes an important part of the user information searching process on the Web. In this paper, we present a browser plug-in called ESpotter, which recognizes entities of various types on Web pages and highlights them according to their types to assist user browsing. ESpotter uses a range of standard named entity recognition techniques. In addition, a key new feature of ESpotter is that it addresses the problem of multiple domains on the Web by adapting lexicon and patterns to these domains.

A Generalized Quasi-Likelihood Estimator for Nonstationary Stochastic Processes−Asymptotic Properties and Examples

2010 Mathematics Subject Classification: 62F12, 62M05, 62M09, 62M10, 60G42.

European integration and democratic consolidation: Spain, Poland and Turkey in comparative perspective

The study explored when, under what conditions, and to what extent did European integration, particularly the European Union’s requirement for democratic conditionality, contribute to democratic consolidation in Spain, Poland, and Turkey? On the basis of a four-part definition, the dissertation examined the democratizing impact of European integration process on each of the following four components of consolidation: (i) holding of fair, free and competitive elections, (ii) protection of fundamental rights, including human and minority rights, (iii) high prospects of regime survival and civilian control of the military, and (iv) legitimacy, elite consensus, and stateness. To assess the relative significance of EU’s democratizing leverage, the thesis also examined domestic and non-EU international dynamics of democratic consolidation in the three countries. By employing two qualitative methods (case study and process-tracing), the study focused on three specific time frames: 1977–1986 for Spain, 1994–2004 for Poland, and 1999–present for Turkey. In addition to official documents, newspapers, and secondary sources, face-to-face interviews made with politicians, academics, experts, bureaucrats, and journalists in the three countries were utilized. The thesis generated several conclusions. First of all, the EU’s democratizing impact is not uniform across different components of democratic consolidation. Moreover, the EU’s democratizing leverage in Spain, Poland, and Turkey involved variations over time for three major reasons: (i) the changing nature of EU’s democratic conditionality over time (ii) varying levels of the EU’s credible commitment to the candidate country’s prospect for membership, and (iii) domestic dynamics in the candidate countries. Furthermore, the European integration process favors democratic consolidation but its magnitude is shaped by the candidate country’s prospect for EU membership and domestic factors in the candidate country. Finally, the study involves a major policy implication for the European Union: unless the EU provides a clear prospect for membership, its democratizing leverage will be limited in the candidate countries.

Secagem de resíduo de goiaba em secador convectivo de bandejas: modelagem matemática e análise do processo

Actually, Brazil is one of the larger fruit producer worldwide, with most of its production being consumed in nature way or either as juice or pulp. It is important to highlig ht in the fruit productive chain there are a lot lose due mainly to climate reasons, as well as storage, transportation, season, market, etc. It is known that in the pulp and fruit processing industy a yield of 50% (in mass) is usually obtained, with the other part discarded as waste. However, since most this waste has a high nutrient content it can be used to generate added - value products. In this case, drying plays an important role as an alternative process in order to improve these wastes generated by the fruit industry. However, despite the advantage of using this technique in order to improve such wastes, issues as a higher power demand as well as the thermal efficiency limitation should be addressed. Therefore, the control of the main variables in t his drying process is quite important in order to obtain operational conditions to produce a final product with the target specification as well as with a lower power cost. M athematical models can be applied to this process as a tool in order to optimize t he best conditions. The main aim of this work was to evaluate the drying behaviour of a guava industrial pulp waste using a batch system with a convective - tray dryer both experimentally and using mathematical modeling. In the experimental study , the dryin g carried out using a group of trays as well as the power consume were assayed as response to the effects of operational conditions (temperature, drying air flow rate and solid mass). Obtained results allowed observing the most significant variables in the process. On the other hand, the phenomenological mathematical model was validated and allowed to follow the moisture profile as well as the temperature in the solid and gas phases in every tray. Simulation results showed the most favorable procedure to o btain the minimum processing time as well as the lower power demand.

Influência da pressão e da vazão de concentrado sobre o desempenho de ultrafiltração no pós-tratamento de esgotos

Despite the numerous advantages resulting from the use of membrane filters technology, intrinsic limitations fouling process become relevant to its applicability. The control of operating conditions is an important tool to mitigate fouling and achieve good levels of efficiency. In this sense, the objective of this study was to investigate the effect of transmembrane pressure and concentrate flow in the performance of ultrafiltration, applied to the post-treatment of domestic sewage. The process was evaluated and optimized by varying the pressure (0.5 and 1.5 bar) and the concentrate flow (300 and 600 L/h), using a 22 factorial design, in order to investigate the effects on the permeate flow and quality of effluents generated at each operating condition. We evaluated the following quality indicators for permeate: pH, electrical conductivity, total suspended solids, turbidity, calcium and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD). In all tests, we observed marked reduction in the permeate flux at the early stages, followed by a slow decline that lasted until it reaches a relatively constant level, around 120 minutes of filtration. The increased pressure resulted in a higher initial permeate flux, but the decrease of the flow with time is greater for tests at higher pressure, indicating a more pronounced fouling process. On the other hand, increasing the concentrate flow resulted in a slower decline in permeate flux with the filtration time. Regarding the quality of permeate, the transmembrane pressure of 0,5 bar was the one that allowed better results, and was statistically confirmed through the two-way ANOVA test with repeated measures, significant effect of pressure on the turbidity of the permeate. The concentrate flow, in turn, showed no significant influence on any of the quality parameters. Thus, we conclude that, from an economic and environmental point of view, it is more interesting to operate ultrafiltration membrane system with a lower concentrate flow associated with a low transmembrane pressure, since under these conditions will produce less waste, and the permeate will present lower concentrations of the analyzed constituent, especially lower turbidity.

As representações externas - na resolução de problemas matemáticos no 2º e 3º anos do ensino básico

Relatório de estágio para obtenção de grau de mestre em Educação pré-escolar e Ensino do 1º ciclo do ensino básico