Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Ascon'

Si l’internet des objets laisse entrevoir de nouvelles perspectives, tantpour les entreprises que pour les administrations et les citoyens, son déploiement représente un défi majeur en termes de sécurité et de respect de la vie privée.Afin d’assurer la confidentialité des données générées par ces objets connectés, la plupart des protocoles de l’internet des objets intègrent des primitives cryptographiques au sein même de leur spécification. Bien que les algorithmes cryptographiques employés à ce jour bénéficient d’une sécurité éprouvée, ils sont directement tirés des protocoles de sécurité traditionnels et par conséquent, n’ont pas été conçus pour être particulièrement efficaces sur des plateformes à faibles ressources telles que celles dédiées aux objets connectés. Cette thèse se concentre sur les primitives cryptographiques dites “légères” spécialement conçues pour l’internet des objets.Outre les principaux objectifs des algorithmes cryptographiques légers, quisont d’être plus efficaces et plus compacts que les algorithmes traditionnels, leur capacité à se protéger facilement des attaques physiques, qui ciblent l’implémentation d’un algorithme cryptographique plutôt que sa structure mathématique, est également un critère à forte valeur ajoutée. Bien que ces attaques nécessitent pour la plupart un accès physique au composant en charge d’exécuter la primitive cryptographique, elles constituent une réelle menace dans le modèle de l’internet des objets, où les objets connectés sont potentiellement déployés à proximité physique de tout type d’attaquant.Nos travaux se concentrent sur l’étude des algorithmes ChaCha, ACORN et Ascon
While the internet of things (IoT) promises many advances for businesses, administrations and citizens, its deployment is a real challenge in terms of privacy and security. In order to ensure the confidentiality and the authenticity of information transmitted by these objects, numerous IoT protocols incorporate cryptographic algorithms within their specification. To date, these algorithms are the same as the ones used in traditionnal internet security protocols and thus, have not been designed with constrainted plateforms in mind. This thesis focuses on lightweight cryptography which aims at reduce as much as possible the cost of its implementation.Apart from the main goal of lightweight cryptography which is to consume less ressources than traditional algorithms, it is also valuable to take into account the integration of countermeasures against physical attacks during the design phase in order to limit their impact. Although this kind of attacks require a physical access to the target, this can be a realistic scenario as connected objets might be deployed everywhere and thus, potentially accessible by malicious people. Our works focus on the study of three lightweight cryptographic algorithms, each having a potential for industrial applications. Especially, we highlight the need of secure implementations by introducing two new side-channel attacks : one against ChaCha20, standardized by the IETF and now used in TLS 1.3, and another one against ACORN, an algorithm being part of the CAESAR portfolio

Mestrado em Finanças
A Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings Plc é uma empresa inglesa que opera no segmento de alto luxo da indústria automóvel. A marca é conhecida mundialmente como uma das marcas de luxo mais icónicas. Os seus carros estão presentes em vários filmes da saga 007, e são vistos pelo público como sendo produtos que exibem exclusividade, elegância, inovação e estilo, aliados ao desempenho e engenharia. Este projeto tem como objetivo a avaliação das ações da Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings Plc e consequentemente o cálculo do valor da empresa, tendo em consideração a estrutura e recomendações do CFA Institute. Este relatório tem por base informação pública e foi elaborado a 3 de julho de 2020, qualquer informação disponibilizada após essa data não estará considerada na avaliação. De acordo com o método de avaliação Free Cash Flow to the Firm, o preço-alvo para 2020 é de £0.84, ou seja, um potencial de subida de 31.75%, tendo como base o valor da ação a 31 de março de 2020. De forma a suportar a avaliação, o Adjusted Present Value e o Residual Income foram calculados, orientando uma recomendação positiva de strong buy e buy respetivamente. Considerando estes dados, apresento uma recomendação de compra, no entanto, qualquer investidor tem de estar ciente da sua relação com o risco. Juntamente com esta recomendação, saliento que a empresa apresenta um alto nível de risco, maioritariamente devido ao seu histórico recente, à incerteza da capacidade de implementar os planos desenvolvidos e à incerteza no mercado.
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings Plc is an English company operating in the high luxury segment of the automotive industry. The brand is known worldwide as one of the most iconic luxury brands. Its cars are featured in several films of the 007 sagas and are seen by the public as products that display exclusivity, elegance, innovation, and style, coupled with performance and engineering. This project aims to evaluate the shares of Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings Plc and consequently calculate the value of the company, considering the structure and recommendations of the CFA Institute. This report is based on public information and was prepared on July 3rd, 2020, any information made available after that date will not be considered in the valuation. According to the Free Cash Flow to the Firm valuation method, the target price for 2020 is £0.84, i.e., a potential increase of 31.75% based on the share value on March 31st, 2020. To support the valuation, the Adjusted Present Value (APV) and the Residual Income (RI) were computed giving a positive recommendation of strong buy and buy respectively. Considering this information, I present a buy recommendation, however, any investor must be aware of its investor´s profile and relationship with risk. Along with this recommendation, I highlight that the company presents a high level of risk, mainly due to its recent history, the uncertainty of the ability to implement the developed plans, and the uncertainty in the market due to Brexit and Covid-19.
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Current network infrastructures are supported on a layered model whereby heterogeneous data traffic can be seamlessly transported. In this architecture, where client/server relationships are established between adjacent layers, there exists an IP layer on top, two intermediate Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) layers, and a Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) layer at the bottom. Despite the benefits provided by the intermediate ATM and SDH layers (i.e., QoS and resilience), the complex interaction between them and the introduced overhead motivate an evolution towards a lighter model, where IP flows are directly sent through the WDM layer. In this new IP/WDM model the functionalities formerly provided by the ATM and SDH layers are moved to the optical domain. From an operational perspective, the static nature of current transport networks, which leads to long service provisioning times (i.e., hours or days), becomes incompatible with the dynamic patterns associated to the prevalent IP traffic. To overcome these limitations, the ITU-T proposed the Automatically Switched Optical Network (ASON) architecture, which utilizes a control plane to provide fast and reliable lightpaths within the optical transport network. In addition, the Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching (GMPLS) model defined by the IETF appears as the most promising technology to implement the functionalities of the ASON control plane. Although being a significant advance towards flexible and easy-to-maintain transport network architectures, the ASON/GMPLS paradigm still presents three major open issues that are addressed in this thesis. First, due to the coarse granularity offered by the WDM transport technology, established connections remain underused when sub-wavelength client flows must be transmitted. In light of this, a multi-layer approach, where different higher level data flows are aggregated in the IP layer and transmitted over the same optical path, appears as the most valid solution. Besides, the GMPLS technology is more than indicated to implement the control plane in this multi-layer architecture, since it allows the management of different switching technologies in an integrated way. In this regard, this thesis reports the experimental design and validation of a GMPLS-controlled multi-layer optical transport network. Second, even though pure optical transmission enabled by WDM provides high bandwidth in a cost-effective way, it is also very sensitive to the physical layer impairments that affect to the transmitted optical signal and, thus, to the transported data. Hence, a control plane capable of managing physical layer information to provide feasible lightpaths becomes a must. This thesis introduces and experimentally evaluates different architectural solutions to implement an impairment-aware GMPLS-based control plane. Finally, as transport network infrastructures grow, they are typically segmented into domains due to administrative, technological, or scalability reasons. Furthermore, the interconnection of network infrastructures managed by different operators is mandated by the need to provide long distance connectivity. Here, confidentiality and reliability concerns become of paramount importance. All this justifies the need for multi-domain networks. In GMPLS-controlled multi-domain optical transport networks, this partitioning affects to end-to-end service provisioning, which is hindered by the reduced information exchange between domains resulting from the fulfillment of segmentation criteria. As the third goal of this thesis, different mechanisms for scalable and effective end-to-end service provisioning are proposed in this multi-domain scenario.
Les xarxes de comunicacions actuals segueixen un model distribuït de quatre capes que permet la transmissió de tràfic de dades heterogeni de forma eficaç sobre la mateixa infraestructura de transport. En aquesta arquitectura, la capa superior correspon a la capa IP, seguida per dues capes intermèdies que són la capa ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) i la capa SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) i, finalment, la capa WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing). Encara que les capes ATM i SDH proporcionen beneficis com qualitat de servei i protecció i restauració, també comporten una sèrie de problemes com interaccions complexes entre elles i un excés d'informació de control. Això fa necessari evolucionar cap a una arquitectura més lleugera on els fluxos IP es puguin enviar directament a través de la capa WDM. En aquest nou model IP/WDM les funcionalitats proporcionades inicialment per les capes ATM i SDH es traspassen al domini òptic.Des d'un punt de vista operacional, la naturalesa estàtica del model en quatre capes fa que els temps de provisió de serveis siguin molt llargs (d'hores o dies) i, per tant, incompatibles amb els patrons de tràfic IP que són altament dinàmics. Per superar aquestes limitacions, la ITU-T va proposar l'arquitectura ASON (Automatically Switched Optical Network) que utilitza un pla de control per proporcionar connexions en la xarxa òptica de forma ràpida i fiable. A més, la tecnologia GMPLS (Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching), definida per la IETF, apareix com el model més prometedor per implementar les funcionalitats del pla de control d'ASON.Tot i que el paradigma ASON/GMPLS suposa un avenç significatiu per aconseguir un model flexible i fàcil de mantenir, encara presenta una sèrie de limitacions que es tracten en aquesta tesi.Primer, degut a la granularitat de longitud d'ona oferida per la tecnologia de transport WDM, els circuits òptics establerts queden infrautilitzats quan transmeten fluxos de dades de client de granularitat inferior. Per aquest motiu una solució multi-capa, en la que aquests fluxos de client puguin ser agregats a la capa IP i després transportats pel mateix circuit en la capa òptica, sembla la més apropiada. A més, la tecnologia GMPLS resulta molt adient per implementar el pla de control en aquesta arquitectura multi-capa, ja que permet la gestió de diferents tecnologies de commutació de forma integrada. En aquest context, aquesta tesi descriu el desenvolupament i validació experimental d'una xarxa de transport òptic multi-capa controlada per un pla de control GMPLS.En segon lloc, encara que la transmissió purament òptica basada en WDM proporciona un gran ample de banda amb un cost reduït, també és molt sensible als efectes negatius que afecten al senyal òptic transmès i, per tant, a la informació transportada. En aquest context esdevé necessari un pla de control que sigui capaç de manegar la informació associada a la capa òptica. Aquesta tesi presenta i avalua de forma experimental diferents solucions per implementar un pla de control GMPLS amb gestió dels impediments físics associats a la capa òptica.Finalment, degut al creixement de les infraestructures de xarxa, aquestes s'acostumen a particionar ja sigui per raons tecnològiques, administratives o d'escalabilitat. A més, la interconnexió entre dominis de diferents operadors, necessària per proporcionar connectivitat a llarga distància, implica problemes de confidencialitat entre operadors. Tot això dóna lloc a les xarxes multi-domini. En xarxes òptiques multi-domini controlades amb GMPLS, aquest particionat afecta a la provisió de serveis extrem a extrem, que es veu afectada pel limitat intercanvi d'informació causat per la necessitat de satisfer els requeriments esmentats. El tercer objectiu d'aquesta tesi consisteix en proporcionar mecanismes de provisió de connexions extrem a extrem, escalables i efectius, en aquest escenari multi-domini.

This thesis is a three part investigation into the methodological assumptions employed by professionals undertaking profiles of `community'. It is based on a case study of Newtown South Aston in Birmingham, an area awarded City Challenge funding in 1992. Part one addresses theoretical issues. It looks at the methodological framework of community theorising and argues that there is a paradigmatic crisis in the study and definition of community. Part two then summarises much of the documentary evidence collected and analysed in the course of this research.I t asks the key question-: "What assumptions are made in order to produce accounts of community?". These assumption are identified as is the type of evidence used to describe the area. It is suggested that the content of documents relating to Newtown South Aston were directly influenced the regeneration programme. The significant `source' document is identified and is subjected to a rhetorical analysis. It is concluded that the organisations working in Newtown South Aston are playing a rhetorical game, using core assumptions and ideas about `what community is' and `what community development' is in order to gain funding. The thesis then turns its attention to answering the question-: "What might the implications of these assumptions be? ". Using Winstanley's Stakeholder Power Matrix, the rhetoric of empowerment in the `source' document is put to the test. It is concluded that rhetoric is not matched in reality. It is proposed that in fact there is a `short-circuiting' of the theory and understanding of `community'. Part two concludes that the paradigmatic crisis in the theoretical literature is being matched in `real life'. The final part of this thesis presents a new paradigmatic framework for the understanding of community. Using the argument presented in Alan Macfarlane's "The Origins Of English Individualism" it is suggested that the concept of community has been misunderstood by many contemporary sociologists. It is concluded that the concept of community must be revisited in light of this argument. Finally attention is turned to identifying the relevance this thesis has for the information profession.

OBJETIVO: Establecer el valor pronóstico del método ASCOT aplicado en el paciente con trauma severo que ingresa al Servicio de emergencia MATERIAL Y METODOS : Estudio descriptivo, prospectivo y observacional mediante la utilización del índice ASCOT aplicado en los 29 pacientes con trauma severo admitidos en el servicio de emergencia del HNGAI ES Salud del 01 de octubre del 2004 al 31 de marzo del 2005. El análisis estadístico incluyo índices de calibración de Hosmer-Lemeshow; discriminación, área bajo la curva de ROC. RESULTADOS: De los 29 pacientes predominó el sexo masculino con 24 pacientes 82.8% siendo el grupo etareo mas afectado el menor de 54 años con 21 pacientes 72.4% la mortalidad fue mayor en los grupos de 65-74 y 75 –84 años haciendo un total de 17.2%. El mecanismo de lesión mas frecuente fue el de caída y accidentes de transito. La mortalidad fue 31%. (9 pacientes). La sensibilidad y especificidad fue de 0.88 y 0.85 respectivamente, el área bajo la curva ROC = 0.889. La prueba de Hosmer-Lemeshow fue de 10.67 y una p= 0.221 CONCLUSIONES: La calibración y discriminación obtenida en el presente estudio indican que este método de predicción de la mortalidad en pacientes politraumatizados resulta confiable.
--- OBJECTIVE: To establish the value predict of the method ASCOT applied in the patient with trauma severe that to enter of the emergency service. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Study descriptive, market and observacional by means of the utilization of the index ASCOT applied in the twenty nine patients with trauma severe admitted in the emergency service of the HNGAI ESSALUD of the one of october of the 2004 to 31 of march of the 2005. The analysis statistician include indexes of calibration of Hosmer Lemeshow; discrimination, area under the curve of ROC. RESULTS: Of them twenty nine patients prevail the masculine sex with twenty four patients 82.8% being the group of age more affected the minor of fifty four years with twenty one patients 72.4% the mortality was major in the groups of 65-74 and 75-84 years doing a whole of 17.2% the mechanism of injury more frequent was of the fall and accidents of traffic. The mortality was 31% (9 patients). The sensibility and especificity was of 0.88 and 0.85 respectively, the area fall the curve ROC= 0.889.The test of Hosmer-Lemeshow was of 10.67 and one P= 0.221. CONCLUSIONS: The calibration and discrimination obtained in the present study they indicate that this method of prediction of the mortality in patients polytraumatized it turns out to be reliable.
Tesis de segunda especialidad

Objetivo: Comparar la valoración pronóstica de sobrevivencia de los score ASCOT y TRISS, en pacientes con trauma severo que ingresan a la Unidad de Trauma Shock del Servicio de Emergencia del Hospital Nacional Hipólito Únanue. Material y métodos: Diseño y tipo de investigación, de enfoque cuantitativo observacional analítico, transversal, retrospectiva. La recolección de datos se obtuvo de la revisión de historias clínicas de los pacientes admitidos con traumatismo severo del 01 de enero del 2008 al 31 de diciembre del 2010; el dato de sobrevivencia se recogió de la condición de vida del paciente al alta hospitalaria, vivo o fallecido. De los 253 pacientes ingresados, se trabajó con 215 casos. Los datos recolectados han sido ingresados en el programa estadístico SPPS 17.0 para su análisis. La calidad de predicción, calibración y discriminación se determinó con el área bajo la curva ROC, y el test de bondad de ajuste de Hosmer-Lemeshow. Resultados: La calibración de la valoración pronostica, realizada con el test H-L 17,36 para ASCOT y 18,45 para TRISS con una correspondencia de 91,6 para ambos scores. La discriminación del área ROC fue de 0,921 y 0,888 para TRISS y ASCOT respectivamente. Sensibilidad y Especificidad de 93,30% y 86 % para ASCOT; 95,20% y 80% para TRISS. Conclusión: ASCOT y TRISS tienen buena exactitud discriminativa para predecir sobrevivencia con un área ROC de 0,888 y 0,92, una alta Sensibilidad de 0,933 y 0,951, buena Especificidad de 0,86 y 0,80 para ASCOT y TRISS respectivamente, similar grado de correspondencia 91,6%. Pero ambos tienen una calibración H-L mayor de 15,5 con 17,36 vs 18,45.
Objective: Compare the prognostic rating of survival of ASCOT and TRISS score in patients with severe trauma admitted to the Shock Trauma Unit Emergency Service Hipolito Unanue National Hospital. Methodology: Design and type of research quantitative approach, observational analytical retrospective. Data collection was obtained from the medical record review, of patients admitted with severe trauma of 2008 January 1 to 2010 December 3. The information of survival was collected from the condition of life of the patient to the hospitable discharge, alive or deceased. Of 253 patients admitted, worked with 215. The collected data have been entered in the SPPS 17.0 statistical software for analysis. The quality of prediction about discrimination was determined with the area under the ROC curve and the Hosmer–Lemeshow (H-L) test for goodness of fit. Results: The calibration of the prognostic assessment, carried out with the HL test for ASCOT 17.36 y 18.45 for TRISS with an accuracy of 91,6 for both scores. Discrimination of ROC area was 0,921 and 0.888 for TRISS and ASCOT respectively. Sensitivity and specificity of 93.30% and 86% for ASCOT 95.20% and 80% for TRISS. Conclusion: ASCOT and TRISS have discriminative accuracy predict survival with an ROC area of 0.888 and 0.92, a high sensitivity of 0.933 and 0.951, good specificity of 0.86 and 0.80 respectively for TRISS and ASCOT similar degree of correspondence 91.6 %. But both have a HL> 15.5 Calibration with 17.36 vs 18.45. Keywords: ASCOT Score, Score TRISS, Survival.
Tesis

Background: The Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit was developed to measure outcomes of social care in England. In this study, we translated the four level self-completion version (SCT-4) of the ASCOT for use in the Netherlands and performed a cross-cultural validation. Methods: The ASCOT SCT-4 was translated into Dutch following international guidelines, including two forward and back translations. The resulting version was pilot tested among frail older adults using think-aloud interviews. Furthermore, using a subsample of the Dutch ACT-study, we investigated test-retest reliability and construct validity and compared response distributions with data from a comparable English study. Results: The pilot tests showed that translated items were in general understood as intended, that most items were reliable, and that the response distributions of the Dutch translation and associations with other measures were comparable to the original English version. Based on the results of the pilot tests, some small modifications and a revision of the Dignity items were proposed for the final translation, which were approved by the ASCOT development team. The complete original English version and the final Dutch translation can be obtained after registration on the ASCOT website (http://www.pssru.ac.uk/ascot). Conclusions: This study provides preliminary evidence that the Dutch translation of the ASCOT is valid, reliable and comparable to the original English version. We recommend further research to confirm the validity of the modified Dutch ASCOT translation. (authors' abstract)

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Tecnologia, Departamento de Engenharia Elétrica, 2008.
Submitted by Kelly Marques (pereira.kelly@gmail.com) on 2009-10-30T19:36:09Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_AlexandrePiqueira.pdf: 1919215 bytes, checksum: 870260cb82b8eb38fe69b000d99be69f (MD5)
Approved for entry into archive by Tania Milca Carvalho Malheiros(tania@bce.unb.br) on 2009-11-10T11:11:51Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_AlexandrePiqueira.pdf: 1919215 bytes, checksum: 870260cb82b8eb38fe69b000d99be69f (MD5)
Made available in DSpace on 2009-11-10T11:11:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_AlexandrePiqueira.pdf: 1919215 bytes, checksum: 870260cb82b8eb38fe69b000d99be69f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-10-30
Redes de transmissão ópticas, de última geração, como a ASON – Automatic Switched Optical Network, proporcionam facilidades de operação, robustez às redes e novos desafios para os projetistas. Projetar redes ópticas de transmissão de dados, capazes de suportar múltiplas falhas com o menor custo possível e utilizando métodos de proteção aplicados em uma topologia em malha, é uma tarefa complexa que requer auxílio computacional. Esta complexidade resulta da análise obrigatória de cada uma das centenas, ou até milhares, de rotas possíveis para se levar demandas de tráfego de cada par “origemdestino”, visando encontrar a melhor distribuição, reduzindo a quantidade de banda a ser provisionada para fins de recuperação de falhas. O modelo de distribuição de tráfego proposto foi baseado em um híbrido entre proteção de caminho, 1:1 ou 1+1, e recuperação de falha através de reroteamento. Conhecido como PRC – Proteção e Restauração Combinadas, quando há uma combinação de falhas que interrompa o tráfego, a restauração de Caminho é acionada para aprovisionar automaticamente uma nova rota entre os nós de origem e de destino. Os resultados das simulações indicam que, para se alcançar valores máximos de recuperação contra duplas falhas, a conectividade entre os nós da rede é o mais importante. Em redes de topologias aleatórias com grau de conectividade médio pouco abaixo de 3, a proteção de caminho apresentou baixa imunidade à dupla falha de enlaces, em torno de 68% a 72%, e baixa reserva de banda, enquanto que a Proteção e Restauração Combinadas apresentam 90-97% de imunidade e reserva de banda cerca de 47% maior que o encontrado anteriormente. Para reduzir a quantidade de banda reservada para recuperação após dupla falha de enlaces, criamos o modelo PRC-RE, Proteção e Restauração Combinadas – Reuso de Enlace, e alcançamos a mesma imunidade do PRC, porém, com reserva de banda entre 16% e 25% maior que a alcançada pela proteção de caminho. _________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT
The latest generation optical transmission networks, such as ASON - Automatic Switched Optical Network, provide facilities for operation, robustness to networks and new challenges for designers. Designing optical networks for data transmission, capable of supporting multiple failures with minimal cost using methods of protection applied in a mesh topology, is a complex task that requires computer aid. This complexity result from mandatory review of each hundreds or even thousands, of possible routes to take traffic demands of each pair "origin-destination", aimed at finding the best distribution, reducing the amount of bandwidth to be provisioned for failures recover. The traffic distribution model proposed was based on a hybrid between path protection, 1:1 and 1 +1, and failure recovery through rerouting. In PRC - Protection and Restoration Combined, when there is a combination of failures that disrupts traffic, the path restoration process is automatically triggered to supply a new route between the nodes of origin and destination. Simulations results indicate that to achieve maximum recovery from double failures, the connectivity between the nodes of the network is the most important. In Random networks topologies with a degree of connectivity average just under 3, the path protection had low immunity to the double failures of links, around 68% to 72%, and low bandwidth allocation, while the Protection and Restoration Combined have 90-97% of immunity and bandwidth allocation about 47% higher than the previously found. To reduce the amount of bandwidth reserved for recovery after links double failures, created the model PRC-RE, Proteção e Restauração Combinadas – Reuso de Enlace, and achieve the same immunity of the PRC, however, with reservation of bandwidth between 16% and 25 % higher than that achieved by path protection.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att svara på frågan hur läsare och media reagerade på bloggen Black Ascot i egenskap av en litterär bluff, även kallad en litterär fabrikation. Målet är även att komma fram till hur mottagare av textbaserad kommunikation reagerar på att bli lurade. För att uppnå syftet undersöks läsarnas och medias reception av Black Ascot. Uppsatsen diskuterar även om det finns förklaringar till receptionen i bloggens litterära utformning. I analyserna framkommer det att diskussioner gällande framförallt autenticitet och moral uppstod såväl i media som bland läsarkommentarerna. Trots att negativa reaktioner förekommer i båda undersökningsgrupperna tyder resultatet på att en majoritet av bloggläsarna uppskattade bloggen även som en litterär fabrikation. Enligt uppsatsen beror detta bland annat på bloggens tematik och dess intentionsambivalens.

The purpose of this creative project was to develop a conceptual landscape plan for integrating residential development on an historically significant property, located at North Bend, Ohio, known as "Aston." The plan, designating areas suitable for residential development, was designed so that most of the features and elements of the property that defined its historic character were not destroyed or, at least, not unreasonably compromised. Priority was also placed on protecting the aesthetic and environmental qualities of the site. An inventory of the existing physical attributes (soil and bedrock geology, surface hydrology, topography, structures and other built features, etc.) of the property was conducted focusing on identification of historically significant elements. Additionally, written and photographic documentation established the general historic character and appearance of the property and identified important features that were no longer present in the current landscape. The documentation of the history of the property and its historic features was presented in narrative form (supported by historic and current photographs) in this study. It is probable that further documentation of this significant property is unlikely to occur since it is presently owned by a development company. The two areas of the property that were found to contain concentrations of historic resources (structures, drives, vegetation, walls, ponds, etc.) were designated as "Historic Core Areas" for preservation. Another area where the Ohio Department of Natural Resources had discovered a population of an endangered plant species was also withdrawn for preservation. Based on the implications of the physical attributes of the property, further areas were designated as unsuitable for development and will function as open "greenspaces" for the proposed community. The remaining acreage of the property constituted the areas designated as suitable for residential development. In these areas, the suggested road layout, lot sizes, siting of condominiums or housing structures, and pedestrian trails were designed. Finally, recommendations for guiding the more detailed design of the architectural and landscape architectural elements of the proposed residential development were presented. This completed creative project presents a suggestion for how modem residential development may be accommodated without substantially destroying the documented historic, environmental and aesthetic values of this significant property.
Department of Landscape Architecture

This thesis explores the football fan rivalry between the fans of Aston Villa and Birmingham City. Football fan rivalries are unique and complex, with each one being underpinned by various social, historical and/or cultural factors. Therefore, each rivalry should be studied in-depth in order to understand the underlying factors that shape oppositions and social identities. This rivalry has previously received no academic attention, despite these two being the main clubs in Birmingham, England’s second largest city, with a long history of intra-city rivalry since the first fixture between the two in 1879. The constructivist approach adopted perceived people’s knowledge, opinions, interpretations and experiences as meaningful properties of social reality and, thus, this study aimed to gather data from those who actually experience the rivalry – the fans. An ethnographic study was undertaken in order to elicit rich, qualitative data and to gain a deep and reality congruent insight into the complex factors that underpin the rivalry. Participant observation was conducted at matches involving Aston Villa and Birmingham City. Additionally, semi-structured interviews were conducted with fans of the two clubs, with data being subjected to coding and a thematic analysis. Informed by a cultural studies framework that focused on the centrality of power, the analysis identified three central themes underpinning the rivalry. The first theme was the constant struggle between the fan groups over territory. Fans placed great value on being perceived to control certain areas, or even the whole city, in order to gain power (territorial capital) and become the dominant identity. This is particularly significant as a detailed exploration of territory has previously been absent from football rivalry literature. Secondly, tensions were based on the historical footballing success of Aston Villa, and on Birmingham City’s relative lack of success. Villa fans were perceived as the dominant group as the success of the team afforded them high levels of (sub)cultural capital. Thirdly, the contestation over power was informed by the perceived socio-economic status of each fan group, with Villa fans being perceived as more middle-class and Blues fans more working-class. These complex factors are continually contested and under negotiation, with the passion and intensity of the rivalry enduring as both fan groups battle for dominance. In addition to exploring this particular rivalry for the first time, this study has contributed to the limited but growing literature on rivalries, providing a clear methodological and theoretical framework for future research in this area, which was previously lacking.

La presente investigación es un trabajo de validación del “Inventario de sensibilidad ambiental y corporal” de Schienle, Walter, Stark y Vaitl (2002), también conocida en su lengua original como “Fragebogen zur Erfassung der Ekelempfindlichkeit” (FEE), cuyo objetivo es medir la emoción del asco. La prueba fue traducida del alemán al castellano por el Doctor Ramón León Donayre. La relevancia de validar un inventario que evalúe el asco radica en que, probablemente, se trate de la emoción acerca de la que menos se haya investigado, o sobre la que se ha sistematizado en menor cuantía el conocimiento derivado de su estudio. Sin embargo, entendemos que es de mucha relevancia en el campo clínico ya que se trata de una emoción que se encuentra presente en diversas patologías. Este inventario podría tener un alto valor predictivo además de mucha utilidad en la correlación de sus resultados con los de otros inventarios como los de personalidad. Con el fin de validar la prueba la encuesta fue aplicada a una muestra de 588 sujetos representada por 313 mujeres y 275 hombres. Los resultados obtenidos reflejan que el “Inventario de sensibilidad ambiental y corporal” posee un alto grado de confiabilidad, representado por un Alfa de Cronbach de ,939. present research is a validation work of the “Questionnaire for the assessment of disgust sensitivity” developed by Schienle, Walter, Stark and Vaitl (2002), also known in its original language as "Fragebogen zur Erfassung der Ekelempfindlichkeit" (FEE). The test was translated from German into Spanish by Dr. Ramón León Donayre. The relevance of validating a questionnaire that assess the emotion of disgust is, probably, that disgust might be the emotion that has been less investigated or to which the knowledge derived from its study has been systematized to a lesser extent. Nevertheless, we understand that it is of great relevance in the clinical field since disgust is an emotion that is present in diverse pathologies. This questionnaire could have a high predictive value and a lot of usefulness in the correlation of its results with those of other inventories such as, for example, personality tests. The survey was applied to a sample of 588 subjects represented by 313 women and 275 men. The validation of the instrument shows that the it has a high degree of reliability, represented by a Cronbach alpha of ,939.

Las empresas operadoras están enfrentando cambios radicales en el modelo de negocio. Sus clientes ya no contratan enlaces a redes porque ellos buscan servicios. Actualmente, los grandes sistemas de transporte digital, tanto urbanos como de larga distancia e internacionales, se basan en SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy), las cuales son optimas para tráfico de voz pues están diseñadas para conmutar circuitos. Sin embargo, la conmutación de paquetes es la que ha experimentado un crecimiento exponencial y las empresas deben hacer frente a este proceso. El protocolo IP ha sido sin dudas el gran gestor de sistemas de valor agregado, mostrándose en franca consolidación y expansión. En respuesta a lo anterior, las plataformas actuales, compuestas por tecnologías variadas y muchas veces propietarias, deben evolucionar hacia estructuras más flexibles, dinámicas y, sobre todo, integradas y optimizadas para manejo robusto de tráfico paquetizado. El objetivo principal de este trabajo es proponer una tecnología de transporte digital que permita llevar a efecto la evolución de las tecnologías de transporte rentabilizando los recursos, migrando los servicios de manera transparente, y permitiendo la escalabilidad para soportar las nuevas demandas de ancho de banda y prestaciones. Otro de los objetivos es mejorar la operación, simplificando las tareas de gestión, habilitación, provisión y mantenimiento. Las etapas para lograr lo planteado son cuatro: estudio teórico de la recomendación G.ASON (Automatic Switched Optical Network) de la ITU (International Telecommunication Union) y del estándar GMPLS (Generalized Multiprotocol Label Switching) de IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force); análisis técnico de las redes y protocolos en operación para voz, datos y otros servicios; especificación y propuesta de prototipo a escala de la solución; y, ejecución práctica e implementación de la maqueta de prueba para validar su funcionamiento. Este trabajo demuestra la aplicabilidad de ASON/GMPLS como nuevo estándar de transporte digital porque resuelve la problemática presente y capacidad para abordar los retos futuros: aumento drástico y escalable del ancho de banda; soporte de los servicios de manera transparente ya que es compatible con elementos multiservicios; fuerte crecimiento de los indicadores de disponibilidad de la red; simplificación de la provisión, habilitación, gestión y mantenimiento pues muchas de estas tareas son facilitadas por el plano de control distribuido de la tecnología ASON; y, explotación de la capacidad ociosa de enlaces, sin afectar la calidad de servicio comprometida. Además, este proyecto de título entrega un modelo conceptual, teórico y práctico para la implementación de ASON, aporta al conocimiento operativo de los dispositivos tecnológicos, contribuye a la creación de un plan de migración de las redes existentes y define requerimientos a exigir de los proveedores de equipos. La tendencia futura apunta hacia aplicaciones IP. En el núcleo de red de transporte, ASON basado en SDH mantendrá la supremacía. Esta tecnología será fortalecida con sistemas de gestión altamente inteligentes que permitirán inventario, provisión y reorganización de circuitos de manera totalmente automatizada.

Purpose Traditionally, researchers have relied on eliciting preferences through face-to-face interviews. Recently, there has been a shift towards using internet-based methods. Different methods of data collection may be a source of variation in the results. In this study, we compare the preferences for the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit (ASCOT) service user measure elicited using best-worst scaling (BWS) via a face-to-face interview and an online survey. Methods Data were collected from a representative sample of the general population in England. The respondents (face-toface: n = 500; online: n = 1001) completed a survey, which included the BWS experiment involving the ASCOT measure. Each respondent received eight best-worst scenarios and made four choices (best, second best, worst, second worst) in each scenario. Multinomial logit regressions were undertaken to analyse the data taking into account differences in the characteristics of the two samples and the repeated nature of the data. Results We initially found a number of small significant differences in preferences between the two methods across all ASCOT domains. These differences were substantially reduced-from 15 to 5 out of 30 coefficients being different at the 5% Level-and remained small in value after controlling for differences in observable and unobservable characteristics of the two samples. Conclusions This comparison demonstrates that face-to-face and internet surveys may lead to fairly similar preferences for social care-related quality of life when differences in sample characteristics are controlled for. With or without a constant sampling frame, studies should carefully design the BWS exercise and provide similar levels of clarification to participants in each survey to minimise the amount of error variance in the choice process.

Submitted by Vasti Diniz (vastijpa@hotmail.com) on 2017-09-21T13:33:40Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 2501709 bytes, checksum: 40d15def702a5882442f9a4f6f77c755 (MD5)
Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-21T13:33:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 2501709 bytes, checksum: 40d15def702a5882442f9a4f6f77c755 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-04-22
This study aims to analyze the process of reproduction of reports in the news sites of Paraiba - G1 PB, ParaíbaOnline and Iparaíba - from releases sent by the Federal University Communications Department of Campina Grande (UFCG). To conduct the survey was done a literature and documentary sources on Media Relations, Journalism Theories, Digital Journalism, newsworthiness criteria, among others was carried out yet, a survey of releases sent to the media and published in the media. Once this step, visits were made to the surveyed sites and interviews with journalists these vehicles to meet the production routine of writing, and to investigate if there was a line or discrepancy between what journalists claiming to make the placement of the news and what actually had been observed by us in the previous survey. The research is quantitative and qualitative. Its quantitative character is presented in the observation made during the months of November 2013 and November 2014 of releases sent by Ascom UFCG. Data were categorized into subjects that most fascinate the media and the least attract the interest of journalists. It was also an analysis of the impact of propagation and reproduction of releases by news sites. The qualitative research approach will be in the detailed study of the phenomenon, in which we try to explain the characteristics and contexts in which they are the object of research. The study has helped understand the reality of digital journalism newsrooms, in particular, working in the city of Campina Grande, as well as reflect on the role of journalists and advisors in the current situation where practices and journalistic functions are constantly changing and being reconfigured .
Este trabalho tem por objetivo analisar o processo de reprodução das notícias veiculadas nos sites jornalísticos da Paraíba – G1 PB, Paraíbaonline e Iparaíba - a partir dos releases enviados pela Assessoria de Comunicação da Universidade Federal de Campina Grande (UFCG). Para realizar a pesquisa foi feito um levantamento bibliográfico e, em fontes documentais sobre Assessoria de Imprensa, Teorias do Jornalismo, Jornalismo Digital, critérios de noticiabilidade, entre outros. Foi realizado, ainda, um levantamento dos releases enviados para a imprensa e divulgados na mídia. Concluída esta etapa foram realizadas visitas aos sites pesquisados e entrevistas com os jornalistas desses veículos para conhecer a rotina produtiva da redação, e investigar se havia uma consonância ou discrepância entre o que os jornalistas afirmavam fazer na veiculação das notícias e o que de fato tinha sido observado por nós no levantamento quantitativo. A pesquisa é quantitativa e qualitativa, cujo caráter quantitativo se apresenta na observação realizada durante os meses de novembro de 2013 e novembro de 2014 dos releases enviados pela Ascom da UFCG. Os dados foram categorizados em assuntos que mais fascinam a mídia e os que menos despertam o interesse dos jornalistas. Também foi realizada uma análise da incidência da veiculação e reprodução dos releases por parte dos sites jornalísticos. A abordagem qualitativa da pesquisa se dará no estudo detalhado do fenômeno, na qual se tenta explicar as características e os contextos em que se encontram o objeto da pesquisa. O estudo possibilitou conhecer a realidade das redações de jornalismo digital, em especial com atuação na cidade de Campina Grande, tal como refletir sobre o papel dos jornalistas e assessores na atual conjuntura em que as práticas e funções jornalísticas estão em constante transformação e sendo reconfiguradas.

El presente proyecto de tesis consiste en el análisis de la red de transmisión del Perú hasta fines del año 2010 en el cual se puede observar niveles de saturación de capacidad en las regiones de la sierra y selva del país debido al uso de tecnologías de baja capacidad (radio SDH/PDH y satélite), así como una topología de enlaces puntopunto que genera un uso ineficiente de los recursos y no permite una mejor escalabilidad de la red. Para solucionar ambos problemas, el presente proyecto de tesis propone un diseño que permita la expansión y evolución de la red de la actual red de transmisión del Perú a una red óptica inteligente basada en ASON(Automatic Switched Optical Network)+DWDM. La palabra “inteligente” se refiere a la implementación de una capa de control en la tecnología ASON, la cual es capaz de realizar funciones de enrutamiento a nivel óptico. Esta funcionalidad evita la necesidad de siempre entregar el tráfico a un router de capa 3 que se encargue del enrutamiento y para luego devolver el tráfico al equipo de transmisión. De esta manera se libera la carga de tráfico en los routers IP y se reduce el tamaño y complejidad requerido de los mismos. Se realiza también, como caso de estudio, el análisis del despliegue de un backbone inteligente nacional de Oi (Telemar) en Brasil para comenzar a demostrar la viabilidad de replicar un proyecto así en Perú. Luego de realizar todo el estudio del marco teórico sobre las funcionalidades y especificaciones de la tecnología ASON, se realiza un estudio de mercado basado en la estimación de la demanda a 10 años para los diferentes servicios de banda ancha que finalmente sustentarán la necesidad de incrementar considerablemente la capacidad de transmisión actual. El diseño de la solución y la definición de la cantidad de nodos principales (OTM) y amplificadores ópticos (OLA) se realiza en base a la capacidad de transmisión requerida, distribuida en los departamentos del sur del Perú (Costa y Sierra) con una topología de tipo malla que permita el aseguramiento del tráfico por diferentes rutas y que permita aprovechar al máximo las bondades de la tecnología ASON. Luego analizar tres posibles proveedores se elige a Huawei para la solución de los equipos con su modelos OSN8800/6800 con transpoders de 40G. El análisis de rentabilidad realizado en base a los precios referenciales de los equipos, los costos de inversión en infraestructura y los ingresos recurrentes por los servicios de banda ancha, demuestra que el proyecto es rentable con un periodo de recupero de 7 años.
Tesis

The purpose of this study was to determine whether Aston University’s undergraduate classes on the symptoms and history element of eye examinations reflected the habits of optometrists working in multiple practice, the destination of most optometry graduates. Data abstraction was carried out on a single free text field within electronic eye examination records taken from a major community multiple practice. Company policy required optometrists to enter symptoms and history in this field. The feasibility of carrying out Bayesian searches on free text fields was investigated. Electronic searches were carried out to identify 163 text items linked to 11 classes of presenting symptoms in 51,944 records. Likelihood ratios were calculated for all text item/presenting symptom combinations in a training dataset of 1075 manually classified records. These likelihood ratios were applied to naïve Bayesian searches for presenting symptoms in the training dataset. Post-test probability threshold values were adjusted to match known and estimated prevalence for each symptom presentation type. These adjusted threshold values resulted in diagnostic accuracy of between 83 and 99% (depending on the presenting symptom class). The same likelihood ratios and adjusted threshold values were applied to larger scale naïve Bayesian searches in order to estimate the prevalence of each presenting symptom class in all 51,944 records. This part of the study showed that similar Bayesian searches on the more complex and numerous elements of complete symptoms and history free text fields would not have been feasible. This being the case, detailed manual searches through 224 free text fields to determine how often optometrists asked 105 symptom and history test items taught at Aston University. Asking rates varied from 0 to 88%. The proportion of expected questions asked in individual records (conformity) tended to be higher for eye examinations that were routine (no presenting symptoms: 95% confidence limits 41 to 51%) compared to those with presenting symptoms (the means for which ranged from 25 to 34%). Optometrists tended to ask database-style questions (mean asking rates varied from 33 to 40% depending on the presenting symptom) more often than problem-orientated style questions (mean asking rates varied from 22 to 33% depending on the presenting symptoms). Decision tree analyses were used to explore the data in more depth and showed statistically significant regional variations in conformity. In summary, typical practice did not reflect what was taught at Aston University. Optometrists tended not to vary the questions asked according to the presenting symptoms. It was anticipated that these findings would be of interest to optometry schools and members of legal teams involved with fitness to practice disputes.

Controversy exists whether the adverse effects on glucose metabolism and the increased incidence of new‐onset diabetes (NOD) associated with beta‐blockers and/or diuretics translate into adverse cardiovascular (CV) events, and thereby seriously detract from the beneficial effects of the these agents. Furthermore, little is known about the determinants of NOD among hypertensive patients. Controversy also surrounds the clinical utility of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its role in predicting NOD and CV outcomes. In this thesis I present an evaluation of these issues using the database of the Anglo‐Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial. Increase in the baseline fasting plasma glucose (FPG), body mass index, serum triglyceride and systolic blood pressure significantly increased the risk for NOD. In contrast, randomisation to amlodipine ± perindopril treatment (in comparison with atenolol ± thiazide), high HDL ‐cholesterol, alcohol use and age over 55 years were significant protective factors. On further analysis, cumulative‐mean glucose (CMG) and FPG were found to be independent and significant risk factors for CV outcomes and death. Allocation to atenolol‐based treatment (vs. amlodipine‐based treatment) was associated with a significantly greater increase in CMG levels, and a progressive worsening of glycaemic status (normoglycaemia, impaired glycaemia and NOD) after 1 year of follow‐up. Worsening glycaemic status was found to have a significant and linear relationship with increased risk of CV outcomes and death. The MetS, after adjustment for its constituent components, was found to be an independent predictor for stroke and death, but not for coronary outcomes. Furthermore, the MetS was associated with a 22% increased risk of NOD, after adjusting for its individual components, and was found to be a significantly better predictor of NOD than impaired fasting glucose. In summary, these data suggest that among hypertensive patients, antihypertensive agents are important determinants for the development of NOD, and the antihypertensive-associated in‐trial glycaemic worsening is associated with increased risk of CV outcomes and death. I have also shown that, in routine clinical practice, the MetS has an important role as an easy‐to‐use predictor for the risk of NOD, CV outcomes and death; and that the increased risk of CV outcomes and death associated with the MetS is independent of the influence of its constituent components.

This master thesis is divided into two parts, one pedagogical and one engineering. The purpose of the pedagogical part of this master thesis was to investigate how students learn during projects. At the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, three larger student projects occurred where the students themselves developed a probe that was launched into the atmosphere. The supervisors of the projects wanted to find out how the students learn during the project. The thesis includes in-depth interviews with current and former university students. In order to compare and gain new perspectives on learning,the study also included interviews with high school students to identify their corresponding experiences of learning in their final projects in Swedish upper secondary school. The result from this study shows that the students learn through participating inactivities, collaboration and communication. Giving the students responsibility, a mutual goal and an important assignment makes them collaborate and learn from experience through reflection. The purpose of the engineering part of this master thesis was to investigate samples that were collected during the Arctic Summer Cloud Ocean Study in the summer of 2008. The samples were studied by using a scanning electron microscope. The results of the thesis are consistent with former studies on samples collected in Arctic. The images from the microscope showed microgels and how the gels assembled into larger particles, particles which can play a crucial role in the formation of clouds.

La arquitectura de las redes de transporte actuales está basada en la tecnología de transporte SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy). Las redes SDH se han diseñado y están optimizadas básicamente para el transporte del tráfico de voz. Actualmente, se está experimentando un crecimiento exponencial del volumen de tráfico de datos. Este crecimiento se debe a que el protocolo IP se está consolidando como capa de integración para servicios múltiples, algunos de ellos con requerimientos de Calidad de Servicio (QoS) y también a la introducción de tecnología de acceso de alta velocidad. Las características estadísticas del tráfico de datos son diferentes respecto a las del tráfico telefónico. De hecho, el tráfico IP se caracteriza no solo por su asimetría sino por su naturaleza dinámica, ya que presenta fluctuaciones o picos difíciles de predecir a priori.
Como consecuencia, ha surgido la necesidad de emigrar desde las actuales redes hacia una estructura más flexible y dinámica, optimizada para el transporte de tráfico de datos.
La evolución de las actuales redes de transporte incluye trasladar todas las funcionalidades de SDH (conmutación, monitorización de la calidad de la señal, protección frente a fallos) a nivel óptico. El resultado consistirá en una red de transporte óptica (Optical Transport Network, OTN) basada en tecnología DWDM, con Optical Cross Connects (OXC) para encaminar canales ópticos de forma permanente o conmutada (Automatic Switched Optical Network, ASON).
Uno de los principales problemas a solucionar por las operadoras de red es la eficiente gestión de la capacidad disponible, y así evitar por un lado la necesidad de sobredimensionar la red de transporte y por el otro optimizar la utilización de los recursos mediante la definición de estrategias de ingeniería de tráfico.
La introducción de las redes de transporte a conmutación automática (ASON), capaces de proporcionar conexiones ópticas bajo demanda, es considerada como la solución de red que puede proporcionar el rápido y flexible aprovisionamiento de ancho de banda. Tal funcionalidad, posible gracias a la definición de un plano de control basado en el paradigma GMPLS, puede ser usada para gestionar de manera dinámica los recursos disponibles, tanto a nivel SDH como a nivel óptico, respondiendo de forma eficiente a las fluctuaciones del tráfico generado por la red cliente.
Sin embargo, el problema que surge es el diseño de un mecanismo para disparar automáticamente las peticiones de establecimiento de circuitos SDH/canales ópticos conmutados.
En este sentido, la primera contribución de esta Tesis es el diseño de un mecanismo de disparo de peticiones de circuitos SDH/canales ópticos basado en la monitorización y predicción del tráfico de la red cliente (IP). Además, el mecanismo diseñado incluye la definición de políticas de ingeniería de tráfico para la optimización de la utilización del elevado ancho de banda proporcionado por las conexiones ópticas. Concretamente, el mecanismo diseñado se caracteriza por la interoperabilidad entre la capa cliente y la capa de transporte.
La Tesis incluye también una contribución sobre el diseño de una metodología para el dimensionado de la redes ASON, basada en la caracterización del tráfico de llegadas de peticiones de establecimiento de conexiones, mediante su valor medio y el factor de peakedness.

Por otro lado, la optimización de los recursos disponibles es muy crítica cuando se produce un fallo en la infraestructura de red debido a la necesidad de encontrar rutas alternativas para el tráfico afectado. Debido al gran volumen de tráfico a transportar, un fallo en la infraestructura de red puede tener graves consecuencias económicas. Por ejemplo, un corte de una única fibra óptica produce el fallo de todas las longitudes de onda que transporta; de esta manera la pérdida de cada longitud de onda operante a 2.5 Gbps o 10 Gbps puede resultar en el corte de un enorme número de conexiones en curso. Por lo tanto, a mayor capacidad, mayor es la importancia de la rapidez y rendimiento de los mecanismos de protección y recuperación.
Las estrategias de protección frente a fallos deben ser simples, minimizar las pérdidas de tráfico y deben utilizar eficientemente los recursos disponibles.
La recién estandardizada tecnología para redes de entornos metropolitanos, Resilient Packet Ring (RPR) se caracteriza por mecanismos de protección optimizados para minimizar el tiempo de recuperación en caso de fallos. Además, tales mecanismos no requieren la asignación a priori de recursos de red a utilizar solamente en caso de fallos.
Por lo que respecta a los mecanismos de recuperación, se puede optar por una estrategia de recuperación en una sola capa (single layer recovery) o alternativamente por una estrategia de recuperación en múltiples capas (multi-layer recovery), donde en la recuperación intervienen diferentes capas de la estructura de red. El esquema de recuperación multi-capas más fácil de implementar es el consistente en ejecutar los mecanismos de protección/recuperación de los distintos niveles de manera paralela e independiente. Esta estrategia no es, sin embargo, la más eficiente. La interoperabilidad entre los mecanismos de protección de las diferentes capas permite reaccionar más rápidamente a los fallos que se pueden producir.
La segunda contribución de esta Tesis es el diseño de una política de coordinación entre los mecanismos de protección proporcionados por RPR y los mecanismos de protección definidos por la capa óptica. Concretamente, la estrategia diseñada se basa en la interoperabilidad entre la capa RPR y la capa de transporte (OTN) para redes de entornos metropolitanos. La estrategia diseñada permite, además, la optimización de los recursos de red.
The main objective of the traffic engineering (TE) strategies is the efficient mapping of the actual traffic onto the available network resources.

Legacy Time Division Multiplexing-based networking architecture was basically designed to transport symmetric voice traffic. However, the volume of data traffic is increasing at explosive rate and already dominates the voice traffic. This is due to a progressive migration of many applications and services over the Internet Protocol (IP) and also to a deeper and deeper introduction of high-speed access technologies. Also there is the convergence towards the IP of real-time applications (i.e. multimedia applications) which have very strict QoS requirements.
The statistical characteristics of the data traffic are rather different from those of telephone traffic. Specifically, IP traffic is highly dynamic showing predictable and unpredictable traffic surges/peaks. Such surges are caused by unexpected events such as user' behaviours, weather conditions, accidents, fault, etc. This can cause significant fluctuations of the aggregated data traffic to be carried by the transport networks.
The current SONET/SDH transport networks (but also the incoming Optical Transport Networks) tend to be static, which means that connections (SONET/SDH circuits and light paths) are provided manually through the Network Management System. The manual configuration is time consuming, which means that weeks or even months are needed to provide high bandwidth connections.
The highly dynamic IP traffic pattern does not match with the static provisioning of capacity of the optical transport networks, leading to non-optimal utilization of the resources (i.e. network congestion or under-utilization of resources).
Thus, the problem that arises for Network Operators is how to efficiently manage the network resources in the transport network to efficiently respond to the changes in the traffic demands reaching, in such a way, traffic engineering objectives.
The introduction of the Automatic Switched Optical Networks (ASON), which is able to provide dynamically switched connections on demand, is recognized as the enabling solution to meet the requirement of fast and flexible end-to-end bandwidth provisioning. The automatic set up and tear down of optical connections can be used for the dynamic management of the transport network resources to track significant variations in the volume of the network client traffic. In such a context, a mechanism that triggers demands to set up/tear down light paths as a function of the variation of the client traffic to be transported is required.
The design of a multi-layer traffic engineering (MTE) strategy for IP/MPLS over ASON/GMPLS networks to face with the dynamic traffic demands is the first contribution of this Ph.D. Thesis. It has to be underlined that the policies for the set up of the light paths are out of the scope of this work. In fact, it is assumed that the set up/tear down of the switched connections is in charge of the ASON control plane, namely the GMPLS-based routing and signalling protocols.

As a second contribution, it is presented a practical approach for ASON networks dimensioning purposes based on the approximate characterization of the traffic arrival process, through its mean and the peakedness factor.

On the other hand, the optimization of the utilization of network resources is very critical when failures occur in the network as a consequence of the need of rerouting the affected traffic. The increase of the capacity and number of wavelengths that can be multiplexed onto the same fibre, each one carrying 2.5 or 10 Gbps client signals, implies that outages of the network infrastructure can have serious economical and social consequences.
Network recovery/resilience, i.e., the capability of the networks to efficiently recover from failures, has become of vital importance. Thus, optical transport networks need to be very robust to face failures. The protection mechanisms should be designed basically with the aim to be simple, to minimize the traffic losses and to optimize the utilization of the network resources.
Survivability strategies in current transport networks are based on the pre-allocation of network resources to be used only to switch (route) the affected traffic in case of failures.
In legacy multi-layer networks, each layer (e.g. IP, SDH) has its own protection mechanism built in, independent from the other layers. Network recovery basically relies on the SONET/SDH network layer. Indeed, different mechanisms, based on the protection approach, have been proposed that allow fast recovery within the target of 50 ms. Nevertheless, SONET/SDH protection is mainly limited to ring topologies and it is not able to distinguish between different priorities of traffic and it has not vision of higher layer failures.
The emerging packet-based Resilient Packet Ring (RPR) technology for metropolitan networks provides powerful protection mechanisms that minimize the time needed to restore the traffic without the pre-allocation of resources.
To face to failures, the resilience single-layer strategy (a single layer has the responsibility for the recovery) is very simple from the implementation point of view. However it may not be able to efficiently recover the network from all kind of failures that can occur. Therefore, multi-layer resilience (various network layers can participate to the recovery actions) provides better performance not only in terms of protection but also in terms of resources optimization.
Multi-layer resilience strategies require coordinating the recovery mechanisms provided by each layer. In such a context, another contribution of this Ph.D. Thesis is the design and evaluation of a multi-layer resilience mechanism to be used in the IP over RPR over intelligent optical transport network for metropolitan environment to efficiently face with a wide range of network outages, while optimizing the utilization of the network resources. Its novelty relies on the interworking required between the RPR and the optical transport layer.

Finally, the fourth contribution of the Thesis deals with the optimization of the bandwidth utlization of the RPR rings taking benefits from the automatic switching of optical connections capabilities of the underlying ASON/GMPLS networks.

This thesis investigates Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in German undergraduate programmes in the UK. At its core is a study of how one German department integrates the teaching of language and content in its undergraduate programmes and how instructors and students experience this approach. This micro-context is embedded in the wider macro-context of UK Higher Education and subject to outside forces - be they political, economic, socio-cultural - whose effects will manifest in more or less obvious ways. Data was collected via an online survey of Heads of German at British universities to determine the status quo of CLIL in UK Higher Education and to investigate how certain institutional parameters determine the introduction of CLIL in Higher Education. This project employs a mixed-method case study approach and is based on student questionnaires and semi-structured interview with German teaching staff. The study brings to light a number of significant aspects. For example, contrary to popular belief, content provision in the L2 is rather common at British universities, which is currently not reflected in the research. Student data indicates that German students perceive clear advantages in the university’s approach to CLIL. They consider German-taught content classes challenging yet beneficial for their language development. Staff interviews have yielded intriguing information about perceived advantages and disadvantages of CLIL, about its implications for classroom practice, and about instructors’ attitude towards teacher training, which echo findings from similar investigations in European contexts. Finally, the results of the macro-analysis and the case study are compared and contrasted with findings from European research on ICLHE/CLIL to determine differences and similarities with the British context, a set of recommendations is made regarding CLIL practice at the case study institution, and some implications these indings may have for the future of CLIL in British higher education are discussed.

El traumatismo abdominal es una patología que se atiende con frecuencia en el Hospital Nacional Hipólito Unánue y se ubica entre las diez primeras causas de morbilidad y entre las principales causas de procedimientos quirúrgicos. De acuerdo al ASIS-2005, el egreso por traumatismo constituye el 30 % en hospitales de MINSA y ESSALUD en adolescentes, sin embargo no existe un registro específico y actualizado sobre tasas de morbimortalidad por traumatismo; y debe considerarse como un problema de salud pública ya que los traumatismos son generados por accidentes de tráfico, accidentes laborales, agresiones y accidentes casuales, que afectan generalmente a los estratos más jóvenes de la población, personas laboralmente activas y socialmente productivas En el presente estudio, se evaluó la utilidad que representa para el examinador el uso de las escalas o índices de severidad TRISS y ASCOT, para evaluar la probabilidad de supervivencia; comparando la eficacia de ambos sistemas como predictores de mortalidad, verificando si existe un adecuado uso del índice para valorar la severidad de las lesiones abdominales; y cuál fue, de acuerdo a dichos índices de severidad, el que representó ser el modelo de mayor utilidad y aplicabilidad en el Hospital Nacional Hipólito Unánue. Para ello se hizo una recopilación de historias clínicas seleccionadas de acuerdo a criterios de inclusión y exclusión, y se determinaron las variables a evaluar. Utilizamos como instrumento una ficha de recolección de datos, la que incluyó aspectos fisiológicos y anatómicos; acorde con los índices de severidad a usar. La metodología se efectuó en 4 fases; la primera fue de preparación de material, capacitación y coordinación intrahospitalaria; la segunda, consistió en la recopilación y depuración de la información; en la tercera fase se procesó los datos usando el programa SPSS 16.0 y finalmente se tabularon y analizaron los datos. El presente estudio mostró la aplicabilidad de los índices de severidad, y por defecto se evidenció cuál de los índices resultó ser estadísticamente más significativo con respecto a la sobrevida en pacientes con trauma abdominal en el Hospital Nacional Hipólito Unánue.

Denna uppsats tar sin utgångspunkt i PR-världens anammande av bloggar. För denna studie undersöks bloggar som använts i PR- och marknadsföringssyfte där bloggens verkliga avsändare inte varit känd för majoriteten av bloggens läsare. Två specifika bloggar har valts ut för denna studie, bloggen Black Ascot som syftade till att skapa uppmärksamhet kring Malmö Opera samt bloggen Stefan The Swopper som var en del i en kampanj för Posten. Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka och därigenom ge kunskap om hur bloggar används och utformas i PR- och kampanjverksamhet. Därmed är syftet också att undersöka vilka de strategiska tankegångarna bakom de för uppsatsen utvalda bloggarna varit samt hur dessa bloggar kan anses vara förenliga med gängse PR-etik. Studien utgår från följande tre frågeställningar:

 

• Hur har de PR-präglade bloggarna och dess innehåll utformats i förhållande till dess syften?
• I vilken grad kan användning av bloggar inom PR och marknadsföring medföra några etiska problem?
• Vilken betydelse har bloggarnas dialogiska funktioner i relation till etiska aspekter?

 

Studiens tillvägagångssätt består av att bloggarna i fråga har analyserats med hjälp av brukstextanalys. Utöver detta har också två personer intervjuats som haft del i respektive blogg. Resultat av brukstextanalys och transkriberade intervjuer analyseras och diskuteras sedan i relation till studiens teoretiska grund som återfinns i teori och forskning kring bloggar och bloggars användningsområden inom public relations samt etik. Därutöver återfinns också relevant tidigare forskning avseende liknande bloggar. Studiens diskussionskapitel är indelat i fyra huvudrubriker: Utformning av de strategiska bloggarna, Black Ascot, Stefan The Swopper och PR-branschens legitimitetskris, Vikten av sanning och transparens samt PR-bloggarna i relation till etikkoder. Diskussionen resulterar i att följande centrala slutsatser kan dras: De undersökta bloggarnas utformning och innehåll har till största del präglats av det syfte som hela tiden varit uppenbart. Det underliggande syftet har påverkat bloggarna så till vida att det format den historia som berättas i Black Ascot samt dess utformning som en kulturblogg. Stefan The Swopper har präglats av det underliggande syftet då uppdragsgivaren getts utrymme i både text och bild. I båda bloggarna har transparensen och sanningsenligheten varit bristande vilket måste anses problematiskt ur ett etiskt perspektiv. Däremot kan bloggarna inte anses vara manipulativa eller brista i respekten gentemot läsarna. De etiska problemen ställs också emot den dialogiska möjlighet som är förenat med bloggosfären vilket ur ett etiskt perspektiv måste ses som en fördel. Studiens intervjuresultat påvisar också att respondenterna anser att mycket av den kritik som riktats mot respektive blogg kommer sig av att bloggar är ett nytt forum för PR- och marknadsföringsaktiviteter. Huruvida detta är fallet kan inte bekräftas i denna studie men studiens teoretiska grund bekräftar att bloggar ofta upplevs som trovärdiga och tillförlitliga. Detta kan antas problematiserat av PR- och marknadsföringsaktiviteter i bloggar.

 

I samband med att de centrala slutsatserna återges konstateras också att bristerna i transparens och sanningsenlighet öppnar upp för nya forskningsfrågor. Det finns exempelvis mycket att undersöka gällande bloggläsarnas uppfattning av hur såväl bloggosfären som PR-branschen har påverkats efter att bloggar av denna typ avslöjats ha bakomliggande intressen.

Troupers: Essays in Three Rings is a collection of fourteen essays focused mainly on variety entertainers (including the author). It leads the reader through a menagerie of the author's own enthusiasms--from clowning and circus elephants, to hot jazz and the ukulele. While the primary occupation of the "troupers"spotlighted here has always been to delight audiences, many of them--both human and animal--could not escape the hardscrabble, the sundered relations, the violence of everyday life. The author tells the stories of these "troupers" here, stories that reveal both their suffering and their refusal to suffer.

Submitted by William Justo Figueiro (williamjf) on 2015-07-18T13:23:58Z No. of bitstreams: 1 51c.pdf: 3316384 bytes, checksum: 9eb62dc3d062f0ca82674a6d3feb7fdc (MD5)
Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-18T13:23:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 51c.pdf: 3316384 bytes, checksum: 9eb62dc3d062f0ca82674a6d3feb7fdc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-03-29
Nenhuma
O crescimento do tráfego nas redes de telecomunicações por serviços de banda larga, telefonia fixa e móvel tem demandado esforços no planejamento e estudo da recomposição da rede, em especial redes de transporte, tornando elevado o nível de complexidade na elaboração de projetos que envolvem redes. A complexidade de interligação aumenta de acordo com as restrições impostas pela capacidade de investimentos e custos operacionais na obtenção da solução ótima para a melhor topologia de rede. Para resolver problemas de planejamento e recomposição da rede de telecomunicações é necessária a utilização de recurso computacional, pois problemas que envolvem redes desta natureza possuem a característica do conjunto de problemas de otimização combinatória, considerados difíceis. Com o objetivo de planejar e realizar estudos na recomposição da rede de telecomunicações, neste trabalho é apresentada a estratégia que visa o uso de recursos heurísticos como algoritmo genético e Dijkstra, bem como o conceito de rede fictícia na modelagem e solução computacional na obtenção da solução ótima referente à topologia de rede, possibilitando a análise prévia do tráfego na topologia proposta caso houver a incidência de falhas.
The growth of traffic on telecommunications networks for broadband services, fixed and mobile telephony has demanded efforts in planning and study the restoration of the network, especially transport networks, making the high level of complexity in developing projects that involve networks. The interconnection complexity increases with the restrictions imposed by the capacity of investment and operating costs in obtaining the optimal solution for the best network topology. To resolve issues of planning and rebuilding of the telecommunication networks is necessary to use computational resources, since problems involving networks of this nature have the feature set of combinatorial optimization problems, considered difficult. With the objective to plan and carry out studies on the recomposition of the telecommunications network, in this work the strategy for use as heuristic genetic algorithm and Dijkstra, as well as the concept of fictitious network modeling and computational solution to obtain the solution great on the network topology, enabling preliminary analysis of traffic on the proposed topology where there incidence of failures.

Orientador: Edson Moschim
Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Eletrica e de Computação
Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-06T19:40:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dante_ReinaldoGolmia_D.pdf: 5560458 bytes, checksum: a0ff22b15404f7232c1e6c38c9668fdc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006
Resumo: Neste trabalho, apresentam-se algumas contribuições para o estudo de redes ópticas inteligentes e transparentes, por exemplo: Redes Ópticas Comutáveis Automaticamente (ASON), no que tange aos protocolos de roteamento e atribuição de comprimentos de onda para o estabelecimento de conexões fim-a-fim em ambientes distribuídos. Os resultados deste trabalho foram obtidos através da simulação dos algoritmos de roteamento e atribuição de comprimentos de onda desenvolvidos em C++. Para que o estudo pudesse ser feito, foram adotadas algumas topologias de rede comerciais e hipotéticas para a comparação de desempenho entre os algoritmos de roteamento e atribuição de comprimentos de onda propostos e os clássicos de modo a identificar as diferenças de comportamento destes algoritmos nas redes ópticas em diversas situações, incluindo as condições de restrição de alcance dos canais ópticos e a continuidade do comprimento de onda no estabelecimento de uma conexão fim-a-fim. Os resultados mostraram que os algoritmos de roteamento e de atribuição de comprimentos de onda propostos são eficientes para o funcionamento destas redes, provendo desempenhos iguais ou superiores em relação aos demais algoritmos de roteamento e atribuição de comprimentos de onda tradicionais medidos em termos da probabilidade de bloqueio dos pedidos de conexão. Como conseqüência, estes algoritmos propostos demonstraram que são capazes de aperfeiçoar o QoS óptico nas redes ópticas inteligentes e transparentes
Abstract: In this work, we present contributions to the routing and wavelength assignment protocols in transparent and intelligent optical networks such as Automatically Switched Optical Networks (ASON) for end-to-end connection establishment on the distributed environments. The results of this work were obtained through simulation of the routing and wavelengh assignment algorithms which were developed in C++. For this study, some commercially and hypothetical network topologies were adopted to compare the performance of the proposed routing and wavelengh assignment algorithms with traditional ones in order to identify the differences of those algorithm performance. Studies were carried out in optical networks under several conditions such as the limit of optical transmission reach and wavelength-continuity constraints for end-to-end connection establishment. The results have shown that the proposed routing and wavelengh assignment algorithms are efficient for use in these networks, providing equal or higher performance than traditional routing and wavelengh assignment algorithms measured in terms of blocking probability of the connection requests. Consequently, the proposed algorithms showed that they are able to improve the optical QoS in transparent and intelligent optical networks
Doutorado
Telecomunicações e Telemática
Doutor em Engenharia Elétrica

This thesis analyses the depiction and its function of politically active women in novels by six female authors from the margins of the democratic revolution of 1848 and the first German women’s movement. The thesis asks (i) what their political stance was in relation to democratic developments and women’s rights, (ii) how they rendered their political convictions into literary form, (iii) which literary images they used, criticised, or invented in order to depict politically active women in their novels in a positive light, and (iv) which narrative strategies they employed to ‘smuggle’ politically and socially radical ideas into what were sometimes only ostensibly conventional plots. The thesis combines intertextual analysis with poetic analyses of individual texts in order to highlight deviant elements in narrative strategy, imagery, or text-internal appraisals by the narrator or author. In order to contextualise the chosen texts as well as my analyses, it draws on the historical environment (social and legal developments, revolutions, technological progress) for the definition of what can be considered radical and political in the period 1845-1919. Additionally, the thesis is firmly grounded in feminist theory, which provides the instruments for highlighting the concepts and circumstances in which the six authors’ works are situated. The essays and novels analysed were written before feminist theory was established; however, their proto-feminist observations, demands, and discursive tactics contributed much to the formation and institutionalisation of feminist thought and, ultimately, theory. In their efforts to construct a positive role model for the political woman, the six authors chosen are united in their notion that such a role model should evolve from bourgeois values of family and work ethics, but the examples manifested in their novels show a great variety of degrees of radicalism.

This project is divided between a case study about Aston Martin Lagonda (AML) and the correspondent Teaching Note. AML is a centenary luxury auto brand known for the exceptional design and power of its cars and the recurrent financial difficulties. After going public on the London Stock Exchange, AML faced poor operational performance and financial distress, leading to a rescue finance at the beginning of 2020. The Case Study raises questions about the reasons to take the company public, the IPO valuation, the factors that led AML close to bankruptcy, the impact of financial distress, and the rescue deal.

The nineteenth century in Germany posed a repressive environment for-women as they were defined as inferior to men and forced into the subservient roles of housewives and mothers. This thesis examines the portrayal of femininity in three contemporary writers of the period, Louise Aston, Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer and Louise von Francois. The first chapter endeavors to situate the writers in their social environment. It examines the mechanics that supported the patriarchal system, such as socializing women through education and categorizing them as inferior to justify and support their traditional roles. Chapters two, three, and four respectively deal with each author, presenting an introduction to their particular conditions and a brief summary of their lives. Following this, the individual tests are analyzed for their portrayal of femininity. These writers' visions of femininity differ greatly. Aston, whose career spanned the revolution of 1848, openly promotes liberal-humanist ideas and advocates the emancipation of women. Her heroines bear male an female traits and rise to positions of power and leadership. Birch-Pfeiffer's women are strong and independent. She frequently reverses the traditional gender roles. However, she upholds the moral code of her time, including the idea of the woman as exemplar of chastity and virtue . Francois idealizes the traditional role of women. However, she elevates that role by extolling motherhood and marital fidelity as supreme virtues. Despite these differences, there are similarities. All three writers offer an alternative picture of femininity despite this adherence, to a greater or lesser degree, to the traditional values of their time. In addition, they all criticize the patriarchal structures of society, revealing their discontent more or less openly. Finally, their portrayal of femininity was in each case based on their particular circumstances of the individual writers lives. Aston exploited the revolutionary times to present a strong claim for female emancipation; Birch- Pfeiffer, in need o f money, adapted strongly to the taste of her audience, finding in turn, interested recipients for her ideas; and Francois, a very private and proud person, chose to upgrade the women's role within the tradition, in attempt to avoid public attention. Within their circumstances, each one of the authors presented the best possible version of femininity as an alternative to traditional values.

碩士
國立臺灣海洋大學
河海工程學系
103
Circulating fluidized bed combustion (CFBC) is an advanced and promising combustion technology for power generation, which has been installed in Taiwan recently. After the combustion process, the coals turn into the combustion solid wastes - CFBC fly ashes, which have the potential instead of cementing materials due to their cementitious characteristics. Recently environmental protection and sustainability have been taken into account by many people in the world. Hence, how to develop a better use of CFBC fly ash with the by-products- granulated blast furnace slag and coal-fired fly ash is an urgent and important task. Test results indicate that proper addition of CFBC fly ash, ground granulated blast-furnace slag, and coal fly ash to concrete would lead to an excellent performance in slump. If added amount of CFBC fly ash and ground granulated blast-furnace slag exceeds 50%, the workability of concrete would degrade. The factor that affects slump includes the shape and size of pozzolan. At the 28thday of concrete age, replacing the cement with CFBC fly ash, ground granulated blast-furnace slag, and coal fly ash by respectively 10% will provide a better compressive strength. If replacing 10% of the concrete with CFBC fly ash alone, the test specimen will have an expansion in volume. If replacing concrete with a mix of ground granulated blast-furnace slag and coal fly ash, the expansion can be efficiently controlled.

Trabalho de projecto de mestrado em Engenharia Informática, apresentado à Universidade de Lisboa, através da Faculdade de Ciências, 2007
In the context of the MSc in Computer Engineering, I have worked as a Software Developer in the TNMS (Telecommunication Network Management System) project at Nokia Siemens Networks, a company that develops products and services for fixed, mobile and enterprise networks. TNMS is a software system designed for configuration and management of a telecommunications network and has several modules developed by different teams. I was selected to work in the team led by Paulo Sergio Santos. Network management plays a key role in the telecommunications industry. The network infrastructure has been considerably improved over the last two decades to provide more bandwidth needed to satisfy the increasing demand for network services. However, to make the network usable a Network Management System (NMS) like TNMS has to be developed. NMS functionality covers the following areas: Network Management, Service Management, Fault Management and Performance Management. Network Management allows the user to configure the network topology. Service Management allows the user to create a network service on behalf of a subscriber. Fault Management deals with the occurrence of failures in the network. Performance Management deals with the measurement of network parameters to let the user evaluate the transmission quality and resource usage. My work focused on developing the version 11 of TNMS. Under TNMSv11, I had to implement the feature Basic Support of ASON for SDH VC-4. ASON (Automatically Switched Optical Network) is a ITU-T (International Telecommunication Union - Telecommunication Standardization Sector) network model which defines how the NMS should carry the network management functions. Basic Support of ASON for SDH VC-4 is the first ASON feature to be included in TNMS.

Introdução: Em Portugal o Acidente Vascular Cerebral (AVC) é a primeira causa de morte e gerador de elevada incapacidade. É prioritário apostar na sua prevenção pelo conhecimento e intervenção a nível dos factores de risco. A optimização na assistência a estes doentes pode ser facilitada pelo seu enquadramento em subgrupos com características clínicas, terapêuticas e prognósticas semelhantes. Uma abordagem sistematizada, rápida e eficaz pode ser conseguida pela aplicação de classificações de AVCs simultaneamente completas e práticas. São importantes estudos que analisem as vantagens e limitações das várias classificações na tentativa de se conseguir o mais possível uma aproximação à classificação ideal. Objectivos: Primário - efectuar a comparação da etiologia e mecanismo de AVC isquémico pela aplicação da classificação ASCO a uma população de doentes previamente classificados pela TOAST e avaliar as suas vantagens e limitações. Secundários - analisar os principais factores de risco segundo subtipo de AVC isquémico. Métodos: Estudo retrospectivo em 80 doentes com diagnóstico de AVC isquémico dos subtipos aterotrombótico, cardioembólico, lacunar e de causa indeterminada segundo a classificação TOAST. Analisou-se a informação clínica e exames complementares de diagnóstico de 20 doentes de cada subtipo e reclassificaram-se quanto à sua etiologia pela aplicação da classificação ASCO.Estudou-se também a prevalência de vários factores de risco por subtipo de AVC. Resultados: Verificou-se concordância diagnóstica entre as 2 classificações em 85% dos AVCs cardioembólicos, 75% dos aterotrombóticos, 65% dos lacunares e 0% nos de outras causas. Em 19% dos doentes não foi possível efectuar a comparação. Na análise de factores de risco cardiovasculares destaca-se a elevada prevalência de hipertensão arterial nos doentes com AVC aterotrombótico (95%) e de fibrilhação auricular em doentes com AVC cardioembólico (75%). Os hábitos tabágicos e alcoólicos eram mais prevalentes em doentes com AVCs aterotrombóticos, estando presentes em 58% e 63% destes doentes, respectivamente. 50% dos doentes com AVC aterotrombótico apresentavam estenose significativa homolateral no triplex carotídeo . A presença de leucoaraiose na tomografia computorizada/ressonância magnética foi idêntica em todos os subtipos, com prevalência de cerca de 40%. Os valores de proteína C reactiva encontravam-se elevados nos subtipos lacunar e de causa indeterminada. Conclusão: A ASCO é uma classificação mais completa que a TOAST, mas com critérios mais rígidos e pouco prática para a aplicação rotineira na clínica.

The research problem that this study sought to address stemmed from a lack of knowledge about South African organizations and a dearth of empirical, quantitative research into organizations, organization structure and organization climate in this country. Five research hypotheses were formulated to address this problem and its attendant subpriJblems. A comprehensive review of the related literature and research was c~trried out and Organization Theory was traced to its earliest beginnings. A number of schools hased on Max Weber's bureaucratic ideal type were described and contrasted. Much attention was paid to the work of the Aston group m the United Kingdom and to their efforts to operationalize Weberian concepts and to incorporate them into a replicable body of quantitative research. Points of departure were re-examined and some new twists to Systems Theory and Structural Functionalism were considered. It was established that the demographic characteristics of both the sample and the population were similar enough for the results of this study to be generalised to the population with some degree of confidence. Much care was taken to test and validate each of the scales that comprised the questionnaire, and item analyses and factor analyses were carried out for every variable and group of variables. The measures developed in other parts of the world and by other researchers performed very well in a South African setting - as did the measures developed specifically for this study. Statistical associations and causal relationships between the various sets of variables, both at the sector level and at individual industry subgroup level, were sought by means of multiple regression analyses. Broad support was found for a 'culture-free hypothesis' that there are a number of stable relationships between organizations and their context; and these relationships will be constant in direction and strength regardless of differences in structures, or in contexts of structures between societies. Importantly, there were also a number of significant differences between this study and the findings of other studies which reflected South Africa's unique blend of developed and developing cultures and value systems. These differences provide fertile ground for future research in the field of Organization Theory.
Business Management
DBL