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This dissertation addresses emerging developer communities in a new field of science and technology as well as methods to capture exchange processes between them. It contributes to the discussion about a new mode of knowledge production and a changing division of labour between public research, industry, and government by investigating 'nanotechnology' - an emerging area between science and technology. To explore exchange processes in this field, the study applies various methods. In particular, it uses patent citation analysis.The methodological contribution is a new interpretation of this indicator, which sees patent citations as information flows that point to reciprocal exchange processes and potential overlaps between science and technology. This is in contrast to the received interpretation, which suffers from the application of a framework that was developed in the context of scholarly citation and does not fully appreciate that a patent citation is established by the patent examiner - a party external to the inventive process.Various formats of patent citation analysis describe 'nanotechnology' as a set of instrument-driven scientific fields on their way towards science-related technologies. Even though nanotechnology patents contain more patent citations to the scientific literature than other technical fields, the science and technology systems are relatively autonomous. What links them in the case of nano-science and technology is a common interest in improving techniques of nano-scale measurement and manipulation.Another finding is that both countries and firms exhibit relatively strong path-dependencies. While nanotechnology comprises a key set of technological areas - instrumentation, electronics, and pharmaceuticals/chemicals - nano-scale activities vary considerably from country to country. Also knowledge-building activities of firms follow a strong technological path-dependency. As a result, 'social capital' seems to be confined to chiefly technological or scientific trajectories. Hence, 'social capital' appears not to be very useful in explaining how knowledge is accumulated and integrated at the nano-scale.Given the central role of instrumentation and the mediated nature of exchange between science and technology at the nano- scale, public policies should be directed towards supporting education and infrastructure in the area rather than more 'direct' transfer mechanisms.

The aim of this dissertation research is to develop an understanding of how components of the organizational structure, leadership structures at the top level and resource allocation decisions may affect corporate reputation as defined by the reputation quotient(RQ),and which aspects of running a company top management should keep an eye on in order to maximize the reputation of their company?Based on a literature review on the topic of corporate reputation and governance, which comprises the first part of the dissertation, a positivistic, deductive approach was chosen and a self-administered questionnaire has been developed that was sent out to the CEOs of the 60 companies currently covered in the 2002 RQ-rankings. The detailed discussion of the research method can be found in the third chapter.

James Hogg, a Scottish writer, was the founder of the psychological novel. He perfectly understood the notions of dream and reality, the danger of the voyage in "Nancy Chilshom", the world of the illusions, the lure, madness and strangeness towards the reality of the tragedy, the kingdom of the fairies, death, the finality of art, the supernatural, the Devil and sorcery in Scotland, the Scotland-England couple : the female nation and the male devastator, the carnival of the masks and the reality of his Masonic initiation at the end of his life.

Recently, endurance athletes and high altitude climbers have gained access to commercially available, portable normobaric hypoxic chambers. Intermittent exposures to hypoxia in these chambers may elicit adaptations similar to those observed during acclimatization to altitude. Manufactures of these systems purport that intermittent exposures may elicit adaptations similar to those observed in response to the hypoxia of high altitude, however there have been no reports in the scientific literature that ventilatory acclimatization or alterations in cerebrovascular dynamics occur following repeated episodes in the portable chambers.The main conclusions are that an intermittent normobaric hypoxic intervention, consisting of five consecutive overnight exposures to a simulated altitude of 4300m, elicits perturbations in the acute cerebrovascular and ventilatory responses to both hypoxia and hypercapnia, which are similar to changes following chronic altitude exposure. Individual variability to intermittent hypoxia may have an impact on the rate at which the process of acclimatization proceeds. The extent of physiological and symptomatic responses to intermittent hypoxia are likely to be associated with the severity of hypoxia as well as the length and number of recurrent episodes of hypoxia.

Modern architecture is a creation of the West. In a non-Western context, it normally reflects a direct intervention of Western powers through colonization. Thailand, formerly known as Siam, is an exception. Thai people have argued that they adopted and assimilated modern architecture into their unique cultural tradition without being physically colonized. The shift toward Western culture and Modernity is evident in 19th and 20th century Thai architecture, particularly in the capitol city of Bangkok. Major public buildings signify the country's domestic political circumstances, its Westernization and Modernization processes, in addition to the discourse of colonialism and anti-colonialism. Many of the best-known works resulted in hybrids between European and Siamese design characteristics. They hold more importance than simply stylistic developments, and in essence show a manifestation of social and political awareness, as well as national and cultural identity known as Thainess or khwampenthai. This dissertation examines the evolution of Western and Modern architecture in Siam and Thailand. It illustrates how various architectural ideas have contributed to the physical design and spatial configuration of places associated with negotiation and allocation of political power, which are throne halls, parliaments, and government and civic structures since the 1850s. In order to advance multi-cultural and cross-cultural studies, the buildings are investigated for their social, political, economic and cultural signification, considering the issues of cultural borrowing, appropriation and transformation, national and cultural identity, socio-political authority, as well as the native's resistance and reconciliation to the process of colonization.

This dissertation describes work performed at the Palomar Testbed Interferometer (PTI) during 1998-2002. Using PTI, we developed a method to measure stellar angular diameters in the 1-3 milli-arcsecond range with a precision of better than 5%. Such diameter measurements were used to measure the mass-radius relations of several lower main sequence stars and hence verify model predictions for these stars. In addition, by measuring the changes in Cepheid angular diameters during the pulsational cycle and applying a Baade-Wesselink analysis we are able to derive the distances to two galactic Cepheids (h Aql & z Gem) with a precision of ~10%; such distance determinations provide an independent calibration of the Cepheid period-luminosity relations that underpin current estimates of cosmic distance scales.Second, we used PTI and the adaptive optics facility at the Keck Telescope on Mauna Kea to resolve the low mass binary systems BY Dra and GJ 569B, resulting in dynamical mass determinations for these systems. GJ 569B most likely contains at least one sub-stellar component, and as such represents the first dynamical mass determination of a brown dwarf.Finally, a new observing technique, dual star phase referencing, was developed and demonstrated at PTI. Phase referencing allows interferometric observations of stars previously too faint to observe, and is a prerequisite for large-scale interferometric astrometry programs such as the one planned for the Keck Interferometer; interferometric astrometry is a promising technique for the study of extra-solar planetary systems, particularly ones with long-period planets.

Personal impurity caused by childbirth, menstrual blood or death is an issue of concern prevalent in many cultures. In Japan, the generic term for these kinds of impurities is kegare and death impurity, a sub-type of kegare, is known as shi-e. The major topic of this book is death impurity. The definition and genesis of shi-e are explained. In addition, details of the influence shi-e had on ancient Japanese society as well as its continuing influence on modern Japanese society are given. Three hypotheses are stated and supported: (1) the shi-e concept began in Japan during the Yayoi period (300 BC - 300 AD) rather than at a later date as previously hypothesized; (2) the basis for the aversion to dead bodies, i.e. shi-e, is that corpses remind people of the fact that they will soon die; (3) Buddhism and Shintoism merged in Japan because of the impact of shi-e on Shintoism. This book concludes with some comments on the relevance of knowledge of the death impurity for students of Japanese history, culture and society.

When J. Henry Shorthouse (1834-1903) published John Inglesant in 1881, he contributed a unique synthesis of Anglo-Catholic sensibilities to the enduring legacy of the Oxford Movement. Although his "philosophical romance" has been acclaimed "the greatest Anglo-Catholic novel in English literature" and "the one English novel that speaks immediately to human intuition without regard to the reader's own faith or philosophy", his most enduring contributions are the "religion of John Inglesant", an Anglo-Catholic synthesis of obedience and freedom, faith and reason, and the sacramental vision of "the myth of Little Gidding".Afflicted with a lifelong stammer, "the author of John Inglesant" proved himself a master of cadenced rhythms and "enspiritualised" prose in quest of "the great musical novel". Delineating parallels between sixteenth-century and Victorian England, Shorthouse integrated Quietism with Platonism into a religious aesthetic, a sacramental vision of "the Divine Principle of the Platonic Christ". Studied chronologically, Shorthouse's transition from Quaker to "Broad Church Sacramentalist" provides informing comparison with T. S. Eliot's conversion from Unitarian to Anglo-Catholic, as his myth of Little Gidding informs the historical imagination of Eliot's Christian poetry and dramas. The religious and developmental nature of the work of both artists affords analogies with C. G. Jung's psychology of Individuation.

Driven to improve their competitive advantages, manufacturers are looking to electronic supply chain collaboration (ESCC). The benefits of ESCC have long been described in the literature, but only recently, after considerable advances in the capability of information technology, have these benefits been verified by empirical studies. The high cost of ESCC has limited its early application to larger companies. Although interest in ESCC is high in business and information systems circles, the large group of small manufacturers has received meager attention. Theory suggests, however, that ESCC benefits are maximized as more supply chain partners integrate their information systems into a supply chain network. This exploratory triangulation study considered the current state and future implications of ESCC for the small job shop manufacturer. Three lines of research addressed the problem in terms of the SJSM business environment, ESCC technology, and success cases studies.The study found that ESCC integration is proceeding slowly, impeded primarily by a lack of standards for data integration. Advances in the Internet and related technology have, however, eliminated all but the last few barriers to ESCC. The remaining barriers are likely to fall pending acceptance of new ESCC standards such as RosettaNet. ESCC is already well established in select industries and will accelerate into other industries as standards develop. Currently, most ESCC activity is between top- and mid-tier manufacturers, but this activity will eventually spread down to third-tier small manufacturers. The study found no evidence that true integration, or the exchange of data between trading partners without retyping, is currently practical for most SJSMs. The study did find that low-integration ESCC is currently practical for SJSMs. In low-integration ESCC, manufacturers use Web portals to remotely access their trading partners' information systems. Low-integration ESCC can be implemented at low cost and offers advantages such as positive return on investment, competitive advantage, and a head start toward advanced ESCC. At the time of the study, only a few SJSMs had attempted even low-integration ESCC. SJSMs have, however, widely adopted the Internet for static Web sites, for email, and for exchanging electronic documents, including CAD drawings. Although neither haste nor large investment are called for, the study recommends that SJSMs take measured steps toward truly integrated ESCC and concludes that skills in ESCC will be necessary for SJSMs to protect their competitive advantages within the next four to eight years.

'Nervous shock' cases form an area of law, which illustrates well the operation of judicial policy. It is possible from such cases to trace the changing attitudes of lawyers, doctors and of society in general to psychiatric injury over the last century. These cases also highlight the changing judicial attitudes to the scope of duty of care and to the whole issue of policy decisions.The recognition of nervous shock similarly illustrates the development of medical knowledge in relation to psychiatric injury. The recognition of Post traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) has been a relatively new and controversial phenomenon and this disorder has now been incorporated into the various classifications of mental disorder as a recognisable psychiatric illness.This book examines the development of the law and medical knowledge in relation to cases of nervous shock and in particular to PTSD. The expansion and subsequent contraction of liability is shown to be dynamic in nature, as both legal and medical knowledge have increased.The intention of this book is to provide a concise review of the law comparing it to current medical knowledge in relation to PTSD. The book is intended to be of use to professionals involved in psychiatric injury cases who require an up to date understanding of PTSD.

This work elaborates R. W. Emerson s modification of S. T. Coleridge s central philosophical-aesthetic notions, such as imagination, reason, genius and symbol. Although Kant s and Schelling s idealistic philosophy, various pantheistic theories and Neoplatonism are identified as Coleridge s and Emerson s congenial intellectual and spiritual background, the author draws yet more attention to subtle differences between the English Romantic Coleridge and the American transcendentalist Emerson, which allow us to recognize that we deal with two distinct philosophical and poetic theories. It is shown that Emerson, neglecting flatly Coleridge's careful distinctions aimed at preserving the balance between dualism and monism, resolves Coleridge's theoretical ambiguity by exclusively concentrating on the part of Coleridge's system which favors the irrational and the unconscious dimension. As a consequence, Emerson's philosophy and aesthetics, with their emphasis on reason and imagination understood as inspiration, that is, the inflow of the divine into the mind of the artist, represent a radicalized version of Coleridge's neatly supressed monistic tendencies. In Emerson's interpretation, Coleridgean imagination becomes equated with Plotinian soul, that is, Coleridgean reason becomes a synonym for the utter mystical depersonalization. Finally, the delicate and easily overlooked Emersonian shifts with regard to Coleridge's theory point at the significance of Emerson's theoretical solutions in the transition from romanticim to modernism, a transition to which, ironically enough, Coleridge himself unintentionally and indirectly gave valuable contribution.

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the organisational problems, and in particular the leadership problems, of self-help groups in Japan for parents whose children have intractable diseases.Since 1993, I have been involved with these parent groups, and have conducted three sorts of qualitative interview: thirteen informal conversational interviews, four focus group interviews, and fourteen guided interviews, involving the members of twenty-one parent groups. Part of the research was carried out as participatory action research in which a research team was formed and authorised by the parent groups.My findings have shown that the groups' most serious problems lay not outside their groups but within, with the shortage of suitable leaders who volunteered in the activities. Three different sorts of account were given concerning the leadership shortage. They included justification, accusation and exposure: the participants claimed that taking care of ill children caused the leadership shortage; selfish members created it; or the determination of older leaders to remain at the helm prevented new members from becoming leaders. Cognitive maps have been drawn of these situations.I have explained the theories behind the free-rider and social loafing problems, and the leadership traps confronting the parent groups, and have applied attribution theory to the results. I have discussed the practicality of consultation for group leaders, and argued that organisational socialisation should be activated in the parent groups while propounding the island-within-a-lake model of parent groups. Methodologically, I have discussed social research within Japanese culture and the ethical issues pertain to participatory action research.

The high degree of heterogeneity of textile composites was found to be the primary problem in analysis and testing. A concept was developed based on a description of the local variation of the material stiffness matrix using a spline interpolation. The role of this stiffness function is to facilitate the calculation of the material stiffness matrix at any given position or for arbitrary domains in the form of finite elements.Based on this approach, two different methods were developed. In the first method the average material stiffness matrix is calculated for a finite element and subsequently the elemental stiffness matrix of this element is assembled. In the second approach the elemental stiffness matrix is calculated directly using the local material stiffness at the integration points of the finite element.This concept was then applied to the plate twist test. The numerical analysis of this test was done in order to determine the influence of heterogeneity on the test results. It was shown that this test measures the in-plane shear modulus largely independent of the representative volume element (RVE) size. Both finite element approaches were then applied to the V-notched beam shear test, to investigate the applicability of this test to the measurement of the shear properties. The test set-up as well as numerical parameters of the finite element analysis of the test were studied. It was possible to derive limits for the applicability of the V-notched beam shear test in terms of RVE size, as well as set up guidelines for the finite element analysis of textile composites.With electronic speckle pattern interferometry, which enables full-field displacement and strain measurements, tensile tests were carried out on 3D-woven textile composite specimens. With the agreement of the experimental results and the theoretical predictions the validity of the developed approach was again shown.

Simulation modeling is arguably the most versatile scientific tool for predicting the future environment. However, the reliability of model-based predictions is limited to the behavior domain defined by the historical data employed for conceptualizing and calibrating the model. Future changes in external inputs and internal structure tend to produce system behavior significantly different from prior predictions. To abate this seeming lack of credibility, it is now customary to qualify model predictions with uncertainty estimates. This dissertation explores the complementary approach of back-casting future scenarios. Centered on the analysis of uncertainty, a methodological framework is developed for the computational evaluation of environmental futures, driven by stakeholder participation as a means for establishing credibility in the model. The analysis reveals possible structural change between the observed past and speculated future scenarios by comparing the ranking of key sources of uncertainty in model outputs. Three sampling-based methods are employed: Regionalized Sensitivity Analysis (RSA), Tree-Structured Density Estimation (TSDE), and Uniform Covering by Probabilistic Rejection (UCPR). RSA and TSDE are tested for identifying and ranking the key factors that influence ecological behavior in Lake Oglethorpe, Georgia, and UCPR, for recovering parameters of a rainfall-runoff model of an experimental watershed near Loch Ard, Scotland. The framework is applied to an integrated assessment of ecological behavior in Lake Lanier, Georgia. Stakeholders' fears and desires for the future state of the reservoir are elicited and encoded for analysis.

In the limits of the density functional theory there are introduced and deduced fundamental chemical descriptors as the chemical action concept, the chemical field, new electronegativity, rate reaction and chemical hardness formulations, the reduced total energy and the partial Hohenberg-Kohn functionals. For electronic density computations the quantum statistic picture of the path integral Feynman-Kleinert formalism is employed to its markovian approximation, providing the framework in which the majority of the chemical reactions and the reactivity of the electronic systems can be treated together with the internal and environmental couplings. Evaluation, representation and interpretation of the present analyzed chemical indices are performed for a prototype many-electronic system such that its electronic structure to display fundamental and excited anharmonic vibrations being in the thermal coupling with the medium. The chemical descriptors introduced and computed shall contribute to the foundation of the chemical reactivity on the conceptual and analytical physical bases, being able to predict the chemical transformations and the characterization of the bonds formation.

Context Mediation is a field of research that is concerned with the interchange of information across different environments, which provides a vehicle to bridge semantic gaps among disparate entities. Knowledge Discovery is concerned with the extraction of actionable information from large databases. A challenge that has received relatively little attention is knowledge discovery in a highly disparate environment, that is multiple heterogeneous data sources, multiple domain knowledge sources and multiple knowledge patterns. This thesis tackles the problem of semantic interoperability among data, domain knowledge and knowledge patterns in a knowledge discovery process using context mediation. All presented techniques, methods and models are applied in real-world scenarios, covering disciplines from a wide range of industry, namely web mining and marketing, manufacturing, meteorology and internationalisation. When feasible, industry standards were utilised, for instance ODMG, PMML and KQML.The carried out research has resulted in almost fifty international publications, including the co-authorship of a book, a journal editorship and one conference best paper award.

The purpose of this study was to examine two instructional methods for delivering a radar operators training class for members of a municipal police department. The first method examined was the traditional classroom-based training with a certified radar instructor. The second method was a computer-based training (CBT) course based on the instructional material from the classroom-based course. The CBT course was administered on CD-ROM using the police department s Windows© based computers. This study compared the two methods of delivery to determine if the CBT course was as effective as the traditional classroom-based course. Effectiveness was measured by the completion times of the two courses, examination scores, and overall participant satisfaction levels. These measures were conducted using quasi-experimental design that involved two sample groups. The total population was sixty-nine police officers. The sample contained fourteen participants, divided into two equal groups of seven. The independent variable was the instructional method. The dependent variables were the course completion times, examination scores, and the satisfaction levels of the participants. Of the two groups of police officers, Group 1 received the CBT for radar operators, while Group 2 received the traditional classroom training. Data was gathered regarding the completion times, test results, and participant satisfaction levels of the two courses. A statistical analysis of the data was conducted to determine the difference in course completion times, test scores, and participant satisfaction levels between the two courses.

This study investigated whether known economic and international business theories available in the literature are meaningful enough to explain the nature, existence and role of multinational companies (MNCs) in the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia. Two sets of questionnaires were distributed in major cities of Saudi Arabia -- one set for 100 multinational managers and another for 280 multinational customers. 234 questionnaires were collected -- 45 from multinational managers and 189 from customers. This represents a total response rate of 62 percent, which is adequate for this study. The empirical results, supported with comprehensive secondary data, confirmed virtually all of the research hypotheses. The study found that joint ventures are the dominant form of multinational business in Saudi Arabia, both in manufacturing and service industries. The core roles of MNCs in the Saudi-foreign ventures are evident in the cross-border value-adding activities of marketing, trading, manufacturing, consulting, contracting, project management, insurance, hotel operation and banking. The results indicate that the business success of multinationals operating in Saudi Arabia is positively related to their local cultural awareness and responsiveness. Along this line, this study covers some vital elements of Islamic culture, which will help MNCs understand further the cultural needs, values and sensitivities of the Saudi people and Muslims in general.