Dissertations / Theses on the topic '70H11'

Two configurations for a unicycle, a class of nonholonomic systems, is looked into. The first configuration is the case where the generalized coordinates consists of four parameters, while the other configurations consists of five. For both systems the equations of motion are calculated. Then a method for parameterizing a desired path for the systems using a synchronization function among all degrees of freedom is shown. A set of equations to find feasible trajectories keeping the desired path virtually constrained is calculated. It is then shown for the four degree of freedom system how to compute the transverse linearization, which can be used for orbital stabilization of a desired motion consisting of circular orbits or straight paths. A way to compute a periodic controller for a linear time varying system is derived, and a set of controllers are tried out on the four degree of freedom unicycle with negative result.

Over the past thirty years the reliance on Information Communication Technologies (ICT’s) has generated a new form of waste called e-waste. E-waste is one of the fastest growing waste streams. It is well known that ICT’s contain materials that, without proper care, are harmful to the environment. The EU responded to these concerns through the creation of the Waste of Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) Directive, introduced into the UK in 2006. WEEE aims to control electrical and electronic waste through the promotion of reducing, reuse, recycling and recovery. The intention is to improve the environmental profile of those operating within the waste sector with the intention of protecting soil, water and air pollution and to preserve valuable resources. Despite the raised awareness of the problems e-waste contributes globally there is a limited understanding of the significance of the growth of the new form of waste and, specifically, local enactments of waste management. The focus of this thesis is how six organizations within the computer recovery sector have adopted the WEEE legislation. Insights from neo-institutional theory provide an aid to understanding the impact that the legislation has had on the working practices of six organisations dealing with e-waste. An action research approach was adopted for the field research as a means of collecting and analysing qualitative data. In this thesis three arguments are developed. First is that the implementation of the WEEE legislation rests upon the initial categorization of a computer at the point of disposal. Categories relating to waste are not static, but constantly evolving as local negotiation takes place between dominant actor groups. The findings support how categorization determines the trajectory of a computer and plays a crucial role in influencing and reinforcing the boundaries around associated working practices. Second, that the WEEE legislation has created a framework through which institutional entrepreneurs have been able to both bring about changes in their organisation but also to stabilise specific working practices. Institutional entrepreneurs achieve this by mobilising changes to the products and services their organization offers in the context of an emergent institutional field and by reinforcing their occupational identity. Third, that legislation has raised awareness of the complexity of computer design and the multiplicity of disposal practices, but it has also reinforced long-standing associations of waste as a particular type of occupation with specific organizational practices.

Cancer of the brain and CNS account for only 2% of new cancer cases in the UK however it is responsible for 7% of cancer deaths of those aged under 70 years of age. Although surgery falls short of a cure it is the primary method of treatment. Two of the key problems in tumour surgery in the brain are a) that many tumours are visually indistinguishable from normal tissue even for experienced surgeons and b) that the risk of post-surgical neurological deficit is related to the proximity of functional (or 'eloquent') neurological tissue. In collaboration with surgeons at the Southampton University NHS Hospitals Trust we seek to address both of these problems. Firstly there is literature evidence that normal and neoplastic tissue have different spectral characteristics in the visible and near-infrared region. We investigate whether these can be practically imaged intraoperatively to establish disease state. Secondly the redox state of haemoglobin is known to affect it's visible and near-infrared spectral characteristics. This project investigates whether it is possible to identify the haemodynamic response associated with functional activity intraoperatively in the human brain. Prion diseases are fatal chronic neurodegenerative diseases of animals and man. They have gained notoriety due to recent outbreaks of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and the evidence that they can be transmitted between species, including to man. Exposure to BSE infected material has been shown to cause variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease in man. Prion disease is also used as a model of other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimers disease. Remarkably little is known about this class of disease including the specific cause of the neurodegeneration. Prions are a mis-folded protein which have a different conformation than the normal protein. Certain spectral features in the mid infrared region are associated with protein conformation. In collaboration with neuro-biologists within the university and using a synchrotron light source we investigate the application of multispectral imaging in early stage prion disease. By analysis of the protein conformation sensitivity of the mid infrared spectra (with particular interest in the Amide I band) we seek to identify structurally relevant markers in a mouse model before clinical symptoms of the disease are evident. This may lead to better understanding of the disease progression and the neurotoxic element

Muratori concepisce Studi per una operante storia del territorio come una lettura del territorio, una sua interpretazione. E’ una raccolta di disegni (255 disegni a mano e 18 prove di stampa), in cui sono riportati soltanto i tratti rilevanti dei territori considerati al fine dello studio. La tesi ha come obiettivo quello di compiere un’analisi filologica dei documenti e cercare di cogliere le finalità, valutando la sua attendibilità ai giorni nostri. Nella scelta del titolo, Studi per una operante storia del territorio. Il libro incompiuto di Saverio Muratori,inserendo nel titolo quello originale dell'opera, si rende esplicita l’intenzione filologica di base da cui si sviluppano le considerazioni fatte nello svolgimento di questa ricerca, costantemente attenta alla coerenza con i disegni analizzati. Questa coerenza è dettata dalla volontà di perseguire le logiche di confronto che hanno caratterizzato il lavoro di Muratori. Il titolo che descrive il corpus dei disegni mette in primo piano il sistema uomo-natura, che il territorio rappresenta nella sua totalità di unicum. La tesi è suddivisa in due parti. La prima verte sullo studio dei materiali d’archivio relativi agli Studi sul territorio, in cui è spiegato il metodo di catalogazione utilizzato. Fondamentale, ai fini di un primo approccio alla ricerca, è il contributo dato dall’architetto Alessandro Giannini attraverso la preliminare schedatura del materiale ed dell'analisi riportata in Leggendo le minute dell’Atlante del territorio di Saverio Muratori. La seconda parte della tesi verte su un percorso dialettico tra la filosofia, la teoria, la didattica e la pratica progettuale di Muratori, ambiti da tenere in considerazione per una interpretazione critica alla sua metodologia, che ha come fine ultimo il reale, quindi il territorio, in cui trova, prima attraverso la trattazione teorica esposta in Civiltà e territorio, la concreta conclusione nei disegni degli Studi per una operante storia del territorio.
The aim of this thesis is to provide an analysis of the drawings that compose Muratori’s Studi per una operante storia del territorio, a study which he conceived as a way to both read and interpret the territory. Studi per una operante storia del territorio is an unfinished project, and consists of a collection of (255 drawings and 18 printed materials) drawings, extensively studied here for the first time. The research presented here aims at providing a philological analysis of these drawings, so as to identify and reconstruct the thesis put forward by Muratori – the project, being incomplete, does not include a written description of the drawings. In his project Muratori focusses on reality by comparing his research with different aspects of society, and by critically evaluating comparison between his theoretical approach and the analysis, for the practical applications . This thesis - whose title (Studi per una operante storia del territorio. The unfinished book by Saverio Muratori) follows Muratori’s theoretical stance – is divided into two parts. The first section is devoted to the materials included in Studi per una operante storia del territorio, and to the method used for cataloguing the drawings. Crucial to the study presented here is Leggendo le minute dell’Atlante del territorio di Saverio Muratori, written by Alessandro Giannini: in this book (first published in this thesis) Giannini, assistant of Muratori, provides a detailed overview of the cataloguing process, and of the method used for the analysis. The second section presents an itinerary of the philosophical, theoretical, didactical and practical background of Muratori. This is needed to interpret and critically evaluate his methodology, whose final aim is the study of the “real” (i.e. the territory). First approached in Civiltà e territorio, this topic is finalised in Studi per una operante storia del territorio.

Novel paramagnetic lanthanide complexes have been synthesised for use as probes for magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy. Initially, complexes containing a trifluoromethyl group were examined for 19F MRI/S, due to the large chemical shift range, favourable NMR properties, and the absence of a background signal in vivo. The use of paramagnetic lanthanide ions increases relaxation rates, allowing faster acquisition times and increased signal intensity per unit time. In addition, chemical shift non-equivalence is enhanced, which is important for the development of responsive probes. Examples are presented that report selectively on changes to citrate concentration levels in the presence of other anions or signal enzyme hydrolysis. To improve signal intensity for in vivo applications, conjugate systems have been developed containing a number of fluorinated lanthanide complexes covalently bound to high molecular weight adducts (glycol chitosan, PAMAM dendrimer). These systems resulted in one major species being observed in solution, despite the broad molecular weight ranges exhibited by these polymeric entities. Preliminary in vivo MRI studies in animal models were undertaken with the glycol chitosan conjugate. In order to enhance the signal further, a set of fluorinated complexes was synthesised containing a pyridyl moiety designed to increase the rigidity of the overall system, thereby reducing dynamic exchange broadening. Additionally, the 19F NMR spectra of these complexes displayed much larger lanthanide induced shifts than observed for the previous systems. By substituting the CF3 group for a tert-butyl moiety, the corresponding 1H NMR signal was shifted well beyond the standard diamagnetic range, leading to the development of a new series of complexes for use as 1H MRI and MRS probes. These complexes have been applied to preliminary in vivo MRI studies. A further system has been developed that displays pH-dependent behaviour, observed by both 1H NMR spectroscopy and in phantom imaging studies.

This thesis attempts to study, in a comprehensive manner, the EEZ rule in both the LOS Convention and in state practice. Its central aim is to try to establish with exactitude the scope of the rule that has been taken into international custom. In this respect, after giving in chapter one a short exposé on the prevailing rules of the law of the sea that had governed all maritime spaces before UNCLOS III, serving as a background against which a better apprehension of the LOS Convention's EEZ provisions can be attained, an analysis of the rights of both coastal states and third states in the EEZ and their corresponding duties is provided in chapters two and three respectively. It has been asserted that, although a coastal state by claiming an EEZ would only enjoy specific functional rights, viz., the fields of activities they are connected with are explicitly defined, the vagueness often found in the wording of the Convention makes the situation not clear in all respects. While such a phenomenon may widen the functional limitations placed upon the general right of freedom of the high seas, it does not seem, however, to have any bearing on the high seas quality of the principal freedom of overflight, of laying cables and pipelines, and the freedom of navigation. Chapter four is a thorough examination and analysis of state practice as evidenced in EFZ and EEZ claims against the yardstick of LOS Convention. This is followed by a last chapter determining the scope of the rule that has been picked up in the new custom relating to the EEZ. In this connection, it is asserted that state practice gives strong evidence that a general right to claim a jurisdictional maritime zone as defined in Articles 55 and 57 of the LOS Convention, viz., extending seaward up to 200 miles from the baselines, is firmly established in international customary law.

Nell’area dell’ingegneria tissutale si sta affermando una nuova tecnica che consiste nell’utilizzo di scaffold per la rigenerazione dell’apparato renale. Nella presente tesi, dopo un’introduzione fatta sulle terapie per la sostituzione renale, sono state analizzate le tecniche, le caratteristiche e presentati i risultati finora raggiunti nella decellularizzazione e ricellularizzazione di scaffold renali.

The research has explored the reality of generational renewal in agriculture in order to understand the entry process, the agricultural practices of young people and their attitudes toward a new agrosocial paradigm. The methodology combined qualitative and quantitative techniques based on a comparative analysis between Southern Ontario (Canada) and Catalonia (Spain). The first result is that the pathway to become a farmer is a process consisting of different phases where each profile shows different needs and abilities. The second result verifies how the practices and attitudes of young people vary depending on the family origin. The thesis also analyzes the most relevant results in policy terms. Finally the research shows the reality of an emerging group of young farmers who put in practice a new agrosocial paradigm. This group is made up by continuers and newcomers and we have called them "New peasantry".
La tesi doctoral ha explorat la realitat del relleu generacional de l’activitat agrària per entendre el procés d’incorporació, les pràctiques agràries de les persones joves i les actituds vers un nou paradigma agrosocial. La metodologia combina tècniques qualitatives i quantitatives a partir d'una anàlisi comparatiu entre el sudoest d'Ontario (Canadà) i les comarques gironines (Catalunya). El primer resultat és que el camí d’incorporació és un procés format per diferents fases on cada perfil de jove mostra unes necessitats i unes aptituds diferents. El segon resultat verifica com les pràctiques i les actituds dels joves varien en funció de l’origen familiar. La tesi també analitza les implicacions en termes politics dels resultats més rellevants. Finalment es mostra la realitat d’un grup emergent de joves que s’incorporen a l’activitat agraria possant en pràctica un nou paradigma agrosocial. Aquest grup emergent està format per pagesia tradicional i nouvinguda i s’anomena “Nova pagesia”.

Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Faculty of Arts, Department of Media, Music, and Cultural Studies, 2009.
Bibliography: p. 303-332.
Carnal transcendence and sexual difference -- An amorous exchange -- Angels playing with placentas -- Fluid subjects -- Poetics -- Oneiric spaces -- Conclusion.
Carnal transcendence imagines a world in which the carnal has the weight and value of transcendence, and the divine is as liveable and readily evoked as the carnal. Carnal transcendence offers a means of thinking through difference in the work of Luce Irigaray, who asks: "why and how long ago did God withdraw from carnal love?" (1991a, p 16). This thesis argues that Irigaray enables her readers to explore the relationship between carnality, transcendence and difference, but resists elaborating it in her work. Carnal transcendence as difference risks remaining an exercise in rhetoric, rather than the transformative and creative philosophy that Irigaray imagines. -- Irigaray's resistance to the carnal is evident in her arguments for sexual difference, which offers our "salvation" if we think it through, and heralds "a new age of thought, art, poetry, and language: the creation of a new poetics" (1993a, p 5). Note the language of transcendence used here. When considered in the light of carnal transcendence, sexual difference imagines a differently sexed culture. This thesis argues that Irigaray's writing is contradictory on this point: it articulates the plurality of women's sexuality, but emphatically excludes theories of sex and gender that emphasise multiplicity. This thesis challenges these limitations by exploring the possibilities of the "other" couple in Irigaray's writing-mother and daughter - for thinking through carnal transcendence as difference. -- This thesis not only explicates a theoretical model for carnal transcendence as difference; it also attempts to put into practice a poetics - a playful rewriting of theory. This celebrates the carnality of Irigaray's writing - evident in her complex imagery of the two lips, mucus, the placenta and angels-and enables an exploration of the philosophical space of the "new poetics" that Irigaray is attempting to engender.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
332 p. ill (some col.)

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1998.
Includes bibliographical references (v. 2, leaves 254-260).
In 1992, the National Commission on Severely Distressed Public Housing (NCSDPH) clearly established the need to revitalize some of the most distressed and isolated housing environments in the U.S. In response, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) created HOPE VI, initially a demonstration program that evolved to support revitalization and integration models not only for the dilapidated projects, but also for the equally distressed surrounding neighborhoods. This dissertation seeks to illustrate the complexity of implementing integration efforts that seek to reverse public housing isolation by addressing two premises: 1) the integration of public housing constitutes a complex social, economic, cultural and physical matter that can, nonetheless, be clarified and coherently categorized with the help of a cross-national sample of fifteen HOPE VI revitalization efforts; and 2) public housing isolation is a multi-faceted issue that can best be understood through careful historical and morphological analysis of an individual public housing development, such as Boston's Mission Main. The dissertation is structured to highlight the mechanisms of an "isolation to integration" dynamic by analyzing, in its first part, pre-redevelopment isolation conditions and integration strategies for a fifteen-city sample (Chapters 2 and 3); and, in its second part, by detailing that dynamic for the Mission Main case (Chapters 4 and 5). More specifically, Chapter 1 traces the origins of an isolationist project mentality and its impact on design during sixty years of policymaking. Chapter 2 introduces pre redevelopment conditions as well as revitalization strategies for each of the sampled developments. Chapter 3 classifies integration strategies according to physical, socioeconomic and organizational variables. Finally, Chapter 4 investigates the roots of present day isolation in Mission Main, while Chapter 5 details the complex implementation process that characterized the Boston example. Results show that public housing isolation has origins outside the development, as revealed by morphological analysis of embedded external forces; and that re-designing the social and physical connection between project and neighborhood is a complex process influenced as much by pre-redevelopment conditions as by the desires of residents, designers or policymakers to foster integration.
by Geneviève Vachon.
Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology, 2012.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references.
The delivery of nucleic acids has the potential to revolutionize medicine by allowing previously untreatable diseases to be clinically addressed. Viral delivery systems have been held back by immunogenicity and toxicity concerns, but synthetic vectors have lagged in transfection efficiency. This thesis describes the rational design and systematic study of three classes of bioresponsive polymers for nucleic acid delivery. A central theme of the study was understanding how the structure of the polymers impacted each of the intracellular steps of delivery, rather than solely the end result. A powerful tool for efficiently quantifying endosomal escape was developed and applied to each of the material systems described. First, a linear-dendritic poly(amido amine) -poly(ethylene glycol) (PAMAM-PEG) block copolymer system previously developed in our lab was evaluated and its ability to overcome the sequential barriers of uptake, endosomal escape, and nuclear import were characterized. Next, a class of crosslinked linear polyethyleimine (xLPEI) hyperbranched polymers, which can contain disulfideresponsive linkages, were synthesized and investigated. It was demonstrated that free polymer in solution, not the presence of a functional bioresponsive domain, was responsible for the highly efficient and relatively nontoxic DNA delivery of this promising class of crosslinked polyamines. Finally, this analysis was applied to siRNA delivery by a library of amine-functionalized synthetic polypeptides. The pH-responsive secondary structure, micelle formation, and ester hydrolysis were studied prior to the discrete barrier-oriented analysis of the siRNA delivery potential of this library. It is hoped that the tools, materials, and systemic analysis of structure-function relationships in this thesis will enhance the process of discovery and development of clinically relevant gene carriers.
by Daniel Kenneth Bonner.
Ph.D.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1992.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 83-87).
This thesis is ultimately an exercise in understanding the process of making an urban building in a given context. How can one design a new urban building who might effectively exist in a state of identifiable isolation while also has the adequate physical, social, and symbolic connection to the context at large? For this investigation I have chosen to design a large urban building and work within the context of Back Bay and South End area in Boston, Massachusetts. The method of this thesis is to, firstly, observe the context of this area, and,secondly, translate and transform the understanding of the context into the new proposition. In organizing these observations, translations and transformations, this thesis will rely on three levels of spatial definition. The levels include: --that of city: urban fabric, orientation, volumetric form --that of street: facade, access, height --that of building: spatial structure, building materials The thesis organization is as follows: --the initial investigation at the orientations and volumes of Back Bay and South End area, and the initial design proposition at the orientation and volumetric form of the thesis project --the investigation at the spatial structure of building precedents, and the design proposition, based on the previous proposition, at the spatial structure of the thesis project --the investigation at the facades, accesses and profiles of Boylston street, and the design proposition, based on the previous proposition, at the facade, access and building section of the thesis project --the examination of the final proposition
by Yuan-Kei Luke Tan.
M.Arch.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2012.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 81-83).
The mitigation of greenhouse gases (GHG) and reduced energy consumption in the United States has proven to be a great challenge in the face of climate change. While technological innovation and renewable energy continue to evolve and scale to meet growing energy demands, energy efficiency has been identified as a key resource for achieving climate objectives in a cost-effective and timely manner. Within Massachusetts, much work has been done by regulators, utilities, community groups, businesses, and individuals to enable energy efficiency at various scales and through various frameworks. Yet, for many within the state and across the country, the ability to access efficiency gains has been limited by identified market barriers, program structures, knowledge gaps, supply-chain complexity, perceived benefit and even general apathy towards energy efficiency. As available program resources become more limited and the economy retracts, the need for innovative and sustainable program models has created a moment of opportunity to reconsider the way in which utilities deliver energy efficiency. Based on previous program evaluations, interviews, new case studies, and market information, what follows is an investigation into a proposed retail store model for energy efficiency products and services. This thesis is an investigation into the elements of retail store that could make the model viable in Massachusetts, the benefits and costs of such a model, and a review of how energy efficiency and retail stores work to encourage consumers to purchase efficiency. A proposed retail store, "The Greatest Generation", addresses many of the market transformation barriers for energy efficiency while providing a consumer-focused platform that is scalable, cost-effective for utilities, and more able to penetrate the market for energy efficiency. The development of a pilot utility-funded retail store using a third-party private operator is a viable option within Massachusetts to address climate change.
by Elijah M. Hutchinson.
M.C.P.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1998.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 131-133).
The thesis investigation began with my experience with storytelling. Verbal stories told to me as a child provided a form of cultural continuity. Stories were a way of transferring culture, ideas, religion, morals, and values. The moral of the story changed depending on who was the storyteller. My mother's and later my sister's stories changed depending on my age and my ability to understand. No matter the age, narrative acted as a connection to culture, places, and family. The thesis takes storytelling as an architectural agenda. This leads to the question, Can storytelling be experienced through architecture? The thesis explores the possibility of experiencing storytelling through physical form. The exploration focuses on the act of reading and recording of stories. Providing places for reading and recording is the starting point of the architectural investigation. The program used to explore these issues is a children's shelter in Venice, California. A shelter for children who have been removed from their homes because of abuse, and or neglect. The shelter is a place were storytelling can be re-introduced into the children's lives, since their parents or storytellers are no longer with them.
by Sandra Ventura.
M.Arch.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2004.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The emphasis in South African schools has always been on the development of cognitive abilities of learners. The following two reasons, amongst others, could be responsible for this emphasis: Firstly, the furore over Grade 12 results each year creates the impression that the academic achievement of learners is the ultimate measure of a school's success, and secondly, there is a general belief worldwide that cognitive ability is responsible for a person's success in life. The introduction of emotional intelligence as a field of study more than a decade ago led to new discoveries with regard to factors contributing to success in life. Studies indicated that while cognitive ability played a role in determining life and job success, it was only one of many factors having an influence on success. Many researchers made the conclusion that emotional quotient (EQ) could be as important, or even more important than IQ in determining success in life and the workplace. Consequently, many education authorities worldwide introduced social and emotional learning (SEL) programmes into their school syllabi to enhance the emotional intelligence of their learners. The purpose of this study is to establish whether secondary school learners in the Somerset East district of the Eastern Cape are emotionally intelligent enough to focus on their academic development, cope with life and be successful in the workplace. An empirical study to determine the EQ of 300 secondary school learners from three secondary schools in Somerset East was conducted. Learners completed the self-report questionnaire, the Bar-On EQ-i:YV, to determine their EQ. The results of the study indicated that: • no conclusive evidence could be found to suggest that learners from secondary schools in Somerset East are not emotionally intelligent enough to focus on their academic development • learners are emotionally intelligent enough to cope with life • learners have a need to improve their ability in the realm of interpersonal skills, which could increase their ability to be successful in the workplace. As a result of this research I propose that further studies be conducted to assess the EI of learners and to determine in which realms of EI learners need improvement. Also that SEL programmes be introduced to address specifically those shortcomings in the realms of EI where learners need improvement. It is important that those teachers responsible for developing the EI skills in learners should have the ability to present SEL programmes. Therefore, evaluation of the EI of teachers and development of the EI skills of teachers where necessary, as well as in-service training of teachers to develop their skills to present the SEL programme should take place. This research therefore calls for a greater focus on the development of emotional intelligence of learners, which could lead to improvement of their academic performance, success in coping with life and greater job success.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In Suid-Afrikaanse skole was die klem nog altyd op die ontwikkeling van die kognitiewe vermoëns van leerders. Die volgende twee redes, onder andere, kan verantwoordelik wees hiervoor: Eerstens, die bohaai oor Graad 12 uitslae elke jaar skep die indruk dat akademiese prestasie van leerders die enigste maatstaf is vir 'n skool se sukses, en tweedens, daar is 'n algemene geloof wêreldwyd dat kognitiewe vermoëns verantwoordelik is vir 'n mens se sukses. Die bekendstelling van emosionele intelligensie as 'n studieveld meer as 'n dekade gelede het aan die lig gebring dat ook ander faktore bydra tot sukses in die lewe. Studies het aangetoon dat alhoewel kognitiewe vermoëns 'n rol speel in die bepaling van sukses in 'n persoon se lewe en werk, dit slegs een van 'n reeks faktore is wat 'n invloed het op sukses. 'n Aantal navorsers het tot die gevolg gekom dat emosionele kwosiënt (EQ) net so belangrik of selfs meer belangrik as IK kan wees in die bepaling van sukses in die lewe en die werkplek. Gevolglik het baie opvoedkundige owerhede wêreldwyd sosiale en emosionele leer (SEL) programme by hul sillabusse ingelyf om die emosionele intelligensie van hul leerders te verbeter. Die doel van hierdie studie is om vas te stel of sekondêre skoolleerders in die Somerset- Oos distrik van die Oos-Kaap emosioneel intelligent genoeg is om te fokus op hul akademiese ontwikkeling, opgewasse is vir die lewe en suksesvol kan wees in die werkplek. 'n Empiriese studie om die EQ van 300 sekondêre skoolleerders van drie sekondêre skole in Somerset-Oos te bepaal, was uitgevoer. Om hul EQ te bepaal, het leerders die selfverslag Bar-On EQ-i:YV vraelys voltooi. Die resultaat van die studie toon aan dat: • geen afdoende bewys gevind kon word dat leerders van sekondêre skole in Somerset- Oos nie emosioneel intelligent genoeg is nie, om op hul akademiese ontwikkeling te fokus. • Leerders is emosioneel intelligent genoeg om opgewasse te wees vir die lewe. • Daar is 'n behoefte om leerders se vemoëns met betrekking tot interpersoonlike vaardighede te verbeter, wat kan lei tot 'n verbetering van hul vermoë om suksesvol in die werkplek te wees. Na gelang van hierdie navorsing stel ek voor dat verdere studies gedoen word om die emosionele intelligensie van leerders te bepaal, en sodoende vas te stel in watter areas van emosionele intelligensie leerders ontwikkeling nodig het. Ook dat SEL programme ingestel word om die spesifieke tekortkominge van leerders met betrekking tot die emosionele intelligensie aan te spreek. Dit is verder ook belangrik dat onderwysers wat verantwoordelik is vir die ontwikkeling van EI vaardighede van leerders oor die vermoë moet beskik om SEL programme aan te bied. Daarom is dit nodig dat, waar nodig, evaluering en ontwikkeling van die EI van onderwysers moet plaasvind, sowel as indiens opleiding van onderwysers om hul vaardigheid om SEL programme aan te bied ontwikkel word. Hierdie navorsing vra dus vir 'n groter fokus op die ontwikkeling van die emosionele intelligensie van leerders, wat kan lei tot die verbetering van hul akademiese prestasies, hul beter opgewasse maak vir die lewe, en bydra tot groter sukses in die werkplek.

Les gouvernements se tournent de plus en plus vers les plateformes de médias sociaux telles que Twitter pour diffuser des informations liées à la santé publique au grand public, comme en témoigne la pandémie de la COVID-19. Le but de cet article est de mieux comprendre l’utilisation de Twitter par le gouvernement et les responsables de la santé publique Canadiens comme plate-forme de diffusion de messages pendant la pandémie, et d’explorer l’engagement et le sentiment du public à l’égard de ces messages diffusés. Nous avons examiné les données de 93 comptes Twitter de responsables de la santé publique et du gouvernement au Canada pendant la première vague de la pandémie (du 31 décembre 2019 au 31 août 2020). Nos objectifs étaient les suivants: 1) déterminer les taux d'engagement du public auprès des publications Twitter des gouvernements fédéral et provinciaux/territoriaux du Canada et des responsables de la santé publique, 2) illustrer l'évolution du discours public Canadien pendant la première vague de la pandémie par des tendances d’hashtag et 3) fournir un aperçu de la réaction du public aux tweets des autorités Canadiennes grâce à une analyse des sentiments. Pour atteindre ces objectifs, nous avons extrait des publications Twitter, ainsi que les réponses et les métadonnées qui leurs sont associées, en langue anglaise et française, pendant toute la période de l’étude. Nos résultats suggèrent que les membres du public ont démontré un engagement accru envers les comptes Twitter des officiels fédéraux par rapport aux comptes Twitter des officiels provinciaux et territoriaux. Les analyses des tendances des hashtag ont illustré le changement de sujet dans le discours public Canadien, qui était initialement axé sur les stratégies d'atténuation de la COVID-19 et qui a évolué pour aborder des problèmes émergents tels que les effets de la COVID-19 sur la santé mentale. De plus, nous avons identifié 11 sentiments en réponse aux publications des officiels relatifs à la COVID-19. Cette étude illustre le potentiel de tirer parti des médias sociaux pour comprendre le discours public pendant une pandémie. Nous suggérons que des analyses routinières de telles données peuvent fournir des recommandations en temps réel aux gouvernements et aux responsables de la santé publique sur les sentiments du public lors d'une urgence de santé publique et peuvent aussi fournir des informations utiles sur les comptes/acteurs avec lesquels les membres du public sont le plus engagés, ce qui peut être mis à profit pour diffuser des messages clés.
Governments are increasingly turning to social media platforms such as Twitter to disseminate public health information to the public, as evidenced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this paper is to gain a better understanding of Canadian government and public health officials' use of Twitter as a dissemination platform during the pandemic, and to explore the public's engagement with and sentiment towards these messages. We examined the account data of 93 Canadian public health and government officials during the first wave of the pandemic (December 31, 2019 – August 31, 2020). Our objectives were to: 1) determine the engagement rates of the public with Canadian federal and provincial/territorial governments and public health officials' Twitter posts, 2) illustrate the evolution of the Canadian public discourse during the pandemic's first wave by a hashtag trends and 3) provide insights on the public's reaction to the Canadian authorities' tweets through sentiment analysis. To address these objectives, we extracted Twitter posts, replies and associated metadata available during the study period in both English and French. Our results suggest members of the public demonstrated increased engagement with federal officials' Twitter accounts as compared to provincial/territorial Twitter accounts. Hashtag trends analyses illustrated the topic shift in the Canadian public discourse, which initially focused on COVID-19 mitigation strategies and evolved to address emerging issues such as COVID-19 mental health effects. Additionally, we identified 11 sentiments in response to officials' COVID-19 related posts. This study illustrates the potential to leverage social media to understand public discourse during a pandemic. We suggest that routine analyses of such data can provide real-time recommendations to government and public health officials on public sentiments during a public health emergency and can provide useful insights on the accounts/actors with which members of the public are most engaged, which can be leveraged to disseminate key messages.

Esta dissertação analisa a questão da seleção de modelos GARCH multivariados em termos da perfomance de previsão da matriz de covariância condicional. A aplicação empírica é realizada com 7 retornos de índices de ações envolvendo um conjunto de 34 especificações de modelos para os quais computamos as previsões da variância condicional um passo a frente para uma amostra com 60 observações para cada especificação dos modelos GARCH multivariados. A comparação entre os modelos é baseada no procedimento Model Confidence Set (MCS) avaliado através de duas funções perdas robustas a proxies de volatilidade imperfeitas. O MCS é um procedimento que permite comparar vários modelos simultaneamente em termos de sua habilidade preditiva e determinar um conjunto de modelos estatisticamente semelhantes em termos de previsão, dado um nível de confiança.
This paper considers the question of the selection of multivariate GARCH models in terms of covariance matrix forecasting. In the empirical application we consider 7 series of returns and compare a set of 34 model specifications based on one-step-ahead conditional variance forecasts over a sample with 60 observations. The comparison between models is performed with the Model Confidence Set (MCS) procedure evaluated using two loss functions that are robust against imperfect volatility proxies. The MCS is a procedure that allows both a multiple model comparison in terms of forecasting accuracy and the determination of a model set composed of statistically equivalent models, under a confidence level.

Esta dissertação analisa as relações estabelecidas entre o Programa Mais Educação e o currículo formal escolar. O trabalho também analisa os pressupostos teóricos do Programa Mais Educação e as concepções no interior das escolas sobre saberes escolares e comunitários, educação integral e currículo. As instituições de ensino e o currículo escolar são tomados a partir da perspectiva sociológica, com a contribuição de autores filiados a teorias críticas da educação. A partir da análise relacional, complexifica-se o olhar para a escola como parte de uma sociedade ampla e desigual, cumprindo uma função como instituição cultural, considerando a impossibilidade de desvencilhar cultura e economia. Para tanto, analisa-se a função social do currículo escolar ao selecionar os conhecimentos e considerá-los como aqueles conhecimentos legítimos de serem transmitidos entre gerações. No desenvolvimento da presente pesquisa, encontra-se um resgate histórico da educação integral no Brasil, no qual se situam as influências do Programa Mais Educação. O estudo apresenta igualmente algumas das principais teorias curriculares para, a partir delas, definir o conceito de currículo utilizado para a análise dos documentos e da implantação do Programa Mais Educação. Para descrever o seu processo de implementação nas escolas, foram realizadas entrevistas com monitores, professores comunitários e interlocutores municipais do próprio Programa, assim como com professores e supervisores das três escolas. Os dados obtidos permitem verificar que a falta de orientações claras da Secretaria Municipal de Educação quanto à consolidação de uma política municipal de educação integral e o ingresso de educadores pela via do trabalho voluntário têm impedido, em parte, as escolas de integrarem o Programa Mais Educação ao seu currículo, ao menos no período observado pela presente pesquisa. Nesse sentido, destaca-se a separação que parece constituir duas escolas em um mesmo espaço físico e, ao mesmo tempo, a existência do desejo e da necessidade de que elas se fundam em uma única proposta educacional.
This thesis analyse the relationship between the Brazilian government program “Mais Educação” and the formal school curriculum. It also analyse the theoretical assumptions of the program and some concepts inside schools about school and community knowledge, integral education and curriculum. The education institutions and the school curriculum are taken from a sociological point of view under the contribution of authors related to critical theories of education. From a relational analysis the approach turns complex towards the school institution as part of a broad and unequal society, fulfilling the task as a culture institution, taking into consideration the inability to disentangle culture and economy. To do so, the task of the the social task of the school curriculum is analysed when selecting what is to be taught and when considering which of them are the correct ones to be transferred from generation to generation. In the development of this paper there is a historical review of the integral education in Brazil, in which the influences of the governmental program Mais Educação are present. This study also presents some of the main school curriculum theories to define, from them, the concept of curriculum used in the analysis of the documents and of the implementation of the program Mais Educação. To describe its process of implementation in schools, interviews were conducted with monitors, community teachers and city interlocutors of the program itself. Interviews were also conducted with teachers and advisors of the related schools. The results allow us to verify that the lack of clear guidance from the corresponding city education department, regarding the consolidation of a public policy of integral education, and the entrance of educators via volunteering work have prevented, partially, the schools from integrating the program Mais Educação into their curriculum. In this sense, there is a separation that seems to constitute two schools in a same physical space and, at the same time, the existence of desire and need for them to merge into a single educational proposal.

Quasar outflows are a major candidate for Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) feedback, and their capacity to influence the evolution of their host galaxy depends on the mass-flow rate (M) and kinetic luminosity (E) of the outflowing material. Both quantities require measurement of the distance (R) to the outflow from the central source as well as physical conditions of the outflow, which can be determined using spectral observations of the quasar. This thesis presents spectral analyses leading to measurements of R, M and E for three different quasar outflows. Analysis of LBQS J1206+1052 revealed multiple diagnostic spectral features that could each be used to independently determine R. These diagnostics yielded measurements that were in close agreement, resulting in a robust outflow distance of 840 pc from the central source. This measurement is much larger than predicted from radiative acceleration models (~0.01-0.1 pc), suggesting that outflows appear much farther from the central source than is generally assumed. The outflow in SDSS J0831+0354 was found to carry a kinetic luminosity of 10^45.7 erg/s, which corresponds to 5.2 per cent of the Eddington luminosity of the quasar. This outflow is one of the most energetic outflows to date and satisfies the criteria required to produce AGN feedback effects. A variability study of NGC 5548 revealed an obscuring cloud of gas that shielded the outflow components, dramatically lowering their ionization state. This resulted in the appearance of absorption from the rare element Phosphorus, as well as from sparsely-populated energy levels of CIII and SiIII. These spectral features allowed for an accurate determination of R and for constraints on the ionization phase to be obtained. The latter constraints were used to develop a self-consistent model that explained the variability of all six outflow components during five observing epochs spanning 16 years.
Ph. D.

Objetivo: Validar un cuestionario que permita evaluar el equilibrio alimentario de menús escolares. Metodología: En primer lugar se diseñó el cuestionario para la evaluación del equilibrio alimentario y la clasificación de menús escolares. Se realizó a partir de recomendaciones de organismos oficiales y mediante un panel de expertos en salud pública y nutrición. Se estudió la frecuencia con la que aparecían los distintos grupos de alimentos, técnicas culinarias, la adecuada información de los platos y su combinación. Toda esta información se resumió en un índice y una escala de equilibrio. Posteriormente se evaluó el equilibrio alimentario de los menús escolares de la Comunitat Valenciana con este cuestionario, escogiendo una muestra por conveniencia de 255 menús escolares mensuales. Por último, se estudió la validez de criterio del cuestionario comparando los menús ofrecidos (planificación en papel) con los servidos (fotografías) de una muestra aleatoria de 76 menús. Además, para calcular la fiabilidad se analizó la reproducibilidad (coeficiente de correlación intraclase y de Pearson), de dicha muestra de 255 planificaciones de menús escolares, mediante el grado de acuerdo intraobservador y el grado de acuerdo entre dos observadores. Se completó el análisis de la fiabilidad con el análisis gráfico de Bland-Altman. Resultados: El cuestionario que se propuso constaba de un índice con 17 ítems y una escala de 4 opciones de respuesta: muy poco equilibrado, poco equilibrado, adecuado y equilibrado. La media del índice de equilibrio obtenida fue de 9,19 puntos (DT: 2,29) (puntuación de 0 a 17 puntos). El 78,4% de los menús fueron diseñados por empresas. El 60,4% fueron clasificados como adecuados y el 0,8% equilibrados según la escala. Los menús diseñados por empresas obtuvieron mayor puntuación con el índice de equilibrio (9,49 puntos; DT: 2,22) que los diseñados por colegios (8,13 puntos; DT: 2,22). Obtuvieron mayor puntuación los ubicados en Castellón (10,35 puntos; DT: 2,28) que los de Alicante (9,43 puntos; DT: 2,01) y Valencia (8,86 puntos; DT: 2,4). Solo un 3,1% de los menús estudiados se adecuaban a las recomendaciones de raciones de carne, el 37,6% a las de legumbres, el 49,4% a las de pescado y el 37% a las de fruta. Según las recomendaciones se encontró un exceso de raciones de patatas fritas, arroz, pasta, carne, fritos y lácteos; y un déficit de raciones de legumbres, pescado, pescado azul y fruta. La concordancia entre el menú ofrecido y el servido presentó una coincidencia del 96,1%. La asociación intraobservador mostró un coeficiente de correlación intraclase entre 0,940 y 1, y de Pearson entre 0,900 y 0,990. La comparativa interobservadores reflejó una asociación con valores entre 0,771 y 0,980 para el coeficiente de correlación intraclase (excepto para el ítem combinación de platos con 0,516), y entre 0,895 y 0,845 para el de Pearson (excepto para el ítem combinación de platos con 0,350). El análisis gráfico de Bland-Altman mostró también las altas asociaciones encontradas. Conclusiones: Con este cuestionario el 60,4% de los menús ofertados en la Comunitat Valenciana son adecuados para la población infantil. Para mejorarlos se debería reducir las raciones de patatas fritas, arroz, pasta, carne, fritos y lácteos, e incrementar las de legumbres, pescado, pescado azul y fruta. El cuestionario propuesto es un instrumento completo y fácil de usar, además de válido y fiable para evaluar el equilibrio de menús escolares, siendo también adecuado para clasificarlos.

A lo largo de la historia, la responsabilidad social corporativa ha ido cobrando una mayor importancia para las empresas y las organizaciones, como consecuencia de los cambios sociales que en la ciudadanía se han ido produciendo. Las actividades de las empresas y organizaciones pueden impactar, tanto positiva como negativamente, en las comunidades donde éstas operan, comenzando algunas de ellas a analizar cuáles son dichos impactos con el fin de minimizarlos. Las organizaciones pueden beneficiarse de la implementación de políticas socialmente responsables, siendo algunas de las principales recompensas que éstas podrían obtener al por este hecho la mejora de la reputación y la imagen de marca, la mejora de la satisfacción de sus clientes y empleados, o la posibilidad de influir positivamente en las intenciones comportamentales futuras de los clientes. Aunque a nivel general existe un considerable número de investigaciones alrededor de la responsabilidad social corporativa, se observa un vacío en relación a los estudios de la misma en relación a los centros deportivos. De esta forma, surgió la posibilidad de llevar una investigación que analizara los posibles impactos que la implementación de políticas socialmente responsables puede tener en el sector de los centros deportivos, llevándose a cabo en esta tesis doctoral. Así, la presente investigación analiza los impactos que la responsabilidad social corporativa percibida por los clientes y empleados de centros deportivos tiene sobre la satisfacción de los empleados, la satisfacción de los clientes y cómo ésta influye a su vez en las intenciones comportamentales de los clientes de los centros deportivos. Para dicho estudio, se ha elaborado un cuestionario para el perfil de clientes y otro para el perfil de empleados de centros deportivos, habiéndose administrado a una muestra final de 926 clientes y de 49 empleados. Con el fin de contrastar el modelo teórico propuesto en la investigación, se ha realizado un análisis de ecuaciones estructurales (SEM) para contrastar las relaciones existentes desde la perspectiva de los clientes; y llevado a cabo la técnica de Mínimos cuadrados parciales (PLS) para contrastar las relaciones existentes desde la perspectiva de los empleados. Entre los principales hallazgos derivados de este estudio podríamos citar que la responsabilidad social corporativa percibida por los clientes y empleados de centros deportivos es un constructo multidimensional conformado por los aspectos sociales, económicos y medioambientales percibidos. Asimismo, la responsabilidad social corporativa percibida por los clientes de centros deportivos influye directa y positivamente sobre la satisfacción del cliente y que ésta hace lo propio sobre las intenciones comportamentales del cliente (como las intenciones de recompra, las intenciones de recomendación o la disposición a pagar un mayor precio por los productos y servicios del centro deportivo). Igualmente, la presente investigación ha determinado que la calidad percibida por parte de los clientes de centros deportivos también ejerce una gran influencia sobre la satisfacción de los mismos. La investigación también ha arrojado evidencias que afirman que la RSC percibida por los empleados de los centros deportivos estudiados influye directa y positivamente sobre la satisfacción de los clientes. A la vista de los resultados, parecería razonable que los gerentes y directivos de centros deportivos se esforzaran por gestionar de una forma socialmente responsables sus centros, dado que las percepciones que tanto sus empleados como clientes puedan tener sobre la responsabilidad social corporativa desarrollada en ellos puede incidir en variables tan importantes como la satisfacción laboral, la satisfacción del cliente y en las intenciones futuras que éstos tengan en relación a sus centros deportivos.

La política Europea de transporte pretende alcanzar un sistema donde la sostenibilidad juegue un papel predominante. La reducción de lasemisiones contaminantes, de la accidentabilidad, la descongestión del tráfico en las carreteras constituyen un pilar fundamental paraalcanzar tal objetivo.La Unión Europea, a través de la Estrategia para un Desarrollo Sostenible del Libro Blanco de Transporte, ha manifestado en repetidasocasiones su preocupación por los impactos generados por el sector de los transportes; es por eso que existe la aplicación de medidaspara la solución de estos problemas para la integración de las cuestiones medioambientales en las políticas de transporte y los sectoresafines.En el conjunto del transporte, la carretera genera más del 80 por 100 de las emisiones de CO2, siendo con diferencia el modo máscontaminante, mientras que el transporte marítimo se mantiene como el modo menos contaminante. Esta situación, favorable al transportemarítimo se mantiene también para las emisiones de NOx a la atmósfera. Del total de este tipo de emisiones de la Unión Europea, el 51por 100 procede de los vehículos por carretera y un 12 por 100 de los medios de transporte.Hoy en día muchos países están trasladando el tráfico de mercancías de las autopistas congestionadas a otros modos de transporte.Muchas veces el tráfico marítimo, a parte del tráfico ferroviario de mercancías, son la alternativa más plausible para prevenir el incrementode transporte por carretera y las fuertes consecuencias económicas que comporta.A raíz de la firma del Tratado de Adhesión de España a la Unión Europea el año 1986, con el cual el transporte por carretera adquirió uncierto protagonismo, las tasas de crecimiento de tráfico, durante ese año, pasaron del 2,8% al 8,4%, manteniendo y totalizando unmovimiento de 70 millones de toneladas en ambos sentidos, lo que se traduce en una media de 3.500 camiones diarios en tránsito, através de los pasos de La Jonquera e Irún. Para el año 2020, aplicando una tasa de crecimiento similar a la experimentada estos últimosaños, el tráfico de mercancías podría verse incrementado a unos 250 millones de toneladas en total, y más de 30.000 camionesatravesando los Pirineos.Ante esta situación y las consecuencias derivadas de la congestión, es deseable lograr un trasvase de las clásicas cadenas de transporteunimodales a las cadenas multimodales, con la participación de medios terrestres y marítimos. Hoy en día, el reparto del tráfico demercancías se mantiene a un 50% entre ambas cadenas, aunque con una ligera ventaja del camión, sobretodo en recorridos cortos comoes el caso de trayectos entre España y Francia, mientras que a medida que las distancias se amplían lógicamente existe un trasvase haciael modo marítimo.De acuerdo con la revisión del Libro Blanco del Transporte de la Unión Europea, se espera que el Transporte Marítimo de Corta Distancia,en inglés Short Sea Shipping, crezca un 59% en toneladas métricas, desde el año 2000 al año 2020.La principal ventaja del Transporte Marítimo de Corta Distancia consiste en la posibilidad de combinar las ventajas inherentes de losdistintos modos de transporte implicados, reduciendo los costes e incrementando la capacidad de transportar gran volumen de carga enlargas distancias. Pero para poder convertir el transporte multimodal en una alternativa real al transporte unimodal por carretera a parte decuantificar y reducir los costes de fricción al cambiar de modo se deben identificar y estudiar un número de variables relacionadas con eltransporte de mercancías que nos permitirán conocer la viabilidad de una ruta.Para este trasvase de mercancías al modo marítimo se consideran principalmente los buques convencionales como la solución más viable,ya que pueden penetrar en el mercado por carretera reduciendo, en algunos casos, los costes internos y externos. Mientras esteargumento está basado en que el transporte por mar debería competir en precio (por ejemplo ofreciendo un precio más bajo que otrosmodos de transporte) también se debe de considerar la importancia de los buques de alta velocidad que ofrecen calidad al servicio. Losbuques de alta velocidad pueden ser unos posibles competidores del transporte terrestre en determinadas rutas; aunque estos buquespresentan problemas de operación cuando navegan con mal tiempo.El Transporte Marítimo de Corta Distancia debe responder a una serie de requisitos básicos para su identificación y puesta en servicio:buenas conexiones con un hinterland intermodal, un transporte mayoritariamente especializado en tráfico Ro-Ro, una velocidad mínima enlos buques, una alta frecuencia con un mínimo de salidas semanales y ofrecer la máxima fiabilidad aportando al mismo tiempo una mejorasignificativa de los costes de la cadena logística. A su vez, existen elementos críticos para su puesta en marcha que hay que tener encuenta: la consolidación de los flujos, la calidad del conjunto de la cadena de transporte, el compromiso de todos los elementos de lacadena de suministro y la compatibilidad con las otras vías de transporte hacia un modelo multimodal.Se evidencia la voluntad de la Comisión Europea para promocionar el Transporte Marítimo de Corta Distancia, como un modo mássostenible. Uno de los posibles caminos para mejorar su competitividad frente al transporte por carretera y el aéreo, puede pasar por eluso extensivo de buques rápidos o de alta velocidad.Es evidente que los buques de alta velocidad reducen el tiempo de viaje, pero para mantener la ganancia en tiempo en la mar, lasoperaciones en puerto también deben de reducirse para poder mantener la ventaja en el tiempo de viaje.Sin embargo más velocidad implica mayor consumo y más emisiones contaminantes. El aumento de velocidad es viable comercialmenteen unas rutas concretas y en unas condiciones determinadas: buen tiempo durante todo el año, una demanda suficientemente alta paracubrir la necesidad de una alta frecuencia y una situación geográfica favorable.
The European transport policy aims to achieve a sustainable communication system. A reduction in pollutant emissions, accident rate andtraffic congestion is central to reaching this goal.Through the Strategy for Sustainable Development of the EU White Paper on Transport Policy, the European Union has expressed concernabout transport-related impacts. For this reason, appropriate policies to balance transport growth and its environmental effects are being made.In general, road transport accounts for over 80% of CO2 emissions. It is, therefore, the most polluting mode of transportation whereas seatransport remains the least polluting. The same applies to NOx emissions. Road transport is responsible for 51% of these pollutant emissionsin the European Union, as opposed to 12% for the other modes.In many countries a shift from congested highways to other alternatives for freight transport has been observed. Apart from railway transport,the maritime option is often preferred to relieve road traffic congestion and its negative environmental effects.After Spain joined the European Union at 1986, the traffic volume increase had grown from 2.8% to 8.4% per year, accounting for a movementof 70 million tonnes in both directions. This means a daily average of 3,500 trucks travelling through La Jonquera and Irún passes. At this rate,by the year 2020, freight transport could increase to a total of 250 million tonnes, with over 30,000 trucks crossing the Pyrenees.In view of this and the consequences of traffic congestion, a change from traditional unimodal to multimodal transport chains involving the seaand road modes is desirable. Freight transport is currently shared by both chains, with a slight advantage of road over maritime transport,particularly in short distances like trips between France and Spain while the sea option logically becomes more common as distances increase.According to the review of the EU White Paper on Transport Policy, a 59% increase in tonnes carried by Short Sea Shipping is expectedbetween 2000 and 2020.The main benefit of Short Sea Shipping lies in the possibility of combining the inherent advantages provided by the involved modes, thusreducing costs and increasing freight transport capacity over long distances. However, for multimodal transport to become a real alternative tothe road-only mode, the feasibility of routes must be explored with several variables related to freight transport. Moreover, friction costs derivedfrom the mode shift must be quantified and reduced.Conventional ships are typically regarded as the most viable solution since they can penetrate the road market, sometimes leading to a declinein internal and especially external costs. While this opinion is based on the fact that sea transport should compete price-wise with other modes,it must be born in mind that high-speed vessels offer greater speeds, which may be perceived as quality of service by some shippers. In someroutes, high-speed vessels can become serious competitors to road transport although these ships pose operational problems in bad weather.Short Sea Shipping must meet a number of basic requirements to be efficiently implemented: good links with an intermodal hinterland, atransport mode specialised in Ro-Ro traffic, fast enough ships, sufficient number of weekly trips, maximum reliability and sharp decline in costsderived from the logistic chain. Also, certain critical factors must be taken into account, i.e. consolidation of flows, quality of the whole transportchain, commitment and compatibility of all elements of the supply chain with other transport modes with a view towards a multimodal model.The European Commission’s interest in promoting Short Sea Shipping as a more sustainable mode is made clear. One possible way ofincreasing competitiveness against road and air transport may be the extensive use of fast conventional or high-speed vessels.It is evident that high-speed vessels reduce travel time, but in order to maintain this advantage, port operations must also take less time.However, more speed implies greater consumption and a higher level of pollutant emissions. An increase in speed is commercially feasible incertain route and freight types and under specific conditions: good weather all year around, a demand large enough to justify high tripfrequency and a favourable geographical location.The use of fast conventional and high-speed ships is not always the best solution. It was necessary to examine each particular case. If in thefuture more policies towards sea transport are implemented and freight volume increases, high-speed services will have a market share largeenough to be commercially and economically feasible.The purpose of this thesis is to find alternatives to relieve road traffic congestion by using sea transport more extensively with a view toachieving sustainable mobility. To this end, the use of conventional, fast conventional and high-speed vessels in multimodal transport wasexamined. However, the above objective should not be achieved by the competition of sea transport with railway transport. Instead, thesemodes must capture part of the road transport share. It must also be clear that no direct competition exists between maritime and roadtransport but rather the need for both to be complementary.

In this thesis, the Constrained Resource Planning (CRP) model is employed to solve Three-Dimensional (3D) packing problems. An efficient packing program 3dPack has been implemented which could be used to assist human packing in the parcel industries. Viewing 3D packing as a constraint satisfaction problem, 3dPack uses resource management and multiple domain-independent heuristics to navigate the immense search space and reach an optimum container fill percentage in near-linear time. Three specific problems have been investigated and tackled by using the 3dPack program. The three problems are Bin Packing, Loading dock Packing, and Perfect Packing. The Bin Packing problem is to pack a finite number of given package into as few bins as possible. The Loading dock Packing problem is to keep a high container-fill percentage as the packages are supplied, packed into the containers, and sent out at different points of time. The Perfect Packing problem, as the most difficult one, has only one container and multiple rectangular packages. The sum of package volumes equals the volume of the container. The objective of Perfect Packing is to pack all packages into the container leaving no empty space. These three problems were selected to test 3dPack on different aspects of packing including packing solution performance, optimality, scalability and completeness. In Experimental results on Bin packing problems, 3dPack outperforms the leading Guided Local Search and Tabu Search methods by an average of 14.3% and 22.6% fewer bins respectively. For the Loading dock problem, a packing efficiency of 98.8% is achieved with a standard deviation of 0.21%. For the Perfect Packing problem, all the 3D examples (over 50 packages) were consistently solved in near-linear time. The combined results from the three problems show the 3dPack algorithm to be versatile, scalable, and consistent. Taken together, results from all three problems support the overall performance excellence in terms of (1) high container fill percentage, (2) near-linear run-time, (3) scalability, and (4) consistency.
vii, 121 leaves

This work describes efforts to improve methodologies and instrumentation for investigation of the marine CO2 system. In the first section of my thesis, a method was developed that provides simple, calibration-free measurements of seawater carbonate saturation states (Ωspec) based solely on the use of a laboratory spectrophotometer. Measurements of pH are made in paired optical cells, one with and one without added nitric acid. The amount of added nitric acid is determined through the direct proportionality between nitrate concentration and UV absorbance. After an initial calibration, the method is calibration-free and requires no volumetric or gravimetric analyses thereafter. Saturation state measurements can be obtained in twelve minutes and attain Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network accuracy goals over a wide range of conditions. This simple one-step measurement protocol is ideal for monitoring ocean acidification conditions in coastal areas, fish hatcheries and shellfish farms. The second section of my thesis outlines the development of a next-generation handheld photometer for field measurements of seawater pH. The hand-held instrument is simple to use, inexpensive, and has a pH measurement accuracy of ±0.01. Each photometer is calibrated by relating pH-indicator absorbance ratios (RB) obtained with the broadband photometer to indicator absorbance ratios (RN) obtained with a high quality, narrowband scanning spectrophotometer. The RB vs RN relationship for each photometer is entered into the instrument’s software, providing discrete, real-time pH observations from measurements of RB, salinity and temperature. Measurement accuracy is assessed through comparisons of photometer pH with pH observations obtained using standard measurement procedures and high-quality spectrophotometers. The targeted user-groups for these instruments include middle and high school students, citizen scientists, and resource managers

Blended online teaching and learning is a fast developing area for educational providers around the world. In New Zealand, the Virtual Learning Network enables students from more than 250 schools to experience blended learning, by enrolling in blended distance courses in addition to the face-to-face courses that their home schools offer. More and more teachers across the country also implement online content in their face-to-face teaching, experimenting with a variety of tools and offering blended web-enhanced courses to their students. The rollout of Ultra Fast Broadband is expected to increase the uptake of blended approaches in schools across the country. School wide implementation of blended teaching learning is expanding, but it is challenging even for schools that have been part of a rural e-learning cluster for many years. The need to investigate how blended teaching and learning is implemented in schools is increasing to identify the implications for students, teachers, school leaders and other educational stakeholders. A case study methodology was applied to investigate how blended teaching and learning was implemented in 2011 in a New Zealand rural secondary school that was one of the early adopters of blended approaches. Data collection methods included interviews with the ePrincipal of the school’s e-Learning cluster, the school principal and six teachers using blended approaches, observations in one blended web-enhanced class, group interviews with six students from the same class, as well as a review of documents and web resources. The findings focus on the uptake of blended teaching and learning at the school, the support that the school received from its e-Learning cluster and the support the school offered to teachers. School leaders’ and teachers’ vision for student learning was also examined, along with teachers’ practices with blended approaches, the advantages and challenges that participants observed and/or experienced, as well as the school’s future directions regarding blended teaching and learning. The study is the first to apply Davis’s (2008, in press) arena of change with digital technologies in education to present the complexity of change with blended teaching and learning in a secondary school. The roles of multiple stakeholders and their organizations impacting on and being impacted by the development of blended teaching and learning, including students, teachers, other teaching staff, school leaders, parents/community, professional, commercial/OER (Open Educational Resources), bureaucratic and political organizations are discussed. A coherent set of recommendations are made for all levels in the multilevel ecological hierarchy, including school leaders and policy makers.

This study investigates the Christology of E.W Kenyon, the forefather of the Word Faith Movement (WFM). His theological system forms the foundation of the WFM’s doctrine as promoted by its many pastors and leaders all over the world. The Bible is the point of departure for this work: therefore a representative Reformed understanding of the Scriptures is established in order to conduct a Biblical evaluation of Kenyon’s Christology. Kenyon did not document his beliefs in a systematic manner. Therefore, in chapter two, selected volumes of his writings were minutely examined and organised in order to arrive at a representative statement of his Christology. Chapter 3 is a summary statement of Christology from a Reformed perspective. The writers scrutinised are of a more recent era in order to increase the likelihood of their responding to Kenyon’s theological construct, which dates from the first half of the twentieth century. Scriptural backing for all points of view is noted so as to build a Biblical basis for the representative Reformed definition. In chapter 4 the problematic areas of Kenyon’s Christology are assessed. The statements from chapters two and three are compared and Kenyon’s Christology is critically evaluated from a Biblical standpoint in order to arrive at a statement of conclusion. Chapter 5 is a concluding statement. It also gives recommendations for future study. There is considerable scope for an ongoing investigation of Kenyon’s theology.
Thesis (M.Th. (Dogmatics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

This thesis describes the development of a computer-aided fault tree synthesis package for application in the process industries. It builds on the previous research work carried out in the Plant Engineering Group at Loughborough University. The emphasis has been put on describing the underlying methodology as opposed to the actual computer programs. The methodology described was developed by modelling a number of "real" systems, which had already been analysed using manual fault tree construction techniques by British Gas plc. Additionally a number of standard examples from the literature were utilised, as well as a large number of contrived examples to fully evaluate the package. The problems encountered and their solution are described. The culmination of this project was the implementation of the computer package at the Midlands Research Station of British Gas plc. It is not intended that the package should replace the fault tree expert. It should rather be viewed as a tool to facilitate the work of the process engineer, particularly during the design phase. This should enable the evaluation of many more options, which would otherwise have been proved prohibitive by the effort required to manually synthesise the fault trees.

Master of Science
Department of Civil Engineering
Asadollah Esmaeily
The shear and combined shear and torsion provisions of the AASHTO LRFD (2008) Bridge Design Specifications, as well as simplified AASHTO procedure for prestressed and non-prestressed reinforced concrete members were investigated and compared to their equivalent ACI 318-08 provisions. Response-2000, an analytical tool developed based on the Modified Compression Field Theory (MCFT), was first validated against the existing experimental data and then used to generate the required data for cases where no experimental data was available. Several normal and prestressed beams, either simply supported or continuous were used to evaluate the AASHTO and ACI shear design provisions In addition, the AASHTO LRFD provisions for combined shear and torsion were investigated and their accuracy was validated against the available experimental data. These provisions were also compared to their equivalent ACI code requirements. The latest design procedures in both codes propose exact shear-torsion interaction equations that can directly be compared to the experimental results by considering all ϕ factors as one. In this comprehensive study, different over-reinforced, moderately-reinforced, and under-reinforced sections with high-strength and normal-strength concrete for both solid and hollow sections were analyzed. The main objectives of this study were to: • Evaluate the shear and the shear-torsion procedures proposed by AASHTO LRFD (2008) and ACI 318-08 • Validate the code procedures against the experimental results by mapping the experimental points on the code-based exact interaction diagrams • Develop a MathCAD program as a design tool for sections subjected to shear or combined shear and torsion

Projeto de Graduação apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Licenciada em Fisioterapia
Objetivo: Efetuar um levantamento de dados, através de uma análise retrospetiva, sobre a eficácia da Oxigenoterapia Hiperbárica (OTH) na reabilitação de sequelas neuro-músculoesqueléticas provocadas pela Doença de Descompressão (DD) e verificar quantos e que casos precisaram da fisioterapia. Metodologia: A amostra foi constituída por 140 indivíduos, com uma média de idades de 35,31 ± 9,49 anos, que tenham recebido tratamento de OTH em Portugal continental, nomeadamente nos serviços de medicina hiperbárica do Hospital Pedro Hispano (Matosinhos) e no centro médico subaquático de hiperbárica do Hospital das Forças Armadas (Lisboa) com o diagnóstico de DD. Resultados: Desta amostra, 129 (92,1%) dos indivíduos eram do género masculino e apenas 11 (7,9%) do género feminino. Do total, 111 (79,3%) pertenciam ao Hospital das Forças Armadas e 29 (20,7%) ao Hospital Pedro Hispano. A DD tipo 1 teve como resultado 60 (42%) de prevalência e o tipo 2 de 74 (52,9%) em 134 indivíduos, havendo 6 (4,3%) omissos. Apenas os diagnosticados com DD tipo 2, com comprometimento medular, 6 (8,1%) indivíduos realizaram fisioterapia. Conclusão: A OTH é o tratamento gold-standard para a DD e que a necessidade da fisioterapia, como tratamento complementar, revelou-se importante na DD tipo 2 com comprometimento medular.
Objective: To conduct a data collection, through a retrospective analysis, on the efficacy of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBO) in the rehabilitation of neuro-musculoskeletal sequelae caused by Decompression Disease (DD) and to verify how many and which cases required physiotherapy. Methodology: The sample consisted of 140 individuals, with a mean age of 35.31 ± 9.49 years, who had received HBO treatment in mainland Portugal, namely in the hyperbaric medicine services of Pedro Hispano Hospital (Matosinhos) and in the underwater hyperbaric medical center of the Armed Forces Hospital (Lisbon) with the diagnosis of DD. Results: Of this sample, 129 (92.1%) of the individuals were male and only 11 (7.9%) were female. Of the total, 111 (79.3%) belonged to the Armed Forces Hospital and 29 (20.7%) to the Pedro Hispano Hospital. Type 1 DD was prevalent in 60 (42%) and type 2 in 74 (52.9%) of 134 individuals, with 6 (4.3%) without information. Only 6 (8.1%) individuals underwent physiotherapy diagnosed with type 2 DD, all with spinal cord involvement. Conclusion: HBO is the gold standard treatment for DD and the need for physiotherapy, as a complementary treatment, has been shown to be important in type 2 DD with spinal cord involvement.
N/A

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores
Presentemente, o conceito da sustentabilidade apresenta-se como uma problemática crucial a nível mundial. Esta questão provém da interferência humana incorrecta, da qual resultou o aquecimento global, comprometendo assim a própria vivência do Homem e causando mudanças em diversos paradigmas de vida actuais. Um dos factores de maior impacto no desequilíbrio ambiental é resultante do uso, por vezes pouco racional, da energia, sendo necessário nesta medida adquirir uma postura mais sustentável em relação ao planeta. A energia consumida no quotidiano habitacional e muitas das vezes exagerada é proveniente de muitos factores, entre eles o uso intensivo de dispositivos de aquecimento, arrefecimento e/ou iluminação. No entanto, o factor que mais contribui para o desperdício de energia é um inimigo bastante conhecido: o comportamento Humano. Na procura de uma ferramenta que permitisse facilitar as mudanças de hábito nos consumidores promovendo comportamentos mais energeticamente eficientes em habitações foi implementado o Home Energy Saving Adviser System (HESAS). O HESAS é uma aplicação computacional, baseada em sistemas periciais, capaz de inferir os comportamentos energéticos do dia-a-dia dos inquilinos apoiado em informação ambiental captada por uma rede sensorial instalada dentro das suas habitações e, após várias análises, gerar aconselhamentos dedicados a cada consumidor para que estejam conscientes dos seus comportamentos incorrectos, criando assim no HESAS uma componente pedagógica sobre a utilização correcta da energia no quotidiano.

Determina la relación de la actividad física, el tiempo de servicio y consumo de alimentos con el estado nutricional de los miembros de la policía de Los Olivos en el 2016. Tiene un diseño analítico, observacional, transversal y prospectivo. Participan 100 miembros de la policía del Escuadro de Emergencia Norte ubicado en el distrito de Los Olivos, durante los meses de octubre y noviembre del 2016. Para determinar el nivel de actividad física se usó el Cuestionario Internacional de Actividad Física (IPAQ), para determinar el consumo de alimentos se usó el Cuestionario de Frecuencia de Consumo validado por la tesis del Licenciado Iván Carbajal Gómez en Nutrición. Para determinar el estado nutricional se tomó medidas de peso, talla, circunferencia abdominal, pliegue cutáneo tricipital y área muscular del brazo. Resultados: Respecto al nivel de actividad física la mayoría de policías (62%) presentó un nivel de actividad física moderado. Solo un 4 % presentaron un nivel de actividad física intenso. Los policías tuvieron un promedio de 16.4 ±11.8 años de servicio. Solo ocho policías tenían menos de un año de servicio. Los policías mostraron un alto consumo de carnes y pescados, azúcares y cereales y una baja frecuencia de consumo de verduras. El 56% de los policías presentaron sobrepeso según índice de masa corporal, el 32% de los policías presentaron obesidad y no se presentaron casos de bajo peso. El 62 % de los policías tiene un exceso en sus reservas energéticas según media y según percentiles un 6%. El área muscular del brazo, el 72% presentó un área muscular normal según media y según percentiles un 95% Concluye que hay una relación significativa entre la actividad física y el consumo de alimentos con el estado nutricional. Los policías evidencian un alto riesgo de padecer enfermedades cardiovasculares principalmente, debido a que la gran mayoría presenta una circunferencia de cintura elevada y un exceso de peso.
Tesis

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The Court of Auditors in the Brazilian constitutional regime is responsible for controlling the direct and indirect public administration in all the powers and units of the federation. Control by the Court of Auditors is the technical and political expression of the limitation of the power of rulers. It is the self-control of the State over the State, carried out in the name of the People. It is thousands of years old and is mentioned in books and documents regarding control among the Hebrews, in the form of rules with a narrative and literary-religious framework. The Greeks and Romans created collegial institutions of magistrates as part of the democratic and republican systems.The predominance of feudalism and religion eclipsed the State institutions, however, in Italian and French cities and in England, control was exerted on behalf of the interests of the commons, the king, or imposing limits on the power of royalty. The inflection towards permanent republican institutionalization as the result of a radical conflict with the previous regime is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed during the French Revolution, which radically defenestrated the aristocratic and feudal regime and imposed the popular and social rights of control limiting power.When the Republic was proclaimed in Brazil the Court of Auditors was instituted to solve financial aspects and organize the administration of accounts. During authoritarian periods, the Court remained in recess or had no authority. The newborn republic prevailed over the reaction against control. When Brazil became a democracy again, in 1988, the Court of Auditors in Brazil became the institution of the State that controls public administration. Its powers were broadened, and from the Constitution emerged the independence and autonomy to carry out its tasks, equivalently to the Courts of Justice. In the Brazilian Democratic Rule of Law the purpose of the Court of Auditors converges with the fundamental values: democracy, republic and human rights. Some problems and voids have still been identified in the Brazilian control system; proposals are presented to solve them.
O Tribunal de Contas, no regime constitucional brasileiro, exerce as atribuições de controle da administração pública direta e indireta, em todos os poderes e unidades da federação. O controle pelo Tribunal de Contas é a expressão técnico-política da limitação do poder dos governantes. Ele é o autocontrole do Estado sobre o Estado, exercido em nome do povo. Milenar, encontram-se registros em livros e documentos do controle entre os hebreus consignados em normas com moldura narrativa e forma lítero-religiosa. Os gregos e romanos criaram instituições colegiadas, magistraturas insertas em sistemas democrático e republicano, respectivamente. Dos povos da Antiguidade, herdou-se o legado civilizatório.O predomínio do feudalismo e da religião eclipsaram as instituições estatais; entretanto, em cidades italianas, francesas e na Inglaterra, o controle exerceu-se no interesse da comuna, do rei ou impondo limites à casa real. A inflexão para a institucionalização republicana permanente, resultado de um conflito radical com o regime anterior é a Declaração Universal dos Direitos do Homem, proclamada durante a Revolução Francesa, que defenestra, radicalmente, o regime aristocrático-feudal e impõe o direito popular e social do controle limitador do poder.A Proclamação da República no Brasil institui o Tribunal de Contas, saneador das finanças e organizador da administração contábil. Nos períodos autoritários, o Tribunal é mantido em recesso ou sem autoridade. Venceu a nascente república a reação ao controle. Com a redemocratização de 1988, o Tribunal de Contas no Brasil torna-se instituição de Estado que controla a administração pública, ampliadas as suas atribuições, emergindo da Carta a independência, a autonomia para as suas atribuições, equiparado aos Tribunais de Justiça. No Estado Democrático de Direito brasileiro a função do Tribunal de Contas é convergente aos valores fundamentais: democracia, república e direitos humanos. Quedam problemas e lacunas identificadas no sistema brasileiro de controle; para eles se apresentam proposições visando resolvê-los.

The Matrix (1999) is a science-fiction film that successfully bridges modern cinematic action sequences with philosophical parables. It recalls the tradition of philosophical elaboration through science-fiction narratives; a tradition that has existed since the time of Plato. This study aims to bridge the divide between philosophy and psychology by using a theoretical analysis to discuss and explore the ideas of social thinkers (featured in the Matrix Trilogy) and critically analyse them alongside established psychological theories. More specifically, this study provides an in-depth and critical exploration of the ways in which the philosophical works of Jean Baudrillard and Karl Marx, and the widely used and recognised psychological perspectives on human development, cognition and learning offered by both Urie Broffenbrenner and Jean Piaget to simultaneously elucidate a model of human subjectivity and development in today's techno- consumerist society with specific attention to critical resistance. This study suggests that with the rise of the internet and modern communication media; sociocultural and political issues that Broffenbrenner conceptualised as existing in the macrosystem, now have a presence in the microsystem, and correspond to Broffenbrenner's requirements as to what constitutes a proximal process. These processes, according to Broffenbrenner, have the most longstanding effects on our development and contribute the most to our personality. This study also argues that the pre-operational stage and the process of symbolisation both of which Piaget identified are important phases in the child's life that see the accrual and development of signs and discourses. These signs and discourses then contribute to the development of our mind's cognitive structures which Piaget called schema. These structures are developed as we grow and help us make sense of the world by processing information and organising our experiences. This would mean that we perceive and interpret our world through ideologically shaped mental structures. These findings stress the importance of ideological influences and their impact on development and hearken more closely towards ideas about the presence and the effects of ideology by thinkers like Plato and Marx, as well as the dystopian futures explored in science-fiction media like the Matrix Trilogy, George Orwell's 1984 (1948) and Aldous Huxley's A Brave New World (1932), and also the options for critical social resistance explored in the narratives and heroic deeds of these books and their characters.

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on March 1, 2010). The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Dissertation advisor: Dr. Lloyd H. Barrow. Includes bibliographical references.

In World War II, many Americans felt fortunate and proud to live in a democratic society based on the constitutionally guaranteed rights of all individuals. At the same time, the U.S. government was completely disregarding the civil rights of 110,000 American residents, including 70,000 U.S. citizens. They were forced to evacuate their homes and were placed in internment camps surrounded by armed guards and barbed wire. The only criterion for the actions against them was their Japanese ancestry and the military necessity was the reason given for the actions, but marital law was never declared.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD
The field of nanotechnology continues to offer solutions for biotechnologists whose target is to improve the quality of life by finding new therapies to combat diseases. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been showing great potentials in many biomedical applications. The antibacterial activity of the AuNPs presents a therapeutic option for conditions caused by bacterial infections such as chronic wounds. Also, these versatile particles can offer solutions in the treatments of infectious diseases and can also be exploited as “smart” vehicles to carry drugs, such as antibiotics, for improved efficiency. Moreover, the anti-inflammatory activity of AuNPs makes them useful in the management of prolonged inflammation caused by bacterial infections. The synthesis of AuNPs can be achieved by variety of physical and chemical methods that have been successfully applied in labs and industry. Nonetheless, the drawbacks of these “conventional” methods in terms of high cost, adverse health side effects and incompatibility with the ecosystem cannot be overlooked. Thus, new safer and more cost-effective protocols have been reported for the synthesis of AuNPs. Plants have provided alternate synthesis methods in which the reducing capabilities of the phytochemicals, found in the aqueous plant extracts, can be used to chemically synthesize AuNPs from gold precursors. The biosynthesis and characterization of AuNPs from the phytochemicals of several South African plants is investigated in this study. The study also reports the optimization of the AuNPs biosynthesis by varying reaction conditions such as temperature and plant extracts’ concentrations. Furthermore, the study highlights the wound healing activity of the AuNPs synthesized from selected plants by investigating their antibacterial activity on bacterial strains known to cause chronic wounds. The ability of these AuNPs to carry ampicillin in order to enhance the antibacterial activity is also described herein. The cytotoxicity of the biosynthesized AuNPs was evaluated on human normal fibroblasts cells (KMST-6). Additionally, the immunomodulatory effect of the biosynthesized AuNPs on the cytokines production from macrophages and Natural Killer (NK) cells was examined. The study was successful to produce biocompatible and safe AuNPs synthesized from the tested aqueous plant extracts. The resulted AuNPs showed different physicochemical properties by varying the reaction conditions. The AuNPs exhibited antibacterial activity against several Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Also, ampicillin was successfully loaded on the biosynthesized AuNPs, which led to the formation of more antibacterial active conjugated AuNPs compared to the free AuNPs. The green synthesized AuNPs were also found to have anti-inflammatory responses as shown by the reduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines from immune cells. In vitro assays showed that the biogenic AuNPs were not toxic to KMST-6 cells. Overall, the data suggest that plant extracts produce biologically safe AuNPs with antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activities that can be exploited in the treatment of chronic wounds and in the management of chronic inflammation.

Logical statements are prevalent in mathematics, the sciences, law, and many areas of everyday life. The most common logical statements are conditionals, which have the form “If H..., then C...,” where “H” is a hypothesis (or condition) to be satisfied and “C” is a conclusion to follow. Reasoning about conditionals is a skill that is only superficially understood by most individuals and depends on four main conditional contexts (e.g., intuitive, abstract, symbolic, or counterintuitive). The purpose of this study was to test a theory about the effects of context ordering on reasoning about conditionals. To test the theory, the researcher developed, tested, and revised a virtual manipulative educational mathematics application, called the Learning Logic App. This study employed a convergent parallel mixed methods design to answer an overarching research question and two subquestions. The overarching research question was “How does the order of teaching four conditional contexts influence reasoning about conditionals?” The two subquestions examined this influence on reasoning in terms of performance and perceptions. This study involved two phases. During Phase I, 10 participants interacted with the Learning Logic App in a clinical setting. The researcher used information gathered in Phase I to revise the Learning Logic App for Phase II. During Phase II, 154 participants interacted with the Learning Logic App in a randomly assigned context ordering in an online setting. In both phases, the researcher collected quantitative and qualitative data. After independent analyses, the researcher made meta- inferences from the two data strands. The results of this study suggest that context ordering does influence learners’ reasoning. The most beneficial context ordering for learners’ performance was symbolic-intuitive-abstract-counterintuitive. The most beneficial context ordering for learners’ perceptions was intuitive-abstract-counterintuitive-symbolic. Based on these results, the researcher proposed a new context ordering: symbolic-intuitive-abstract-counterintuitive-symbolic. This progression incorporates a catalyst at the beginning (symbolic context) which aids the learner in reassessing their prior knowledge. Then, the difficulty of the contexts progresses from easiest to hardest (intuitive-abstract-counterintuitive-symbolic). These findings are important because they provide an instructional sequence for teaching and learning to reason about conditionals that is beneficial to both learners’ performance and their perceptions.

Primary teachers in the United States accept responsibility for teaching children how to read, and the instruction they provide results in reading proficiency for approximately 37% of students. Although researchers have established a relationship between teacher-related factors and students' performance in reading, they have not yet been able to identify the combination of teacher characteristics that best predicts teachers' intention to provide evidence-based reading instruction. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among teacher knowledge, teacher beliefs, and intention to provide evidence-based reading instruction using a conceptual framework that integrated the theory of planned behavior with the implicit theory of intelligence. An online survey was used to gather data from a convenience sample of 37 primary teachers in the United States to examine characteristics effective reading teachers have in common. The results of multiple regression analysis indicated different patterns for different groups of readers. For beginning readers, teachers' behavioral beliefs was the only significant predictor of intention to provide evidence-based reading instruction. For struggling readers, teacher knowledge of reading disabilities was the only significant predictor of intention. This study provided additional evidence of deficits in teachers' knowledge of basic language concepts and reading disabilities. Identifying teacher characteristics that influence students' reading proficiency outcomes may inform efforts to improve professional development and teacher preparation programs to better support and prepare teachers to ensure successful reading outcomes for all children.

The purpose of this study was to explore career outcomes in young adulthood for individuals with ADHD and/or high abilities. The sample included respondents who had valid ability and ADHD measures from waves 1 (1995), 3 (2002), and 4 (2009) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent and Adult Health in-home questionnaire. Using multiple group path analysis, we examined the pathways for three groups of individuals (i.e., ADHD, high ability, and both). Our findings indicated shared as well as unique pathways in these three groups, involving their parents’ education, parental educational expectation, family income, school attachment, depression and anxiety symptoms, educational aspiration, high school GPA, and post-secondary educational enrollment modeled on perceived social class, occupational status, and career goal attainment. The findings suggested group differences in some significant pathways. Knowledge about these trajectories will help educational and mental health professionals better understand the potential supports and barriers in career success for these individuals with exceptionalities.

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The comprehension of urban activities and phenomena is of the utmost importance for society as a whole, in particular for those agencies responsible for public administration. Such activities are characterized by their complexity and therefore their difficulty in terms of study and training. Tools must be developed in order to make studying/training for these activities feasible, in a way as to provide the means for such comprehension. In this paper, an architecture is proposed for the construction of tools geared toward study and training in urban activities: the architecture for Intelligent Tutorial Geosimulator Systems, or ITGS. ITGS contemplate a multi-agent geosimulator supported by an intelligent tutor to help the user to better understand the model studied. In order to evaluate the proposal of ITGS and to offer a tool for the public safety sector, a training system was developed the ExpertCop system focused on the current problem of urban crime. ExpertCop was developed with the aim of assisting the training of police officers in the urban activity of police resources allocation. The system implements the proposals of ITGS by using geosimulation of the process studied through a set of structured steps, in the form of a computer game, in order to enhance and motivate the student s learning process, as well as a tutorial agent offering support to the student in understanding the model proposed. Support is offered by means of explanations of the simulation s emergent behavior (macro-level) and the individual explanations of the simulated events (micro-level). The system was evaluated by applying it during a course for police officers, whereby the results obtained demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposal.
A compreensão das atividades e fenômenos urbanos é de suma importância para a sociedade como um todo, em especial para os órgãos responsáveis pela gestão pública. Estas atividades são caracterizadas por sua complexidade e conseqüente dificuldade de estudo e treinamento. Torna-se necessário o desenvolvimento de ferramentas que viabilizem o estudo/ treinamento destas atividades de modo a possibilitar sua compreensão. Neste trabalho, propõe-se uma arquitetura para a construção de ferramentas voltadas ao estudo e treinamento de atividades urbanas: a arquitetura para Sistemas Geosimuladores Tutores Inteligentes SGTI. SGTI contempla um geosimulador multiagente apoiado por um tutor inteligente para dar suporte ao usuário na compreensão do modelo estudado. De forma a avaliar a proposta de SGTI e oferecer uma ferramenta para o setor de segurança pública, desenvolveu-se um sistema de treinamento, tendo como foco a problemática atual da criminalidade urbana, o sistema ExpertCop. ExpertCop foi desenvolvido com o objetivo de auxiliar os oficiais da polícia no treinamento da atividade urbana de alocação de recursos. O sistema implementa as propostas de SGTI, utilizando a geosimulação do processo estudado em um conjunto de passos estruturados, sob a forma de jogo, de modo a colaborar e motivar o aprendizado do aluno, e um agente tutor oferecendo suporte ao aluno na compreensão do modelo proposto. O suporte é oferecido por meio de explicações do comportamento emergente da simulação (macro-nível) e explicações individuais dos eventos simulados (micro-nível). A avaliação do sistema foi feita aplicando-o em um curso para oficiais de polícia, onde os resultados obtidos mostram a eficácia da proposta.

Aim: The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of caries activity on the key enzymes and the ultrastructure of the in situ pellicle. Methods: Pellicle formation was performed on bovine enamel slabs. Intraoral exposure (3, 30, and 120 min) was accomplished by 14 caries-active (DMFS: 22.7 ± 12.1) and 13 caries-inactive (DMFS: 1.5 ± 1.8) individuals. The enzyme activities (lysozyme, peroxidase, α-amylase, glycosyltransferase [GTF]) in the in situ pellicle and resting saliva of all participants were analyzed directly after oral exposure. In addition, a simultaneous visualization of these enzymes, extracellular glucans, and adherent bacteria was carried out. Fluorescent patterns were analyzed with fluorescence labeling and 4 ′ ,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole/concanavalin A staining. In addition, the distribution of GTF B, C, and D and the ultrastructure of the pellicle were examined by gold immunolabeling and transmission electron microscopy with selected samples. Results: Enzyme activities of amylase, peroxidase, lysozyme, and GTF were detected on all enamel slabs in an active conformation. Neither exposure time nor caries activity had an impact on the enzyme activities. Gold immunolabeling indicated that the pellicle of caries-active subjects tends to more GTF D molecules. The pellicles of caries-inactive and -active individuals revealed a similar ultrastructural pattern. Conclusion: The enzyme activities as well as the pellicle’s ultrastructure are of high similarity in cariesactive and -inactive subjects. Thereby, oral exposure time has no significant influence. This reflects a high uniformity during the initial phase of bioadhesion (3–120 min) concerning enzymatic functions. However, there is a tendency towards more GTF D in caries-active individuals.

Due to utilization increase of chemical fertilizers and manures and of a large water volume for irrigation, agricultural runoff has significantly accelerated water pollution. The Red River locates in Vietnam where agriculture plays an important role in the country’s economy. This paper presented the observation results of organic matters concentrations in agricultural runoff from different plant fields (vegetable, flower and rice) in the Red River Delta in 2013 -2014. The results showed that DOC concentrations varied in a high range from 1.0 mg.L-1 to 37.1 mg.L-1, averaging 10.2 ± 6.2 mg.L-1 whereas POC concentrations varied from 0.5 to 4.5 mg.L-1, averaging 1.7 ± 0.7 mg.L-1 for a total 104 samples observed. TOC concentrations in water from the vegetable and flower fields (11.7 ± 7.3 mg.L-1 and 12.6 ± 6.0 mg.L-1 respectively) were higher than the one from the rice field (8.5 ± 6.6 mg.L-1). Lower organic matters concentrations were found in the rainy season than in the dry season due to dilution process. The results suggest the needs for regularly monitoring and efforts to control organic matter pollution from agricultural runoff in the Red River basin or other river basins in developing countries.
Do sử dụng phân bón và thể tích nước tưới lớn, canh tác nông nghiệp đã và đang góp phần đáng kể gây ô nhiễm nguồn nước. Sông Hồng nằm ở Việt Nam, nơi ngành nông nghiệp đóng vai trò quan trọng trong nền kinh tế. Bài báo trình bày kết quả quan trắc hàm lượng cacbon hữu cơ (TOC) bao gồm dạng hòa tan (DOC) và không tan (POC), trong nước chảy tràn từ đất canh tác (rau, hoa, lúa) ở đồng bằng sông Hồng năm 2013 -2014. Kết quả cho thấy DOC thay đổi rất rộng từ 1,0 mg.L-1 đến 37,1 mg.L-1, trung bình đạt 10,2 ± 6,2 mg.L-1 trong khi POC thay đổi từ 0,5 mg. L-1 đến 4,5 mg.L-1, trung bình đạt 1,7 ± 0,7 mg.L-1 đối với 104 mẫu nước. TOC từ trồng rau và hoa (11,7 ± 7,3 mg. L-1 và 12,6 ± 6,0 mg.L-1) cao hơn so với trồng lúa (8,5 ± 6,6 mg. L-1). TOC trong mùa mưa thấp hơn so với mùa khô. Cần thường xuyên giám sát và nỗ lực kiểm soát ô nhiễm chất hữu cơ do nước chảy tràn từ đất canh tác ở lưu vực sông Hồng.

На культурологічному матеріалі проводиться антропологічний аналіз становлення та розвитку цілісності людини древніх цивілізацій. У роботі цілісність древньої людини аналізується як нерозривна єдність людини і її умов, які разом перебувають у спільній для них субстанційній основі.
На культурологическом материале проводится антропологический анализ становления и развития целостности человека древних цивилизаций. В работе целостность древнего человека анализируется как неразрывное единство человека и его условий, которые вместе пребывают в общем для них субстанциональном основании.
An anthropological analysis of formation and development of human integrity in ancient civilizations is performed basing on culturological data. The paper analyzes the integrity of the ancient person as an inseverable unity of the person and their circumstances, that are in the common for both of them substantive basis.

We extend Følner’s amenability criterion to the realm of general topological groups. Building on this, we show that a topological group G is amenable if and only if its left-translation action can be approximated in a uniform manner by amenable actions on the set G. As applications we obtain a topological version of Whyte’s geometric solution to the von Neumann problem and give an affirmative answer to a question posed by Rosendal.

This work intends to go deep into the discussion about the Recognition Theory and its possible contributions to the teachers formation in Special Education. Considered the intense debate which is set before the inclusive current practices, we may think over the comprehension and self-comprehension of the difference recognition in the formation of these professionals. As from the demands of inclusion, some issues guide this theoretical research: among the many discourses about difference, what do we effectively understand by the recognition of the difference? Does the formation of Special Education teachers reduce the difference in their practices or enlarge it in such a way that it is not recognized for its segregation or excessive fragmentation? In the search of some possible answers to reflections which impose themselves, the present research has as its main objective, grounded on Axel Honneth s theoretical view, to collaborate providing a new and revised hermeneutical self-comprehension of the formation in the Special Education area in order to potentialize the self-comprehension of teaching before the demands of the social recognition in others. Within a bibliographic study, we try to metaphorically relate the history of Special Education to Procrustes and Theseu s myth. Thereby, we historically notice that, upon launching pedagogical directions to people who have special educational needs, Special Education fosters situations which are similar to Procrustes . A proof of it lies in the observable redundancy in the current policy of Inclusive Education arising from the criticism assigned to these practices. If before, Special Education shortened the difference to have room in particular spaces, nowadays, Inclusive Education expands the difference to fulfill the blanks which were previously denied. In wide lines, we can list different deficits of recognition in the process of its historical happenings; therefore, while performing a hermeneutical reading of the historical texts and current policies of Special Education/Inclusive Education, we define a route between the extreme poles in the understanding of the difference. In this sense, the Recognition Theory cooperates with the hermeneutical self-comprehension in the teachers formation in Special Education in order to open new horizons to that practice understanding.
Este trabalho pretende aprofundar a discussão sobre a Teoria do Reconhecimento e suas possíveis contribuições para a formação de professores em Educação Especial. Visto o intenso debate que se coloca frente às atuais práticas inclusivas, refletimos sobre a compreensão e a autocompreensão do reconhecimento da diferença na formação desses profissionais. A partir das demandas da inclusão, algumas questões orientam esta pesquisa teórica: entre tantos discursos sobre a diferença, o que, efetivamente, entendemos por reconhecimento da diferença? A formação de professores de Educação Especial reduz a diferença em suas práticas ou a amplia de tal forma que não a reconhece pela sua segregação ou fragmentação excessiva? No propósito de encontrar algumas respostas possíveis às reflexões que se impõem, a presente pesquisa tem como objetivo central colaborar, a partir da teoria de Axel Honneth, com uma nova e revisada autocompreensão hermenêutica da formação na área de Educação Especial, a fim de potencializar a autocompreensão docente frente às exigências do reconhecimento social do outro. Com um estudo de cunho bibliográfico, buscamos relacionar, metaforicamente, a história da Educação Especial com o mito de Procrusto e Teseu. Desse modo, percebemos, historicamente, que, ao lançar direcionamentos pedagógicos às pessoas com necessidades educacionais especiais, a Educação Especial cria leitos semelhantes ao de Procrusto. Prova disso está na redundância observável na atual política de Educação Inclusiva advinda da crítica atribuída a essas práticas. Se antes a Educação Especial encurtava a diferença para caber em espaços específicos, hoje, a Educação Inclusiva alarga a diferença para preencher os espaços que lhe foram negados anteriormente. Em largos traços, podemos elencar diferentes déficits de reconhecimento no processo do seu acontecer histórico; logo, ao realizarmos uma leitura hermenêutica dos textos históricos e das políticas atuais da Educação Especial/Educação Inclusiva, depreendemos um percurso entre pólos opostos do entendimento da diferença. Nesse sentido, a Teoria do Reconhecimento colabora com a autocompreensão hermenêutica na formação de professores em Educação Especial, no sentido de abrir novos horizontes à compreensão dessa prática.

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The Syndrome of Visceral Larva Migrans (VLMS) is a parasitic disease caused by Toxocara canis, one of the most common helminthes in dogs. In the definitive hosts are present in different morphological forms, embryonated eggs, adult males and females. However, in unusual hosts (humans and rodents), present only in stage infective larvae (L3) and do not complete their life cycle. The infection in man occurs by ingestion of embryonated eggs which release in the small intestine infective larvae (L3), which cross the intestinal mucosa and the lymphatic vessels reach the circulation port reaching the lungs and liver. Larvae can still cross the gut wall actively start a process of erratic migration through different host tissues. The main characteristics of this disease in the chronic phase are eosinofilias blood and tissue and high levels of serum IgE. The immune response of host larvae occurs during tissue migration, where the larvae release antigenic products of excretion-secretion (TES) that protect against host reactions. The TES have a fraction of the allergen responsible for stimulating production and release of eosinophils. In this context, the search for new therapeutic tools that promote less damage to individuals affected by increased systemic eosinophil becomes important. In this study, we evaluated the modulatory activity and anti-inflammatory eosinophilia Harpagophytum procumbens against using the model of experimental infection with T. VLMS kennels. Our results showed that the extract of Harpagophytum procumbens has anti-inflammatory effects in reducing eosinophil infiltration in the blood and washed from the peritoneal and bronchoalveolar at different periods analyzed. The antiinflammatory may be due to the ability of the extract Harpagophytum procumbens decrease the production of factors that favor the proliferation and activation of eosinophils (IL-5, IL-4 and IL-13) during 18, established as the peak of eosinophilia. Furthermore, our treatment decreases the expression adhesion molecules, CD11b, CD11c peak of eosinophilia during infection by T. kennels. The CD40 molecule expression by eosinophils seems to favor the survival of leukocytes, however, would require further investigations that contributed to the understanding of the mechanisms by which the extract of H. procumbens can interfere with the migration of eosinophils into the inflammatory site in this model, since this event is characterized as being complex order.
A Síndrome da Larva Migrans Visceral (SLMV) é uma parasitose, causada pelo Toxocara canis, um dos helmintos mais freqüente em cães. Nos hospedeiros definitivos, se apresentam em diferentes formas morfológicas, ovos embrionados, adultos machos e fêmeas. Entretanto, nos hospedeiros não habituais (ex.: homem e roedores), apresentam-se apenas no estádio de larvas infectantes (L3) e não completam seu ciclo biológico. A infecção no homem ocorre pela ingestão acidental de ovos larvados, que no intestino delgado liberam as larvas infectantes (L3), as quais atravessam a mucosa intestinal e pela via linfática atingem a circulação porta e o fígado chegando aos pulmões. As larvas podem ainda atravessar ativamente a parede do intestino, iniciar um processo de migração errática através dos diferentes tecidos do hospedeiro. As principais características dessa doença na fase crônica são as eosinofilias sanguínea e tecidual e altos níveis de IgE sérica. A resposta imunológica do hospedeiro as larvas, ocorre durante a migração tecidual, onde as larvas liberam produtos antigênicos de secreção-excreção (TES) que as protegem contra a reação do hospedeiro. Os TES apresentam uma fração alergênica responsável pela estimulação da produção e liberação de eosinófilos. Neste contexto, a busca por novas ferramentas terapêuticas que promovam menos danos aos indivíduos acometidos pelo aumento sistêmico dos eosinófilos torna-se importante. Assim, neste estudo, avaliamos a atividade modulatória e anti-inflamatória da Harpagophytum procumbens contra eosinofilia utilizando o modelo de infecção experimental com T. canis SLMV. Nossos resultados demonstraram que o extrato da Harpagophytum procumbens possui efeitos anti-inflamatório diminuindo no infiltrado eosinofílico no sangue e lavados da peritoneal e broncoalveolar, nos diferentes períodos analisados. O efeito anti-inflamtório pode ser decorrente da capacidade do extrato de Harpagophytum procumbens diminuir a produção de fatores que favorecem a proliferação e ativação de eosinófilos (IL-5, IL-4 e IL-13) no período 18°, estabelecido como o pico da eosinofilia. Além disso, nosso tratamento diminui a expressão das moléculas de adesão CD11b, CD11c no pico da eosinofilia durante a infecção por T. canis. A expressão da molécula CD40 por eosinófilos parece favorecer a sobrevida deste leucócito, todavia, serão necessárias outras investigações que contribuíam para o entendimento dos mecanismos pelos quais o extrato de H. procumbens pode interferir na migração dos eosinófilos para o sitio inflamatório neste modelo, uma vez que este evento é caracterizado como sendo ordem complexa e multifatorial.

This thesis focused on the fate of nitrogen and trace metals species from combustion and gasification of biomass. The effect of process parameters on the release of these species during pilot-scale combustion and gasification of biomass was investigated and the information used to identify methods for the reduction of these species. The investigation focused on Miscanthus and Dried distillers’ grains with solubles (DDGS). The pilot-scale test rigs used were a fluidised-bed combustor and a fixed-bed downdraft gasifier. The two fuels were analysed by means of proximate, ultimate and ash analysis. The process parameters monitored were temperatures, gas flow, gas composition and ash composition and the process parameters studied are bed temperature and equivalence ratio. The different nitrogen content of the two fuels plays an important role in the emission. Both bed temperature and air to fuel ratio have demonstrated to have an important influence in the release of nitrogen oxides in combustion and ammonia in gasification, therefore they can be used to mitigate the emission of these species in the flue gas. Both processes are affected by the high alkali metals content of the fuels for the tendency to form low melting composites. Differences have been highlighted in the metal distribution between combustion and gasification. The different nitrogen and ash content of the two fuels make the results of the present thesis applicable to predict the behaviour of other biomass fuels according to the fuel characteristics. The scale of the tests performed allowed highlighting which methods can be used to control the emission of nitrogen and trace metal species. Moreover, the investigation highlighted major drawbacks in the use of biomass fuels in both fluidised bed and fixed bed technology due to ash properties.

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A estagnação da economia vivida nos anos 1980 e suas consequências nos primeiros anos da década de 1990 levaram o Brasil a uma grave crise econômica que elevou os índices de desemprego a patamares alarmantes. Frente a este cenário, muitas empresas entraram em colapso financeiro, o que ocasionou o encerramento das atividades, de forma voluntária ou por meio de processos falimentares. A presente tese tem como objeto de investigação a análise na mudança da cultura organizacional – mediada por processos formativos – e das especificidades econômico-sociais de empresas recuperadas por ex-empregados e reconfiguradas sob o formato de cooperativas de trabalhadores no estado do Rio Grande do Sul. O problema central indaga se as cooperativas com essas características aplicam efetivamente os princípios cooperativos e da autogestão nas atividades cotidianas, tendo em vista as ambiguidades e contradições que vivenciam para se manter, frente às demandas relacionadas à competição, presentes no sistema capitalista; e, se as mesmas podem ser circunscritas no que se considera economia solidária. Como objetivo geral, propõe-se analisar o processo de constituição das cooperativas de trabalhadores por ex-empregados de empresas no estado do Rio Grande do Sul e os efeitos das mudanças organizacionais no processo de recuperação, sob o ponto de vista dos princípios cooperativos e da autogestão. Para operacionalizar a pesquisa, foram identificadas dez cooperativas com este perfil, por meio do cadastro do Sistema Ocergs/Sescoop e da Pesquisa Nacional sobre Empresas Recuperadas por Trabalhadores (2013), das quais duas deixaram de operar na fase inicial da pesquisa e uma recusou-se a participar. Então, integram o estudo sete cooperativas, localizadas em seis municípios gaúchos, sendo três do ramo educacional, três do ramo produção e uma do ramo turismo e lazer. A condução metodológica da pesquisa definiu-se pelo método descritivo, com estudo de casos múltiplos. Os dados foram produzidos em trabalho de campo, adotando-se procedimentos de diversas naturezas, como: pesquisa bibliográfica; análise documental; questionários aplicados junto a um grupo de cooperados; entrevistas em profundidade com gestores das cooperativas; dois grupos focais realizados com cooperados; e, por fim, a observação direta das atividades, em situações específicas. Os resultados evidenciam que: os princípios do cooperativismo e da autogestão são praticados de modo parcial; a cultura organizacional é caracterizada por um processo de transição que busca mudanças no que diz respeito à maior transparência na tomada de decisões e à convivência entre as pessoas, com mais abertura, diálogo e participação; e, os efeitos econômicos e sociais refletem-se na manutenção dos postos de trabalho e na consequente continuidade dos rendimentos. Conclui-se que as cooperativas mantêm praticamente a mesma estrutura da empresa ou instituição anterior, promovendo algumas adaptações ao novo formato de gestão; os princípios cooperativos e da autogestão sofrem restrições impostas pela competição capitalista; e, principalmente, o que comanda as ações nas cooperativas é o viés econômico, mesmo que a preocupação com o ser humano não seja desprezada. Entende-se que essas cooperativas podem ser consideradas como integrantes do campo da economia solidária, caracterizadas como empresas autogestionárias, ainda que vivenciem restritivamente os princípios cooperativos e da autogestão e que algumas não participem ou estejam inseridas nas esferas políticas da economia solidária.
The economic stagnation in the 80s and its consequences in the first years of the 90s led Brazil to a severe economic crisis, which raised the unemployment index to alarming levels. In view of this setting, many companies have financially collapsed and closed its operations voluntarily or under insolvency proceedings. This thesis investigative object is to analyze the changes occurred in the organizational culture – mediated by formative processes – and the social-economic specificities of companies recovered by former employees that were reconfigured as labor cooperatives in the Rio Grande do Sul State. The core problem inquires if these labor cooperatives effectively apply the cooperative and self-management principles in daily activities, considering the ambiguities and contradictions they face to survive in a capitalist system, its competition-related demands and also if they can be circumscribed in a solidarity economy scenario. In its general purpose, this paper analyses the labor cooperative constitution process held by former employees of bankrupt companies in Rio Grande do Sul State and the effects of organizational changes in the recovery/constitution process from the cooperative and self management point of view. To operationalize the research, a ten cooperatives sample was identified through the Ocergs/Sescoop System and the national survey about ‘Recovered Companies by Workers’ issued in 2013. From these ten, two closed down their operations and one refused to participate as study subject. Therefore, seven cooperative are subject of this study, which are located in six different municipalities. Three of them are in the educational branch, other three in the production branch and the other remaining cooperative is in the tourism and recreation sector. The research methodology was conducted by the descriptive method and included multiple case studies. The data were developed in fieldwork, which adopted many procedures, such as bibliographical research, documental analysis, questionnaires filled by cooperated people groups, in-depth interviews with cooperative managers, two focal groups held with cooperated people, and the direct observation of the cooperatives activities in specific situations. The findings indicate that: a) the cooperative and self-management principles are partially applied; b) the organizational culture is characterized by a transition process that seeks to make changes into a greater transparency in decisional process and in the people coexistence that are more open to dialogue and participation; and c) the social-economic effects implies the maintenance of the employment level and its consequent income continuity to cooperate people. In conclusion, the cooperatives basically maintain the same structure from the bankrupted company, promoting some adaptations aiming the new management format; also the cooperative and self-management principles are restricted by the capitalist competition; and what command actions in these cooperatives is the economic aspect, although the concern with the people is not neglected. It is also possible to comprehend that these cooperative belong to the solidarity economy field, regardless their limits to the full application of the cooperative and self-management principles and some of them do not participate or are not part of the solidarity economy policies.