Motivating techniques within Irish and American manufacturing and service companies in the Northwest of Ireland

In today’s world, many companies are concentrating on both their technology and human resources to provide them with their competitive advantage. Hence, understanding what motivates people is particularly important for managers in order to develop and sustain a competitive edge. As a result, numerous theories have been advanced to help our understanding of the subject matter and from these theories many motivational methods have evolved to enhance motivation within the workplace. In addition, research has been conducted on the various types of motivational techniques utilised by companies within Ireland. However, very little research has been completed within specific geographical regions in Ireland concerning the types of motivational techniques implemented at different job levels and their impact on employees work performance. Thus the objective of this research was to identify the motivational techniques utilised at different job levels within large manufacturing and service companies in the Northwest of Ireland and examine how these techniques influence the performance levels of employees. Furthermore, the study examined if these companies have changed from traditional ways of motivating employees to newer techniques. The research methodologies used to undertake the research included interviews with the HR managers and questionnaires completed by different employees at various job levels within the participating companies. Overall the conclusions were varied. Many different types of motivation techniques were found within the study’s participating companies. Irish companies are improving their motivational techniques, however most of these techniques are only used within higher job levels. In contrast to their American counterparts, a variety of motivational techniques are utilised and implemented at all job levels. On a more positive note, the majority of these motivational techniques do increase performance levels at all job levels. From the extensive primary and secondary research conducted, the thesis concludes by offering a number of recommendations to assist companies in further development of their motivational techniques for all job levels. These recommendations hope to augment the success of companies through an enhanced motivated workforce.

The use of forensic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon signatures and Compound Ratio Analysis Techniques (CORAT) for the source characterisation of petrogenic/pyrogenic environmental releases.

This study utilised recent developments in forensic aromatic hydrocarbon fingerprint analysis to characterise and identify specific biogenic, pyrogenic and petrogenic contamination. The fingerprinting and data interpretation techniques discussed include the recognition of: The distribution patterns of hydrocarbons (alkylated naphthalene, phenanthrene, dibenzothiophene, fluorene, chrysene and phenol isomers), • Analysis of “source-specific marker” compounds (individual saturated hydrocarbons, including n-alkanes (n-C5 through 0-C40) • Selected benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene isomers (BTEX), • The recalcitrant isoprenoids; pristane and phytane and • The determination of diagnostic ratios of specific petroleum / non-petroleum constituents, and the application of various statistical and numerical analysis tools. An unknown sample from the Irish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for origin characterisation was subjected to analysis by gas chromatography utilising both flame ionisation and mass spectral detection techniques in comparison to known reference materials. The percentage of the individual Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAIIs) and biomarker concentrations in the unknown sample were normalised to the sum of the analytes and the results were compared with the corresponding results with a range of reference materials. In addition, to the determination of conventional diagnostic PAH and biomarker ratios, a number of “source-specific markers” isomeric PAHs within the same alkylation levels were determined, and their relative abundance ratios were computed in order to definitively identify and differentiate the various sources. Statistical logarithmic star plots were generated from both sets of data to give a pictorial representation of the comparison between the unknown sample and reference products. The study successfully characterised the unknown sample as being contaminated with a “coal tar” and clearly demonstrates the future role of compound ratio analysis (CORAT) in the identification of possible source contaminants.

On the role of temporal context in human reinforcement learning

Magdeburg, Univ., Fak. für Naturwiss., Diss., 2011

Intravital visualization of hematopoietic stem cell and neutrophil behavior in long bones of mice

Magdeburg, Univ., Fak. für Naturwiss., Diss., 2011

Variação Temporal no Prognóstico e Tratamento da Insuficiência Cardíaca Avançada - Antes e Após 2000

Fundamento: O tratamento da insuficiência cardíaca evoluiu nas últimas décadas, sugerindo que sua sobrevida tem aumentado. Objetivo: Verificar se houve melhora na sobrevida dos pacientes com insuficiência cardíaca avançada. Métodos: Comparamos retrospectivamente os dados de seguimento e tratamento de duas coortes de pacientes com insuficiência cardíaca sistólica admitidos para compensação até o ano 2000 (n = 353) e após 2000 (n = 279). Foram analisados: morte hospitalar, re-hospitalizações e morte no seguimento de 1 ano. Utilizamos os testes U de Mann-Whitney e qui-quadrado para comparação entre os grupos. Os preditores de mortalidade foram identificados pela análise de regressão por meio do método dos riscos proporcionais de Cox e análise de sobrevida pelo método de Kaplan-Meier. Resultados: Os pacientes internados até o ano 2000 eram mais jovens, tinham menor comprometimento ventricular esquerdo e receberam menor proporção de betabloqueadores na alta. A sobrevida dos pacientes hospitalizados antes de 2000 foi menor do que a dos hospitalizados após 2000 (40,1% vs. 67,4%; p < 0,001). Os preditores independentes de mortalidade na análise de regressão foram: a etiologia chagásica (hazard ratio: 1,9; intervalo de confiança de 95%: 1,3-3,0), inibidores da enzima conversora da angiotensina (hazard ratio: 0,6; intervalo de confiança de 95%: 0,4-0,9), betabloqueador (hazard ratio: 0,3; intervalo de confiança de 95%: 0,2-0,5), creatinina ≥ 1,4 mg/dL (hazard ratio: 2,0; intervalo de confiança de 95%: 1,3-3,0), sódio sérico ≤ 135 mEq/L (hazard ratio: 1,8; intervalo de confiança de 95%: 1,2-2,7). Conclusões: Pacientes com insuficiência cardíaca avançada apresentaram melhora significativa na sobrevida e redução nas re-hospitalizações. O bloqueio neuro-hormonal, com inibidores da enzima conversora da angiotensina e betabloqueadores, teve papel importante no aumento da sobrevida desses pacientes com insuficiência cardíaca avançada.

Enhancing the performance of spread spectrum techniques in different applications

Spread spectrum, Automotive Radar, Indoor Positioning Systems, Ultrasonic and Microwave Imaging, super resolution technique and wavelet transform

Analysis of complex microwave structures using suitable computational electromagnetic techniques

Complex Microwave Structures Wake Field Computatation PETRA III Generalized Multipole Technique Antenna Antennen Wakefelder Berechnung

Spatio-temporal dynamics of glycolysis in an open spatial reactor

Magdeburg, Univ., Fak. für Verfahrens- und Systemtechnik, Diss., 2008

Wireless communication techniques for indoor positioning and tracking applications

Magdeburg, Univ., Fak. für Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik, Diss., 2010

Disposable, micro-fluidic biosensor array for online analysis of adherent cells activity combining quartz crystal resonators and impedance measurement techniques

Magdeburg, Univ., Fak. für Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik, Diss., 2011

Discovery and visualization of interesting patterns

Die Preise für Speicherplatz fallen stetig, da verwundert es nicht, dass Unternehmen riesige Datenmengen anhäufen und sammeln. Diese immensen Datenmengen müssen jedoch mit geeigneten Methoden analysiert werden, um für das Unternehmen überlebensnotwendige Muster zu identifizieren. Solche Muster können Probleme aber auch Chancen darstellen. In jedem Fall ist es von größter Bedeutung, rechtzeitig diese Muster zu entdecken, um zeitnah reagieren zu können. Um breite Nutzerschichten anzusprechen, müssen Analysemethoden ferner einfach zu bedienen sein, sofort Rückmeldungen liefern und intuitive Visualisierungen anbieten. Ich schlage in der vorliegenden Arbeit Methoden zur Visualisierung und Filterung von Assoziationsregeln basierend auf ihren zeitlichen Änderungen vor. Ich werde lingustische Terme (die durch Fuzzymengen modelliert werden) verwenden, um die Historien von Regelbewertungsmaßen zu charakterisieren und so eine Ordnung von relevanten Regeln zu generieren. Weiterhin werde ich die vorgeschlagenen Methoden auf weitereModellarten übertragen, die Software-Plattformvorstellen, die die Analysemethoden dem Nutzer zugänglich macht und schließlich empirische Auswertungen auf Echtdaten aus Unternehmenskooperationen vorstellen, die die Wirksamkeit meiner Vorschläge belegen.

Lagrangian methods for visualization and analysis of time-dependent vector fields

Magdeburg, Univ., Fak. für Informatik, Diss., 2013

New solutions for an old challenge : chances and limitations of optical, non-invasive acquisition and digital processing techniques for the age estimation of latent fingerprints

Magdeburg, Univ., Fak. für Informatik, Diss., 2014

Illustrative visualization of medical data sets

Magdeburg, Univ., Fak. für Informatik, Diss., 2014

Illustrative visualization of medical data sets

Magdeburg, Univ., Fak. für Informatik, Diss., 2014