Applications of High Speed Configurable Logic Devices in Modern Particle Physics Experiments

Several activities were conducted during my PhD activity. For the NEMO experiment a collaboration between the INFN/University groups of Catania and Bologna led to the development and production of a mixed signal acquisition board for the Nemo Km3 telescope. The research concerned the feasibility study for a different acquisition technique quite far from that adopted in the NEMO Phase 1 telescope. The DAQ board that we realized exploits the LIRA06 front-end chip for the analog acquisition of anodic an dynodic sources of a PMT (Photo-Multiplier Tube). The low-power analog acquisition allows to sample contemporaneously multiple channels of the PMT at different gain factors in order to increase the signal response linearity over a wider dynamic range. Also the auto triggering and self-event-classification features help to improve the acquisition performance and the knowledge on the neutrino event. A fully functional interface towards the first level data concentrator, the Floor Control Module, has been integrated as well on the board, and a specific firmware has been realized to comply with the present communication protocols. This stage of the project foresees the use of an FPGA, a high speed configurable device, to provide the board with a flexible digital logic control core. After the validation of the whole front-end architecture this feature would be probably integrated in a common mixed-signal ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The volatile nature of the configuration memory of the FPGA implied the integration of a flash ISP (In System Programming) memory and a smart architecture for a safe remote reconfiguration of it. All the integrated features of the board have been tested. At the Catania laboratory the behavior of the LIRA chip has been investigated in the digital environment of the DAQ board and we succeeded in driving the acquisition with the FPGA. The PMT pulses generated with an arbitrary waveform generator were correctly triggered and acquired by the analog chip, and successively they were digitized by the on board ADC under the supervision of the FPGA. For the communication towards the data concentrator a test bench has been realized in Bologna where, thanks to a lending of the Roma University and INFN, a full readout chain equivalent to that present in the NEMO phase-1 was installed. These tests showed a good behavior of the digital electronic that was able to receive and to execute command imparted by the PC console and to answer back with a reply. The remotely configurable logic behaved well too and demonstrated, at least in principle, the validity of this technique. A new prototype board is now under development at the Catania laboratory as an evolution of the one described above. This board is going to be deployed within the NEMO Phase-2 tower in one of its floors dedicated to new front-end proposals. This board will integrate a new analog acquisition chip called SAS (Smart Auto-triggering Sampler) introducing thus a new analog front-end but inheriting most of the digital logic present in the current DAQ board discussed in this thesis. For what concern the activity on high-resolution vertex detectors, I worked within the SLIM5 collaboration for the characterization of a MAPS (Monolithic Active Pixel Sensor) device called APSEL-4D. The mentioned chip is a matrix of 4096 active pixel sensors with deep N-well implantations meant for charge collection and to shield the analog electronics from digital noise. The chip integrates the full-custom sensors matrix and the sparsifification/readout logic realized with standard-cells in STM CMOS technology 130 nm. For the chip characterization a test-beam has been set up on the 12 GeV PS (Proton Synchrotron) line facility at CERN of Geneva (CH). The collaboration prepared a silicon strip telescope and a DAQ system (hardware and software) for data acquisition and control of the telescope that allowed to store about 90 million events in 7 equivalent days of live-time of the beam. My activities concerned basically the realization of a firmware interface towards and from the MAPS chip in order to integrate it on the general DAQ system. Thereafter I worked on the DAQ software to implement on it a proper Slow Control interface of the APSEL4D. Several APSEL4D chips with different thinning have been tested during the test beam. Those with 100 and 300 um presented an overall efficiency of about 90% imparting a threshold of 450 electrons. The test-beam allowed to estimate also the resolution of the pixel sensor providing good results consistent with the pitch/sqrt(12) formula. The MAPS intrinsic resolution has been extracted from the width of the residual plot taking into account the multiple scattering effect.

Effect of comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation after heart valve surgery (CopenHeartVR): study protocol for a randomised clinical trial

Background Heart valve diseases are common with an estimated prevalence of 2.5% in the Western world. The number is rising due to an ageing population. Once symptomatic, heart valve diseases are potentially lethal, and heavily influence daily living and quality of life. Surgical treatment, either valve replacement or repair, remains the treatment of choice. However, post surgery, the transition to daily living may become a physical, mental and social challenge. We hypothesise that a comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation programme can improve physical capacity and self-assessed mental health and reduce hospitalisation and healthcare costs after heart valve surgery. Methods A randomised clinical trial, CopenHeartVR, aims to investigate whether cardiac rehabilitation in addition to usual care is superior to treatment as usual after heart valve surgery. The trial will randomly allocate 210 patients, 1:1 intervention to control group, using central randomisation, and blinded outcome assessment and statistical analyses. The intervention consists of 12 weeks of physical exercise, and a psycho-educational intervention comprising five consultations. Primary outcome is peak oxygen uptake (VO2 peak) measured by cardiopulmonary exercise testing with ventilatory gas analysis. Secondary outcome is self-assessed mental health measured by the standardised questionnaire Short Form 36. Also, long-term healthcare utilisation and mortality as well as biochemistry, echocardiography and cost-benefit will be assessed. A mixed-method design is used to evaluate qualitative and quantitative findings encompassing a survey-based study before the trial and a qualitative pre- and post-intervention study. Discussion The study is approved by the local regional Research Ethics Committee (H-1-2011-157), and the Danish Data Protection Agency (j.nr. 2007-58-0015).

Subjektive Theorien von Lehrpersonen zu Kompetenzen und Bereitschaften von Sport unterrichtenden Lehrpersonen der Vorschul- und Primarschulstufe

Lehrpersonen benötigen für professionelles pädagogisches Handeln berufliche Kompetenzen. Aktuell wird in der Diskussion um Kompetenzen (Weinert, 2002, S. 27-28) von Lehrpersonen vermehrt auf das Modell professioneller Handlungskompetenz nach Baumert und Kunter (2006, S. 482) Bezug genommen, dies allerdings meist ohne spezifische Berücksichtigung der zu unterrichtenden Fächer bzw. der Fachdisziplin (Frey, 2006, S. 42). Das gilt insbesondere für bislang wenig untersuchte Kompetenzen von Lehrpersonen des Fachs Sport. Diese lassen sich u.a. im Rahmen von subjektiven Theorien (Groeben, Wahl, Schlee & Scheele, 1988) über den eigenen Fachunterricht erfassen, da handlungsleitende Kognitionen für die Unterrichtsgestaltung darstellen. Die vorliegende Studie untersucht vor dem Hintergrund des Modells professioneller Handlungskompetenz die subjektiven Theorien von Lehrpersonen über Kompetenzen und Bereitschaften von Sport unterrichtenden Lehrpersonen der Vorschul- und Primarschulstufe. In einem Mixed-Methods-Design wurden im Rahmen einer zweistufigen Delphi-Befragung Interviews mit Expertenlehrpersonen sowie Fachdidaktikerinnen und -didaktikern durchgeführt, mittels qualitativer Inhaltsanalyse ausgewertet und daraus Kompetenzen und Bereitschaften von Sport unterrichtenden Lehrpersonen abgeleitet. Die Kompetenzen und Bereitschaften wurden anschliessend in einer quantitativen Fragebogenuntersuchung von Lehrpersonen (N = 313) bezüglich ihrer Wichtigkeit eingeschätzt und mittels explorativer Faktorenanalyse auf ihre Struktur untersucht. Auf Basis subjektiver Theorien von Lehrpersonen werden mittels Delphi-Befragung 58 Kompetenzen und Bereitschaften entwickelt, welche für Sport unterrichtende Lehrpersonen der Vorschul- und Primarschulstufe zentral sind. Diese sind fachspezifisch konnotiert und lassen sich den Aspekten des Modells professioneller Handlungskompetenz (Baumert & Kunter, 2006) zuordnen. Die Kompetenzen und Bereitschaften können aufgrund der Einschätzungen zur Wichtigkeit faktorenanalytisch auf 41 Kompetenzen und Bereitschaften reduziert und analog zu Baumert und Kunter (2006) eingeteilt werden in acht fachspezifische Kompetenzfacetten bezüglich des Professionswissens (Wissen über die didaktisch-methodische Gestaltung des Sportunterrichts, Wissen über den Nutzen von Bewegung, Wissen über die Planung des Sportunterrichts anhand transparenter Ziele und Kriterien, Entwicklungspsychologisches Wissen, sportwissenschaftliches Wissen, Wissen über den Umgang mit Unfällen, Wissen über den Einsatz vielfältiger Bewegungsaufgaben, Wissen über die Organisation der Klasse) und in zwei Bereitschaftsfacetten (Sportives Selbstverständnis, Intentionale Individuumsförderung). Alle Kompetenz- und Bereitschaftsfacetten werden im Mittel als äusserst wichtig, wichtig oder eher wichtig beurteilt. Die Ergebnisse stellen zentrale Kompetenzen und Bereitschaften von Sport unterrichtenden Lehrpersonen der Vorschul- und Primarschulstufe auf Basis von subjektiven Theorien dar. Sie lassen sich in das Modell professioneller Handlungskompetenz einordnen, weisen aber eine hohe fachspezifische Akzentuierung auf. Die Ergebnisse stellen eine mögliche Orientierungshilfe für die Gestaltung der Ausbildung von Sport unterrichtenden Lehrpersonen dar. Baumert, J. & Kunter, M. (2006). Stichwort: Professionelle Kompetenz von Lehrkräften. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, 9 (4), 469-520. Frey, A. (2006). Methoden und Instrumente zur Diagnose beruflicher Kompetenzen von Lehrkräften - eine erste Standortbestimmung zu bereits publizierten Instrumenten. In C. Allemann-Ghionda & E. Terhart (Hrsg.), Kompetenzen und Kompetenzentwicklung von Lehrerinnen und Lehrern: Ausbildung und Beruf. 51. Beiheft der Zeitschrift für Pädagogik (S. 30-46). Weinheim: Beltz. Groeben, N., Wahl, D., Schlee, J. & Scheele, B. (1988). Forschungsprogramm Subjektive Theorien. Eine Einführung in die Psychologie des reflexiven Subjekts. Tübingen: Francke. Weinert, F.E. (2002). Vergleichende Leistungsmessung in Schulen - eine umstrittene Selbstverständlichkeit. In F.E. Weinert (Hrsg.), Leistungsmessungen in Schulen (2. Aufl., S. 17-31). Weinheim: Beltz.

Breastfeeding the very preterm hospitalized infant: An ethnographic study

Purpose. To develop a greater understanding of the experience—including the thoughts, feelings, and actions—of mothers' initiation and maintenance of lactation within the context of the NICU following the birth of a very preterm infant. ^ Design. Mixed method with dominant focused ethnographic approach. Setting: A 76-bed neonatal intensive care unit in the largest children's hospital located in a large metropolitan city in southeast Texas. ^ Sample. Purposeful sampling resulted in 23 interviews with 14 subjects. ^ Methods. Mixed method design with a dominant qualitative approach combined with a quantitative component to further identify and expand upon the investigation of the population in question. Open-ended semi-structured interviews and fieldwork were used to explore the experience of breastfeeding in the context of the NICU for mothers of very preterm infants. Longitudinal data obtained from each subject included in-depth interviews, demographic and clinical information, milk expression patterns (including pumping frequency, duration, and milk volumes obtained), and scores obtained from the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS). ^ Findings. Thematic analysis revealed that mothers of very preterm infants experienced an interruption in the process of becoming a mother, a paradoxical experience related to aspects of their milk expression routines and patterns, and negotiating the NICU environment. Sub-themes of becoming a mother-interrupted included: attribution, separation, connection, and navigation. Additional sub-themes related to the paradoxical experience included: the pump sometimes acting as a wedge or link to the infant; diversionary thoughts/activities during pumping; and perceptions of milk flow/volume. The process of negotiation included the environment, adaptive/maladaptive strategies related to milk expression, motivating factors related to the provision of breast milk, and learning their infant's feeding cues/abilities. EPDS scores did not reveal congruent differences in those mothers scoring high compared to those scoring low. ^ Conclusions. Understanding the experiences of the mothers in this study allows for a better perspective of breastfeeding the very preterm infant in the context of the NICU. Findings from this study validate the difficult and incremental process of attaining maternal identity and the significant burden placed on these women with regards to the provision of breast milk and breastfeeding during their infant's hospitalization. ^

Sibling relationships in the family of a child with a burn injury

Purpose. Understanding siblings' experiences after a major childhood burn injury was the purpose of this mixed method, qualitative dominant study. The following research questions guided this project: How do siblings describe the impact of a major childhood burn injury experience? How do sibling relationship factors of warmth/closeness, relative status/power, conflict, and rivalry further clarify their relationship and their experience after a major burn injury? ^ Methods. A mixed method, qualitative dominant, design was implemented to understand the sibling experiences in a family with a child suffering from a major burn injury. Informants were selected from patients with childhood burn injuries attending the reconstructive clinic at a Gulf coast children's specialty hospital. The qualitative portion used the life story method, a narrative process, to portray the long-term impact on sibling relationships. A "case" represents a family unit and could be composed of one or multiple family members. Participants from 22 cases (N = 40 participants) were interviewed. Interviews were conducted in person and via telephone. The quantitative portion, or the embedded part of this mixed method design, used the Sibling Relationship Questionnaire Revised (SRQ-R) to conduct an additional structured interview and acquire scoring data. It was postulated that the SRQ-R would provide another perspective on the sibling experience and expand the qualitative data analysis. Thematic analysis was implemented on the qualitative interview data including the qualitative data from the interviews structured on the SRQ-R. Additionally, scores on the SRQ-R were tabulated to further describe the cases. ^ Results. The overall thematic pattern for the sibling relationship in families having a child with a major burn injury was that of normalization. Areas of normalization as well as the process of adjustment were the major themes. Areas of normalization were found in play and other activities, in school and work, and in family relations with their siblings and their parents. The process of adjustment in the sibling relationship was described as varied, involved school and work re-entry, and might even change their life perspective. Further analysis included an examination of the cases in which more than one person were interviewed and completed the SRQ-R. Participants from five ( n = 11) of six cases (n = 14), scored above 3.0 on the five-point scale on the Warmth/Closeness construct, indicating they perceived the sibling relationship as close. Five participants scored high on the Conflict construct and four participants scored high on the Rivalry construct. Finally, Relative Status/Power was low or negative in the six cases (n = 13). ^ Conclusions/implications. These findings suggest the importance of returning to normalcy for many of the families and the significance of sibling relationships on the process. Some of these families were able to use this major life event in a positive way to promote normalization. ^

Modelo de gestión de la responsabilidad social para las empresas del sector petrolero venezolano

El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo diseñar un modelo de gestión de responsabilidad social sustentado en estándares internacionales para las empresas del sector petrolero venezolano. Esta investigación no se suscribe a un modelo epistémico en particular, como forma parcializada de ver la realidad. Por el contrario, se realizó un abordaje holístico de la investigación, entendiendo el evento de estudio, la gestión de la responsabilidad social, como un evento integrado por distintas visiones de la relación empresa – sociedad. La holística se refiere a una tendencia que permite entender la realidad desde el punto de vista de las múltiples interacciones que la caracterizan. Corresponde a una actitud integradora como también a una teoría explicativa que se orienta hacia una comprensión contextual de los procesos, de los protagonistas y de los eventos. Desde la concepción holística se determinó que la investigación es de tipo proyectiva. Este tipo de investigación propone soluciones a una situación determinada a partir de un proceso de indagación. Implica describir, comparar, explicar y proponer alternativas de cambios, lo que da lugar a los estadios de investigación. En cuanto al diseño de la investigación, aplicando el ciclo holístico, se tiene un diseño que es univariable, transeccional contemporáneo y de fuente mixta. Univariable, porque se enfoca en la gestión de responsabilidad social. Transeccional contemporáneo, porque el evento se estudia en la actualidad y se realiza una sola medición de los datos. De fuente mixta, porque en los estadios descriptivo y explicativo se aplica un diseño de campo, al recolectar los datos directamente en las empresas objeto de estudio, mientras que para los estadios analítico y comparativo se aplica un diseño documental. Las técnicas de recolección de la información estuvieron constituidas por fuentes primarias provenientes de la observación directa, la revisión documental y la aplicación de un cuestionario estructurado tipo escala Likert. El análisis de los datos comprendió el análisis estadístico descriptivo, la estimación de la fiabilidad y el análisis de coeficientes de correlación y análisis de ruta, a través del software estadístico SPSS v.19.0 y AMOS v.20. En los estadios descriptivo y explicativo se estudió la gestión de la responsabilidad social en las empresas del sector petrolero. Los resultados indicaron que las empresas del sector petrolero actúan bajo los lineamientos trazados en el Plan de Desarrollo Nacional y de acuerdo con las políticas, directrices, planes y estrategias para el sector de los hidrocarburos, dictadas por el Ministerio de Energía y Petróleo. También incluyen el compromiso social y la política ambiental en su filosofía de gestión. Tienen en su estructura organizacional una gerencia de desarrollo social que gestiona la responsabilidad social. Las actividades de inversión social se presentan poco estructuradas y en ocasiones se improvisan ya que atienden a los lineamientos políticos del Estado y no a una política interna de sostenibilidad del negocio petrolero. En cuanto a la integralidad de la gestión las empresas no consideran la responsabilidad social en todas las áreas, por lo que deben ampliar su concepción de una gestión responsable, redefiniendo estructuras, estrategias y procesos, con una orientación hacia una gestión sustentable. En cuanto a los estadios analítico y comparativo aplicados al estudio de las guías y estándares internacionales de responsabilidad social, se determinó que en términos de la integralidad de la gestión las iniciativas que destacan son: en cuanto a los principios, las directrices para empresas multinacionales según la OCDE y el Libro Verde de la Unión Europea. En relación con las guías de implementación y control, el Global Reporting Initiative y la norma ISO 26000. Y en cuanto a los sistemas de gestión el Sistema de Gestión Ética y Responsable (SGE 21) y el Sistema de Gestión de Responsabilidad Social IQNET SR10. Finalmente se diseñó una estructura para la gestión integral de responsabilidad social basada en los estándares internacionales y en el concepto de desarrollo sostenible. Por tanto abarca el desarrollo social, el equilibrio ecológico y el crecimiento económico, lo que permite un desarrollo sinérgico. La originalidad del enfoque consistió en la comprensión de la investigación desde una concepción holística, que permitió la integración de las teorías que tratan el tema de la responsabilidad social a través de un abordaje estructurado. ABSTRACT The present research aims to design a model of social responsibility management underpinned by international standards for companies in the Venezuelan oil sector. This research is not framed in a particular epistemic model as a biased way of looking at reality. Instead, a holistic approach to the research was conducted, understanding the event under study, the management of social responsibility as an event composed of different views of the relationship between corporation and society. The term holistic refers to a trend in understanding the reality from the point of view of the multiple interactions that characterize it. It corresponds to an integrative as well as an explanatory theory that is oriented towards a contextual understanding of the processes, of the participants and of the events. From the holistic conception it was determined that this research is of a projective type. The research proposes solutions to a given situation from a process of inquiry. It implies describing, comparing, explaining and proposing alternative changes, which results in the different research stages. Regarding the research design, applying the holistic cycle, an univariate, contemporary cross-sectional and mixed source design is obtained. It is univariate, because it focuses on the management of social responsibility. It is contemporary cross-sectional, because the event is studied in the present time and a single measurement of data is performed. It relies on mixed source, because in the descriptive and explanatory stages a field design is applied when collecting data directly from the companies under study, while for the analytical and comparative stages applies a documentary design is applied. The data collection techniques were constituted by primary sources from direct observation, document review and the implementation of a structured Likert scale questionnaire. The data analysis comprised descriptive statistical analysis, reliability estimates and analysis of correlation and the path analysis through the SPSS v.19.0 and AMOS V.20 statistical software. In the descriptive and explanatory stages social responsibility management in the oil sector companies was studied. The results indicated that the oil companies operate under the guidelines outlined in the National Development Plan and in accordance with the policies, guidelines, plans and strategies for the hydrocarbons sector, issued by the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum. They also include the social commitment and the environmental policy in their management philosophy. They have in their organizational structure a social development management which deals with social responsibility. Corporate social investment is presented poorly structured and is sometimes improvised since they follow the policy guidelines of the state and not the internal sustainability policy of the oil business. As for the integrity of management companies they do not consider social responsibility in all areas, so they need to expand their conception of responsible management, redefining structures, strategies and processes, with a focus on sustainable management. As for the analytical and comparative stages applied to the study of international guidelines and standards of social responsibility, it was determined that, in terms of the comprehensiveness of management, the initiatives that stand out are the following: With respect to principles, the guidelines for multinational enterprises as indicated by OECD and the Green Paper of the European Union. Regarding the implementation and control guides, the Global Reporting Initiative and the ISO 26000 standard are relevant. And as for management systems the Ethics and Responsible Management System (SGE 21) and the IQNet SR10 Social responsibility management system have to be considered. Finally a framework for the comprehensive management of social responsibility based on international standards and the concept of sustainable development was designed. Hence, social development, ecological balance and economic growth are included allowing therefore a synergistic development. The originality of this approach is the understanding of research in a holistic way, which allows the integration of theories that address the issue of social responsibility through a structured approximation.

Struggling, Coping, And Thriving: Sense-Making In Stepfamily Couples' Narratives About Coparenting

The term coparenting implies a bioparental dyad that often excludes the stepparent's role in sharing parenting across joint-custody households. Focusing solely on this dyad also precludes gaining an understanding of how stepfamily couples manage together the communication and sharing of parental responsibilities with the parent(s) in the shared children's other home. In a departure from this bioparental dyad-focused approach, this study locates the stepfamily couple at the center of an inquiry into managing coparenting across households. This mixed methods design study included in-depth interviews of 32 stepfamily couples whose narratives about coparenting were analyzed using grounded theory methods. Forty-one percent of stepparents engage in direct coparenting communication, sometimes manifested as the coactive approach identified in this study. Stepfamily couples also involve the stepparent indirectly in coparenting communication, through the conferred and consultative approaches. As well, the couples' narratives about coparenting identify them as either united, where they share the experience, or divided, where coparenting is reserved exclusively for the bioparent to manage. The stepfamily couples' narratives about significant coparenting experiences revealed that they experience and make sense of coparenting as 1) struggling, 2) coping, or 3) thriving. No significant relationship was found between marital satisfaction and experiencing coparenting as strugglers, copers or thrivers. Grounded theory analysis of these narratives also reflects the four dichotomous dimensions of 1) regard-disregard, 2) decency-duplicity, 3) facilitation-interference, and 4) accommodation-inflexibility. Significant incidents located along these dimensions contribute to the stepfamily couples' identification as struggling, coping, or thriving in coparenting. Experiences on the extreme ends of the dichotomous dimensions generate positive and negative turning points for the coparenting interactions and relationships. As well, experiences on the negative end of the dimensional poles can present challenges for the stepfamily couples. Finally, a synthesis of the findings related to the dichotomous dimensions generates a theory of shared parenting values expectancy.

Everything in di Dark Muss Come to Light: A Postcolonial Investigation of the Practice of Extra Lessons at the Secondary Level in Jamaica's Education System

Despite the vast research examining the evolution of Caribbean education systems, little is chronologically tied to the postcolonial theoretical perspectives of specific island-state systems, such as the Jamaican education system and its relationship with the underground shadow education system. This dissertation study sought to address the gaps in the literature by critically positioning postcolonial theories in education to examine the macro- and micro-level impacts of extra lessons on secondary education in Jamaica. The following postcolonial theoretical (PCT) tenets in education were contextualized from a review of the literature: (a) PCT in education uses colonial discourse analysis to critically deconstruct and decolonize imperialistic and colonial representations of knowledge throughout history; (b) PCT in education uses an anti-colonial discursive framework to re-position indigenous knowledge in schools, colleges, and universities to challenge hegemonic knowledge; (c) PCT in education involves the "unlearning" of dominant, normative ideologies, the use of self-reflexivity, and deconstruction; and (d) PCT in education calls for critical pedagogical approaches that reject the banking concept of education and introduces inclusive pedagogy to facilitate "the passage from naïve to critical transitivity" (Freire, 1973, p. 32). Specifically, using a transformative mixed-methods design, grounded and informed by a postcolonial theoretical lens, I quantitatively uncovered and then qualitatively highlighted how if at all extra lessons can improve educational outcomes for students at the secondary level in Jamaica. Accordingly, the quantitative data was used to test the hypotheses that the practice of extra lessons in schools is related to student academic achievement and the practice of critical-inclusive pedagogy in extra lessons is related to academic achievement. The two-level hierarchical linear model analysis revealed that hours spent in extra lessons, average household monthly income, and critical-inclusive pedagogical tents were the best predictors for academic achievement. Alternatively, the holistic multi-case study explored how extra-lessons produces increased academic achievement. The data revealed new ways of knowledge construction and critical pedagogical approaches to galvanize systemic change in secondary education. Furthermore, the data showed that extra lessons can improve educational outcomes for students at the secondary level if the conditions for learning are met. This study sets the stage for new forms of knowledge construction and implications for policy change.

Incorporating global positioning data in real time P2P audio/video streams for mobile devices

We propose an original method to geoposition an audio/video stream with multiple emitters that are at the same time receivers of the mixed signal. The achieved method is suitable for those comes where a list of positions within a designated area is encoded with a degree of precision adjusted to the visualization capabilities; and is also easily extensible to support new requirements. This method extends a previously proposed protocol, without incurring in any performance penalty.

P2P audio/video protocol with global positioning data in real time for mobile devices

In this paper, we propose an original method to geoposition an audio/video stream with multiple emitters that are at the same time receivers of the mixed signal. The obtained method is suitable when a list of positions within a known area is encoded with precision tailored to the visualization capabilities of the target device. Nevertheless, it is easily adaptable to new precision requirements, as well as parameterized data precision. This method extends a previously proposed protocol, without incurring in any performance penalty.

Certificación medioambiental, competitividad y resultado empresarial: un estudio híbrido en el sector hotelero

La Responsabilidad Social en general, y la Gestión Medioambiental en particular, pueden influir sobre el resultado y la competitividad de las empresas. El objetivo principal de este trabajo es analizar la relación entre certificación medioambiental, rendimiento medioambiental, competitividad y resultado empresarial en el sector hotelero español. Además, también se analizan y comparan los niveles alcanzados de proactividad medioambiental para el grupo de hoteles certificados y no certificados. El método de investigación utilizado es híbrido, combinando una parte cualitativa con otra cuantitativa. Los resultados indican que los hoteles que tienen certificado su sistema de Gestión Medioambiental alcanzan mayores niveles de resultado en términos de porcentaje de ocupación e ingresos por habitación disponible (RevPAR). Además, los hoteles certificados obtienen un mejor rendimiento medioambiental. Con relación a la ventaja competitiva, los hoteles certificados desarrollan una ventaja en diferenciación significativamente superior.

From Convergence to Diffusion: The EU's influence on national tax systems. ACES Cases No. 2011.2

In this article I investigate to what extent European Integration stimulates policy convergence and diffusion of various forms of tax policy. Using a mixed-methods design, I find that several causal mechanisms contribute to an EU-wide diffusion of tax policies: imposition, competition, harmonization and learning/communication. I show that these mechanisms have different effects on different forms of taxation. Even if the ultimate outcome of this influence only in few cases leads to unconditional convergence, the EU has markedly accelerated policy diffusion among its member states.

Farewell to the Welfare : On the role of chronic stress in lifestyle migration

While studies concerned with migration and the welfare, or migration and stress, have been focusing on either notions of a welfare-magnet or issues related to PTSDs, representing an overt research focus on migration from poorer to richer nations, none have explored the possible role of chronic stress as an underlying trigger for wishing to escape the welfare society. This study explores just this, elaborating upon the lifestyle-concept. Using the latest financial crisis as a theoretical turning point, a comparative case study was performed with Swedish migrant entrepreneurs in Costa del Sol, as compared to previously performed studies from the area. Fourteen semi-structured interviews were carried out with different actors for the purpose of triangulation. Statistics were used for an elementary understanding, in a mixed method design. Analysis was performed on macro to micro scales, providing findings in line with previous research on lifestyle-migration. New findings however include a recognition of long-term exposure to stress as an underlying trigger for wishing to escape the welfare-society, as well as the perception of the holiday-destination as the antithesis to stress making it the preferred choice for relocation. The paper concludes that if stress push people away from Sweden, it can be considered global in scope.

Data transmission by pulse compression

Pulse compression techniques originated in radar.The present work is concerned with the utilization of these techniques in general, and the linear FM (LFM) technique in particular, for comnunications. It introduces these techniques from an optimum communications viewpoint and outlines their capabilities.It also considers the candidacy of the class of LFM signals for digital data transmission and the LFM spectrum. Work related to the utilization of LFM signals for digital data transmission has been mostly experimental and mainly concerned with employing two rectangular LFM pulses (or chirps) with reversed slopes to convey the bits 1 and 0 in an incoherent node.No systematic theory for LFM signal design and system performance has been available. Accordingly, the present work establishes such a theory taking into account coherent and noncoherent single-link and multiplex signalling modes. Some new results concerning the slope-reversal chirp pair are obtained. The LFM technique combines the typical capabilities of pulse compression with a relative ease of implementation. However, these merits are often hampered by the difficulty of handling the LFM spectrum which cannot generally be expressed closed-form. The common practice is to obtain a plot of this spectrum with a digital computer for every single set of LFM pulse parameters.Moreover, reported work has been Justly confined to the spectrum of an ideally rectangular chirp pulse with no rise or fall times.Accordingly, the present work comprises a systerratic study of the LFM spectrum which takes the rise and fall time of the chirp pulse into account and can accommodate any LFM pulse with any parameters.It· formulates rather simple and accurate prediction criteria concerning the behaviour of this spectrum in the different frequency regions. These criteria would facilitate the handling of the LFM technique in theory and practice.

The fatigue properties of pressure diecast zinc-aluminium based alloys

The fatigue behaviour of the cold chamber pressure-die-cast alloys: Mazak3, ZA8, ZA27, M3K, ZA8K, ZA27K, K1, K2 and K3 was investigated at temperature of 20°C. The alloys M3K, ZA8K and ZA27K were also examined at temperatures of 50 and 100°C. The ratio between fatigue strength and tensile strength was established at 20°C at 107 cycles. The fatigue life prediction of the alloys M3K, ZA8K and ZA27K was formulated at 20, 50 and 100°C. The prediction formulae were found to be reasonably accurate. All of the experimental alloys were heterogeneous and contained large but varying amounts of pores. These pores were a major contribution and dominated the alloys fatigue failure. Their effect, however, on tensile failure was negligible. The ZA27K possessed the highest tensile strength but the lowest fatigue strength. The relationship between the fracture topography and the microstructure was also determined by the use of a mixed signal of a secondary electron and a back-scattered electron on the SEM. The tensile strength of the experimental alloys was directly proportional to the aluminium content within the alloys. The effect of copper content was also investigated within the alloys K1, K2, ZA8K and K3 which contained 0%, 0.5%, 1.0% and 2.0% respectively. It was determined that the fatigue and tensile strengths improved with higher copper contents. Upon ageing the alloys Mazak3, ZA8 and ZA27 at an ambient temperature for 5 years, copper was also found to influence and maintain the metastable Zn-Al (αm) phase. The copper free Mazak3 upon ageing lost this metastable phase. The 1.0% copper ZA8 alloy had lost almost 50% of its metastable phase. Finally the 2.0% copper ZA27 had merely lost 10% of its metastable phase. The cph zinc contained a limited number of slip systems, therefore twinning deformation was unavoidable in both fatigue and tensile testing.