001. Theses
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Item Open Access University teachers’ perception of assessment in Kazakhstan(Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education, 2014-07) Makhmetova, ZhadyraAssessment is an integral part of teaching and learning. There have been many research studies worldwide conducted on assessment, and specifically focusing on assessment in higher education. Many international research studies focus on the importance of teachers' assessment beliefs and practices. However, this topic has not been researched in Kazakhstan. The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore teachers‟ assessment beliefs and practices of assessment approaches in one university in Oral town of Kazakhstan. The case study design was conducted, and it enabled the researcher to undertake an in-depth exploration of the topic in one university in Oral. Purposefully selected five university teachers were interviewed, and teachers‟ syllabuses were reviewed to gather data. The study thus presents interesting findings about the university teachers‟ assessment beliefs and practices. The findings contribute to the body of knowledge in this field and also offer some key practice and policy implicationsItem Open Access Pairwise Overlap and Misclassification in Cluster Analysis(Nazarbayev University School of Science and Technology, 2015) Akynkozhayev, BirzhanSeparation of data into distinct groups is one of the most important tools of learning and means of obtaining valuable information from data. Cluster analysis studies the ways of distributing objects into groups with similar characteristics. Real-world examples of such applications are age separation of a population, loyalty grouping of customers, classification of living organisms into kingdoms, etc. In particular, cluster analysis is an important objective of data mining, which focuses on studying ways of extracting key information from data and converting it into some more understandable form. There is no single best algorithm for producing data partitions in cluster analysis, but many that perform well in various circumstances (Jain, 2008). Many popular clustering algorithms are based on an iterative partitioning method, where single items are moved step-by-step from one cluster to another based on optimization of some parameter. One of such algorithms, which will be mentioned in this paper is K-means algorithm, where data points are partitioned based on optimization of sum of squared distances within clusters (MacQueen, 1967). Another large class of algorithms are based on finite mixture model clustering methods. For example, stochastic emEMclustering method, which will also be covered in this article, is based on maximum likelihood estimation of statistical model parameters (Melnykov & Maitra). Misclassification of data is not a rare situation in cluster analysis. For instance, we can observe that several points have been misclassified on the previous figure (Figure 1) of true partition (a) versus the solution found by the K-means algorithm (b). Various factors lead to misclassification in clustering algorithms. The main goal of this paper is to analyze the effect of pairwise overlap, number of dimensions of data, and number of clusters on misclassification. The simplest case where misclassification can occur is when there are two clusters. The overlap is exact in this case, thus, we proceeded to use one of the simplest algorithms – K-means. At the higher number of clusters, when overlap is estimated, we considered more complex emEM algorithmItem Open Access Multiple Point Compression on Elliptic Curves(Nazarbayev University School of Science and Technology, 2015) Otemissov, AdiletThe paper aims at developing new point compression algorithms which are useful in mobile communication systems where Elliptic Curve Cryptography is employed to achieve secure data storage and transmission. Compression algorithms allow elliptic curve points to be represented in the form that balances the usage of memory and computational power. The two- and three-point compression algorithms developed by Khabbazian, Gulliver and Bhargava [4] are reviewed and extended to generic cases of four and five points. The proposed methods use only basic operations (multiplication, division, etc.) and avoids square root finding. In addition, a new two-point compression method which is heavy in compression phase and light in decompression is developed.Item Open Access Stable holomorphic polynomials on the half-plane and generalizations(Nazarbayev University School of Science and Technology, 2015-04) Kairzhan, AdilbekThe study of locations of zeroes of functions became popular among mathematicians many years ago. This investigation contributes a lot to wide range of theories and topics in Mathematics and Physics.Item Open Access Boundary Element Method for Stokes Flow in Incompressible Newtonian Fluids(Nazarbayev University School of Science and Technology, 2015-04) Tazhimbetov, Nurbek AkhmetulyIn this thesis, I present different discretization techniques for boundary integral method for Stokes flow in case of an incompressible Newtonian fluid. Boundary integral method (BIM) is one of many techniques that are used to solve Partial Differencial Equations (PDE) numerically. However, the basic advantage of the BIM is that it reduces the problem from n-dimensional domain to n - 1; for example, the two-dimensional square-box that contains viscous liquid can be solved by using the values of an unkown function at the boundary of square. Nevertheless, the BIM exhibits some challenges in finding the Green's function for a particular domain or differential operator, solving the integral equations and, especially, in computing the values of a complex domain. The latter one is quite diffcult because the flow diverges at corners (exhibits singularity). The goal of this work is to derive general analytical solution for Stokes equation (in integral equations form) and to compute the discretized integral equations using different quadrature rules for cavity problem.Item Restricted TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION IN A KAZAKHSTANI SECONDARY SCHOOL(Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education, 2015-07) Mustafina, AliyaThe government of the Republic of Kazakhstan from 1997 started operating a systematic state policy for informatization of education. Many scholarly papers show that the success of the educational reform efforts depend not only on the ability of the government to supply all schools with ICT, but also on the ability to make teachers possess positive attitudes toward ICT integration. This study contributes to the existing knowledge by providing a current picture of the process of ICT integration in Kazakhstani secondary schools through the lens of the main facilitators of this process – teachers...Item Open Access MOVING OBJECT DETECTION USING BIT PLANE SLICING(Nazarbayev University School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, 2016) Dastanova, NazgulThis thesis presents moving object detection algorithm using bit plane extraction of successive frames and comparing the respective bit planes by XOR operation. The proposed method works on 8-bit grayscale video frames obtained from a static camera. This algorithm is able to detect the motion of single and multiple objects in outside and inside environments. Algorithm has been implemented in MATLAB by using several videos from VISOR database and was compared to existing conventional methods to show its effectiveness. Performance of an algorithm was evaluated based on ground truth metrics and results in terms of sensitivity, specificity, positive prediction and accuracy proved the validity of it. Results show that the proposed algorithm performs better in terms of mentioned metrics in comparison to other algorithms.Item Open Access MOVING OBJECT DETECTION WITH MEMRISTIVE CROSSBAR ARRAYS(Nazarbayev University School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, 2016) Duisenbay, SultanThis thesis is dedicated to the hardware implementation of a novel moving object detection algorithm. Proposed circuit includes several stages, each of which implements a particular step of the algorithm. Four higher bit planes are extracted from a grayscale image and stored in memristive crossbar arrays, and the respective bit planes are compared via memristive threshold logic gates in XOR configuration. In the next stage, compared bit planes are combined by weighted summation, with a highest weight assigned to MSB plane and smaller weights for less significant bit planes. After summation stage, obtained grayscale image is thresholded to obtain binary image. The last stage is implemented via memristive content-addressable memory array, which serves two purposes. It is used as a long-term memory in comparison to crossbar arrays, which serve as a short-term memory of proposed circuit. Content-addressable memory is updated based on the row-by-row difference between first and second pair of frames processed by previous stages. It also allows for analysis of object movement direction and velocity by observing the row capacitors’ discharge. Simulations show that accuracy of proposed circuit operation is increased with the larger array size. Delay analysis of the circuit is carried out, power and area calculations show that proposed circuit is a viable candidate as a co-processing operator for existing image sensors.Item Restricted FEASIBILITY STUDY ON SOLAR ENERGY HARVESTING SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION ON MOVING TRAINS(Nazarbayev University School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, 2016) Kudaibergenov, ZhaksylykThis Thesis is concentrated on feasibility of solar energy harvesting system implementation on top of the moving train. Following study consists of two different ways of solar energy generation. Firstly, solar system consisting of solar panels with supplementary equipments (the charge controllers, batteries, inverters) is fitted to the roof of train coaches to supply its internal energy requirement, and secondly, solar system is implemented over the shelter of platform in train stations to feed the railway grid. Then solar-powered train travels on two specific key routes from south to the north and from south to the west of Kazakhstan are simulated and studied in detail. Above described method has practical challenges in facing variable air temperature, solar radiation and sunshine hours. This data is obtained from the NASA database, and the variable parameters for each station are calculated in MATLAB. Afterwards, the entire solar system is simulated in MATLAB Simulink and the total required investment is calculated including costs of all equipments. The return investment time is calculated according to the power generated from solar system and saved money from fuel economy. Moreover, solar-powered train shows the significant cut of carbon dioxide emission because of the fuel economy. Both of the payback time and decreasing of CO2 emission reveal the benefits of investment.Item Restricted EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF VLC SYSTEMS WITH CAMERA RECEIVER(Nazarbayev University School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, 2016) Bekkaliyev, TalgatCurrent fluorescent and incandescent lamps are being replaced by solid state Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), which offers much higher energy efficiency and longer lifespan. Apart from that LEDs are able to switch on and off at rapid rates. Such capability has given a lift to new communication technology - Visible Light Communication (VLC). LED serves as a transmitter, by providing high throughput data transfer, while photodiode or optical camera are utilized as a receiver. This thesis experimentally investigates a VLC system that uses a camera receiver. We first analyze the system with simple On-Off Keying (OOK) technique and further propose an alternative technique – Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM), which increases the data rate and avoids visible flickering. Furthermore, this thesis investigates VLC exploiting rolling shutter mechanism of CMOS images sensors with OOK. The Bit Error Rate (BER) performance and some characteristics of systems are presented. Next, VLC utilizing rolling shutter mechanism with Color-Shift Keying (CSK) is developed. Such a system achieved substantially higher data rates compared to VLC exploiting rolling shutter mechanism with OOK.Item Open Access FEASIBILITY STUDY ON WIND ENERGY HARVESTING SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION IN MOVING TRAINS(Nazarbayev University School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, 2016) Nurmanova, VeneraFeasibility study on implementing wind power generation on moving train is discussed in this Thesis. Wind turbines installation over the train roof is suggested and tested from different aspects. Practical aspects of wind energy utilization are discussed and challenges are highlighted. Calculations of wind power generation for wagon roof mounted turbine are provided and air drag of turbine is discussed. Simulation study is performed in SolidWorks environment to explore air drag influence of wind turbines on moving train. Simulation of wind power generation is also conducted in MATLAB Simulink. Analytically the generated power is compared to mechanical power required to overcome the extra air drag caused by wind turbines over the train wagons. Economical profit of the suggested design is also discussed in detail. The fuel economy and resultant decrease of the carbon dioxide emission have shown the reasonableness of investments on wind turbine implementation on the passenger trains. The payback period calculations for different scenarios are also discussed at the end.Item Open Access LTE IN UNLICENSED BANDS: A RIVAL OR COLLABORATOR TO WI-FI?(Nazarbayev University School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, 2016) Karabayev, Omar-SayanDue to the rapidly increasing demand for internet traffic, mobile operators have faced a problem of bandwidth availability. Since only licensed spectrum has been previously utilized by wireless networks, moving LTE to the 5 GHz unlicensed bands has become a popular research initiative, known as LTELicensed Assisted Access (LTE-LAA). This thesis studies the feasibility and implementation of LTE-LAA, and sets a goal of confirming the effectiveness of this technology. An alternative implementation of a Listen-Before-Talk channel contention mechanism is tested in this work with the use of LTE-A Vienna Link Level Simulator. The obtained results suggest that LTE-LAA is capable of boosting network throughput while providing harmonious coexistence with the IEEE 802.11 standard operating in the same unlicensed spectrum.Item Restricted PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF HYBRID VLC/RF SYSTEMS(Nazarbayev University School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, 2016) Ashimbayeva, AigerimThe thesis is dedicated to analysis and comparison between hard switching and soft switching methods for hybrid VLC/RF systems. VLC communication is well known for its efficient high data rate service for use in indoor environment, however it is vulnerable to the line-of-sight obstruction. Its counterpart, RF communication, is easy to implement and efficient as a back up means. Optimization of the VLC/RF heterogeneous systems in terms of the overall throughput is the novelty in the field of related studies on VLC technology based hybrid systems. It allows not only to improve the system’s bit rate but also to find the most favorable initial parameters for a system. The results of simulations performed reveal the remarkable superiority of the soft switching scheme and VLC-RF throughput functions interrelationship.Item Open Access Monstrous femininity in kazakh folklore: delineating normative and transgressive womanhood(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2016) Karazhanova, InzhunaRepresentations of the feminine as monstrous can be found in any type of narrative from ancient mythology to modern video games. Witches, succubi, female vampires, sirens, furies, mermaids, possessed women, ghost women, etc. represent the female body and womanhood as Other, grotesque and abject, as well as demonise women who live in transgression to normative constraints of a patriarchal society. This work looks at the images of the monstrous-feminine within the Kazakh fairy tale: Zhalmauyz Kempir, Zheztyrnaq and Albasty—and argues that how these characters are presented, situated and treated in their narratives can tell us what is deemed acceptable and what is considered as violation of the established gender order. Through examining these characters, the conditions for the different representations and roles they inhabit, as well as comparing them to idealised positive heroines, this work seeks to identify how femininity and womanhood are represented in Kazakh folklore, and what those representations can tell us about gender roles, relations, and attitudes to female desire, power, autonomy and transgression of social norms.Item Open Access Captivity and empire: Russian captivity narratives in fact and fiction(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2016) Gao, YuanThis thesis studies Russian captivity narratives about Central Asia produced during the nineteenth century. Focusing on the captivity theme, this thesis explores diverse individual captivity stories written within the grand context of Russia’s expansion into Central Asia. It aims to show that captivity narratives not only tell of the vulnerability and uncertainty of the empire during its expansion, but also reveal the rapid shift of power in Central Asia in the nineteenth century. They witness Russian captives’ growing awareness of Central Asia as a site of Russia’s future colonization, and the captives’ self-awareness of their Russian and imperial identity...Item Open Access Juggling risk: lay perceptions of ecological and health risk in post-soviet mono-industrial Temirtau(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2016) Prilutskaya, XeniyaTemirtau is a mono-industrial post-Soviet city in Central Kazakhstan. Its large steel mill has caused serious environmental pollution for several decades already. This thesis focuses on how residents of Temirtau think about and deal with environmental and health risk. It considers how environmental discourse began to develop during the Soviet era and how it changed across the post-Soviet years, emphasizing the influence of political and cultural factors. Based on the analysis of the media discourses on environmental problems and industrial risks in Temirtau starting from the 1980s until the late 1990s, I argue that although Temirtau has not experienced natural or anthropogenic disaster such as those witnessed in Chernobyl or Fukushima, nevertheless Temirtau residents experienced a breakdown in public trust over the period from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. This breach of trust was connected with Perestroika and Glasnost.Item Open Access Burabay national park. Experiments in tourism, nationbuilding, and informal economy(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2016) Nurmukhanov, NursultanThis work analyzes how environment and society interact with each other focusing on the case of Burabay National Park. Based on the field research and numerous interviews, this work demonstrates how seemingly disparate notions of top-down nation-building and tourism development have shaped into a site with unique attributes. One part of the picture is the puzzle of how nation-building process fostered by other variables such as tourism development and environmental awe could give a birth to completely new objects of sacral landscape that operate in terms similar to other famous pilgrimage destinations in the Central Asia. The other part is development of the informal economy and a set of principals according to which the local society has to operate in order to be competitive in the National Park. I believe that the findings of this work could significantly contribute to the as yet very limited literature on tourism development in Kazakhstan as well as provide analysis of an interesting case of a nation-building process.Item Open Access Strategic ambivalence above, selective implementation below: an institutional analysis of Kazakhstan`s policy toward skilled labor(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2016) Issabekova, MakhabbatAiming at entering the top thirty most competitive economies in the world by 2050 Kazakhstan faces a problem of inadequate human capital. However, an objective demand for foreign skilled workers notwithstanding, Kazakhstan fails to attract as many of them as its labor market needs. Driven by this puzzle, the given study analyzes labor migration policy of Kazakhstan regarding skilled workers. It attempts to explain what factors make Kazakhstani labor migration policy ineffective under the condition when skilled foreign workers are needed. Two main factors influence the outcomes of labor migration policy implementation: decentralized decision-making and strategic ambiguity. Transferring the function of policy implementation to local-level bureaucratic institutions the state not only shifts its responsibilities to bureaucrats but also provides them with a certain degree of autonomy and discretion. However, the state and its institutions have no a coherent vision of the national interest in labor migration. Bureaucrats concerned with their professional duties have a more protectionist stance on foreign specialists’ inflows. Meanwhile, aimed at increasing these inflows the state ensures its interest through strategic ambiguity in its discourse and practices. It allows the state to reconcile an economic need in more foreign skilled workers with a political demand for a more restrictive labor migration policy. Thus, starting from above ambiguity is manipulated by local bureaucrats to meet their professional and, occasionally, personal interests when implementing the policy. As a result, the state fails to attract the needed numbers of foreign specialists. In other words, the policy through which the state aims to achieve its goals turns to be ineffective. This thesis demonstrates that an institutional approach with an emphasis on the bureaucratic model of decision-making is a better way to understand the reasons of labor migration policy ineffectiveness in Kazakhstan. However, it also shows that when bureaucrats are involved in the policy-making process the findings from this case can be applied to the countries other than Kazakhstan and public policies other than migrationItem Open Access U.S. Covert Actions: The Explosure Effect and the President`s popularity(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2016) Sharipov, AibarDoes the revelation of covert actions affect a leader’s popularity? The primary purpose of this study is to investigate whether such effect exists and, if yes, to determine the extent to which it has an influence on the U.S. President’s popularity. This thesis consists of preliminary case classification part, from which I proceed to my qualitative studies of the matter. The case classification part consists of 16 cases of U.S. covert actions during the Cold War period. I classify my cases based on whether they have been exposed or not, as well as I look whether their exposure had an effect on the U.S. President’s popularity. If there was an effect, I further differentiate them depending on their regime type. This procedure helped me to select my two in-depth case studies. I have conducted two in-depth case studies of U.S. covert actions in Chile (1970-73) and Nicaragua (1980s). Throughout the case studies, I have examined the effect of exposure on popularity in the following dimensions: media coverage, congressional investigations, presidential approval ratings, and election results. Based on the results of case studies, it is concluded that the disclosure of covert actions had a less significant effect that lasted on a temporary basis and did not have a major impact in a longer perspective. Overall, this study advances our understanding of causal mechanisms that shape the effect of covert actions’ exposure in influencing a U.S. President’s popularity.Item Open Access The formation of interregional trade agreements: which factors provoke trade blocs to cooperate?(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2016) Abilkassymov, BekzadaRecently we have observed cooperation between trade blocs as the European Union, the Andean Community, Mercosur, ASEAN and others. These actors have started to negotiate a possibility of trade agreements between each other. What did provoke regional trade blocs to form and proliferate this kind of arrangements in trade? How it can be explained through a theoretical standpoint of international relations? I attempt to answer for these questions in this paper. Generally, the research constructs an explanation for the formation of interregional trade agreements through bargaining theory by emphasizing the roles of trade gains, depth of integration within a bloc, a level of developments, membership and disputes history in the WTO. The results demonstrate positive and significant influence of trade gains, depth of integration and membership in the WTO, while disputes history affected significantly but negatively interregional cooperation. There is an important implication for policy-makers in applying this information for calculation of possible trade agreements between blocs