A software based mentor system

This thesis describes the architecture, implementation issues and evaluation of Mentor - an educational support system designed to mentor students in their university studies. Students can ask (by typing) natural language questions and Mentor will use several educational paradigms to present information from its Knowledge Base or from data-mined online Web sites to respond. Typically the questions focus on the student’s assignments or in their preparation for their examinations. Mentor is also pro-active in that it prompts the student with questions such as "Have you started your assignment yet?". If the student responds and enters into a dialogue with Mentor, then, based upon the student’s questions and answers, it guides them through a Directed Learning Path planned by the lecturer, specific to that assessment. The objectives of the research were to determine if such a system could be designed, developed and applied in a large-scale, real-world environment and to determine if the resulting system was beneficial to students using it. The study was significant in that it provided an analysis of the design and implementation of the system as well as a detailed evaluation of its use. This research integrated the Computer Science disciplines of network communication, natural language parsing, user interface design and software agents, together with pedagogies from the Computer Aided Instruction and Intelligent Tutoring System fields of Education. Collectively, these disciplines provide the foundation for the two main thesis research areas of Dialogue Management and Tutorial Dialogue Systems. The development and analysis of the Mentor System required the design and implementation of an easy to use text based interface as well as a hyper- and multi-media graphical user interface, a client-server system, and a dialogue management system based on an extensible kernel. The multi-user Java-based client-server system used Perl-5 Regular Expression pattern matching for Natural Language Parsing along with a state-based Dialogue Manager and a Knowledge Base marked up using the XML-based Virtual Human Markup Language. The kernel was also used in other Dialogue Management applications such as with computer generated Talking Heads. The system also enabled a user to easily program their own knowledge into the Knowledge Base as well as to program new information retrieval or management tasks so that the system could grow with the user. The overall framework to integrate and manage the above components into a usable system employed suitable educational pedagogies that helped in the student’s learning process. The thesis outlines the learning paradigms used in, and summarises the evaluation of, three course-based Case Studies of university students’ perception of the system to see how effective and useful it was, and whether students benefited from using it. This thesis will demonstrate that Mentor met its objectives and was very successful in helping students with their university studies. As one participant indicated: ‘I couldn’t have done without it.

Consumer perceptions of multiple private label brands offered by Pick n Pay stores

This research provides insight into consumer perceptions of multiple private label brands being simultaneously offered by an individual retailer. The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the current consumer perceptions of the three private label brands at Pick n Pay Stores, a South African retailer. Consumers are no longer being presented with a single private label brand, but individual grocery retailers offer multiple private label brands under one retailer. Pick n Pay Store’s current private label brands co-exist as PnP no name, PnP and PnP Finest, and are synonymous with the generic, classic, and premium private label brand concepts, respectively. The question can thus be posed whether consumers perceive private label brands differently and whether they will eventually purchase the private label brand. The research explores the subject of brand, and the nature and success factors of private label brands in retail. This was done by reviewing the literature that traced the rapid changes in the retail sector because of the increasing influence of private label brands on conventional retail practices and consumer behaviour. A conceptual framework was developed showing the constructs that may have relationships with the three private label brands of Pick n Pay Stores. Information regarding the different private label brand concepts was obtained from primary as well as secondary research. An empirical study of a quantitative nature in the form of a paper-based and online-based questionnaire was undertaken. Altogether 375 usable questionnaires were collected. The results of the empirical study indicated positive relationships of perceptions between all three of the Pick n Pay private label brands and their respective intention to purchase. Furthermore, there was a statistically positive relationship between the brand perceptions of Pick n Pay private label brands. The proposed framework is intended to shed light onto the interactions between the private label concepts to allow for meaningful strategic branding decisions to be made at senior business levels

Age, growth and maturity of tub gurnard (<em>Chelidonichthys lucerna</em> Linnaeus 1758: Triglidae) in the inshore coastal waters of Northwest Wales, UK

The tub gurnard Chelidonichthys lucerna has been identified by ICES as a potential commercial species in the northeast Atlantic with recommendations made to monitor landings and discards and to derive information on population biology for stock assessment purposes, however, data are lacking for the species in the northeast Atlantic. Therefore, aims of this study were to provide data on the size/age‐structure and patterns of growth, maturity and mortality of C. lucerna in Northwest Wales, UK, and in doing so to provide data on the biological characteristics of the most northerly population studied to date for comparison with the existing data for southerly Mediterranean populations. Data on the age, growth and maturity of C. lucerna were collected by otter trawling (73 mm cod‐end stretched mesh size) in the coastal waters of Northwest Wales, UK in October (2000–2011, excluding 2006). Total length (TL) of fish sampled ranged between 10.5–41.0 cm (males) and 10.4–57.5 cm (females). The majority of the female fish were between 20–30 cm TL (60.2%) and the majority of the male fish between 20–30 cm TL (58.3%) respectively. TL/weight (W) relations for male and female fish were similar and the combined data was described by W = 0.0067 TL3.10. Age of fish ranged between 1–7 years old for female fish and 1–5 years old for male fish respectively with the majority of female fish 3 years old (40%) and the majority of male fish 3 years old (37%). The age structures of female and male tub gurnards were not significantly different with the older age classes consisting predominantly of female fish. Both males and females exhibited similar asymptotic growth patterns and the combined von Bertalanffy growth function was TLt = 51.6 (1 − e [−0.25(t + 0.41)]). Instantaneous rates of total mortality were calculated as 1.04 year−1 for males and 1.11 year−1 for females. The size (L50) and age at first maturity (A50) were estimated to be 29.1 cm TL and 2.8 years for males, 27.7 cm TL and 2.7 years for females and 28.0 cm TL and 2.8 years for both sexes combined. The results of this study provide the first information on the biology and population dynamics of C. lucerna in the Irish Sea, the first data collected in the northeast Atlantic since 1985 and the most northerly population studied to date

The host-range tdCE phenotype of Chandipura virus is determined by mutations in the polymerase gene

The emerging arbovirus Chandipura virus (CV) has been implicated in epidemics of acute encephalitis in India with high mortality rates. The isolation of temperature-dependent host-range (tdCE) mutants, which are impaired in growth at 39 °C in chick embryo (CE) cells but not in monkey cells, highlights a dependence on undetermined host factors. We have characterized three tdCE mutants, each containing one or more coding mutations in the RNA polymerase gene and two containing additional mutations in the attachment protein gene. Using reverse genetics, we showed that a single amino acid change in the virus polymerase of each mutant was responsible for the host-range specificity. In CE cells at the non-permissive temperature, the discrete cytoplasmic replication complexes seen in mammalian cells or at the permissive temperature in CE cells were absent with the tdCE mutants, consistent with the tdCE lesions causing disruption of the replication complexes in a host-dependent manner

Population biology of grey gurnard (Eutrigla gurnardus L.; Triglidae) in the coastal waters of Northwest Wales

The grey gurnard Eutrigla gurnardus (L.) has been identified by ICES as a potential commercial species in the NE Atlantic with recommendations made to derive information on population biology for stock assessment purposes. However, data on the population biology of this species is limited. In this study, data on the age, growth and maturity of grey gurnard were collected by otter trawling in the coastal waters of northwest Wales and Eastern Anglesey. Total length (TL) of fish sampled ranged between 2.1–33.0 cm (male) and 1.9–36.9 cm (female) with the majority of female (70.8%) fish between 11 and 20 cm TL and male fish (70.5%) between 11 and 18 cm TL. The percentage of fish >20 cm TL was larger for females (30.4%) compared to males (17.6%). Total weight (TW) for female and male grey gurnard in the stratified subsample ranged from 1.9 to 499.9 g for females and 2.1–390.0 g for males, with the majority of female (66.3%) and male (76.1%) fish between 10 and 60 g. TL/TW relations for male and female fish and both sexes combined were: TW = 0.006TL3.07, TW = 0.007TL3.03 and TW = 0.007TL3.05 respectively. Age structure (based on otolith reading) ranged between 0.5 and 7.5 years old for females and 0.5 to 5.5 years old for male with the majority of female (41.7%) and male (46.0%) fish aged as 1.5 years old. The age structure of female and male grey gurnards was significantly different with the majority of older fish (>2.5 years) being female. The von Bertalanffy growth functions were calculated as Lt = 32.4[1 − e−0.24(t + 1.41)] for males, Lt = 45.9[1 − e−0.16(t + 1.37)] for females and Lt = 44.0[1 − e−0.18(t + 1.20)] for both sexes combined. Instantaneous rates of total mortality were similar for males and females and the combined Z value 1.00 year−1 with the natural mortality rate estimated as 0.33 year−1. The size at 50% maturity (L50) was estimated to be 25.3 cm TL for males, females and for both sexes combined. Age at 50% maturity (A50) was 3.2 years for both males and females. The results of this study provide the first information on the population biology of E. gurnardus in the Irish Sea, the first detailed study in the NE Atlantic since 1985 and helps to address the data gap identified by ICES in knowledge of the population biology of this species

How Does an Organisation, Based on a Doubling of Load over the Next Ten Years, Assess a Suppliers Readiness to Meet that Load Growth?

Many manufacturing organisations have experienced failing supply chains for a period of time. With supply chains currently failing when the volumes or low, how are those supply chains going to deliver what the customer requires when the demand doubles. This type of scenario is one currently facing Rolls Royce as predict a doubling of their civil large engine business over the next five to ten years as shown in figure 1. Any organisation that is predicting this type of growth needs to understand the implications of what that load growth is doing to their supply chains. For many dominant organisations the visibility they will have for viewing a supplier load profile currently will be restricted to the normal S&OP planning parameters, which is normally three years. For those dominant organisations which are predicting load growth this three year visibility of a supplier load may not be long enough for the supplier to take actions to put the correct level of resources in place to meet the load. Many dominant organisations will conduct quite a number assessment to try and determine if suppliers have what they need to meet the load. The main issue with these assessments is that they are only looking at the short term. None of the assessments will review any key aspects in any get detail. An example of this is where there is lack of in depth reviews between the dominant organisation and supplier around load and capacity planning. The lack of these reviews is one of the main reasons why suppliers are failing to meet the customer requirements. However, short term load and capacity planning is not the answer, as that approach is being reactive, rather being proactive. Dominant organisations need to develop a process where they can share supplier load profile over a longer period than they currently do today. Sharing this type of information will allow the dominant organisation to work with their suppliers to make sure that they have the correct resources in place to meet the load profiles going forward. Having the right resources in place at the right time is not just people related. Resources can mean required funds to purchase new capital equipment to grow an organisations capacity, through to possibly growing the organisations footprint by building a new bigger facility. Any of these activities to grow capacity takes significant amounts of time. With this in mind it more imperative for dominant organisations to share demand information beyond the normal S&OP planning parameters. Although organisations will conduct several types of assessments with their suppliers in an attempt to make sure that the suppliers has all the resources in place to meet the load. There is one major area which those assessments fail to cover in any depth, and that is of load and capacity planning. This failure of dominant organisations to review suppliers load and capacity on a regular basis is one of the main reason suppliers are failing to delivery currently. Dominant organisation need to have a process in place that which compiles a supplier’s load profiles for the ten years. From those views of a suppliers load profile then dominant organisation can then have meaningful dialogue about what the actions needs to be completed to enable the supplier to meet the predicted load profiles. Dominant organisations will find that by combining several pieces of information together that they will then be able conduct some rough cut planning to produce the necessary load profiles for their suppliers. However, for meaningful dialogue to take place between dominant organisations and suppliers around load growth there needs to be structured approach adopted. Such a structure needs to be very much geared around load and capacity planning very much like that of dominant organisations own manufacturing facilities

Lawyers, guns and money - advocacy and politics in post-conflict development

Utilising fieldwork in Cambodia, Sierra Leone, and Timor-Leste, this thesis examined the interaction of legal practitioners with the political domain in post-conflict settings. Findings in respect of advocacy roles, the potential for co-optation, and professional division along ethnic, linguistic and partisan lines offer new opportunities for reform of aid programming

Discriminating nursery grounds of juvenile plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) in the south-eastern Irish Sea using otolith microchemistry

Nursery grounds are valuable habitats providing sources of food and refuge during early life stages for many commercially caught marine fish. Distinguishing between different nursery grounds and identifying habitat origin using trace elemental concentrations in aragonite structures of teleost fish has proved valuable in fish ecology and fisheries. This study aimed to (1) compare chemical signatures (elemental fingerprints) within sagittal otoliths of juvenile European plaice Pleuronectes platessa sampled from known nursery habitats in the south-eastern Irish Sea and (2) assess their potential and robustness as natural tags for identifying nursery grounds for the putative south-eastern Irish Sea plaice stock. Otoliths from juvenile plaice (‘1-group’, 6 to 15 cm total length) were obtained from 8 nursery grounds in coastal areas off north-west England and north Wales (including Anglesey) between June and August 2008. Solution-based inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry determined the concentrations of 10 elements (Li, Na, Mg, K, Mn, Zn, Rb, Sr, Sn, Ba), with significant differences in otolith element composition observed between all nursery grounds. Cross-validation linear discriminant function analysis (CV-LDFA) classified fish to their nursery ground of capture (46.2 to 93.3%), with a total group CV-LDFA accuracy of 71.0%. CV-LDFA between regions (north-west England and north Wales) classified fish with 82% accuracy. The discrimination of juvenile plaice from all 8 nursery grounds within the south-eastern Irish Sea using otolith microchemistry offers significant opportunities in the development of future effective fisheries management strategies through understanding the supply of juveniles from specific nursery grounds and adult plaice in the south-eastern Irish Sea