Submitted by Luanna Matias (lua_matias@yahoo.com.br) on 2015-03-26T11:58:08Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Douglas Magalhães Albuquerque Bittencourt - 2012.pdf: 7044749 bytes, checksum: fe5d3f4437aa7025f71647fb8c7850f4 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luanna Matias (lua_matias@yahoo.com.br) on 2015-03-26T12:17:24Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Douglas Magalhães Albuquerque Bittencourt - 2012.pdf: 7044749 bytes, checksum: fe5d3f4437aa7025f71647fb8c7850f4 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T12:17:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Douglas Magalhães Albuquerque Bittencourt - 2012.pdf: 7044749 bytes, checksum: fe5d3f4437aa7025f71647fb8c7850f4 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-06-29 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / A growing demand for better-prepared projects of foundations and able to attend the high degree of structural complexity of the actions has been noted in recent years. However, the current geotechnical design philosophy shows itself outdated or unable to solve these needs, due to the fact that traditional methods of calculating piled foundations often ignore the performance of the block contact with the soil and neglect the influence of the stiffness and the interaction among the elements that makeup the foundation system. To increase the quality of the design of large pile groups, with or without associated columns, there is a need for a more rigorous treatment of the problem and, in order to achieve it, one may employ the concept of piled raft which allows an integrated analysis of the entire set responsible for the performance of the foundation: the raft, the piles and the soil. This approach has a complexity inherent of its formulation; therefore, its development is generally more successful employing numerical methods. In this context, this study aimed to develop a three-dimensional numerical tool in finite elements, using the programming language "C" for the study of piled raft foundations, which was called Ferramenta Numérica para Análise de Fundações (FENF). The program was fully developed during the research period and contrasts the commercial software available at present for outputting the results that are necessary for the project, such as stresses, strains, shear and normal efforts, displacements, and bending moments in the block and the piles etc. In addition, along with the program, a search algorithm was developed which is capable of identifying the best combination of the height and length of the block and cross section of piles that result in a viable solution with the lowest cost. In order to do so, the software employs the linear elastic constitutive model for materials and represents them through finite three-dimensional isoparametric elements with eight nodes and linear interpolation functions for the displacement fields. During its development and after it was complete, the numerical tool has been successfully validated by comparing its results with those of other programs also in finite element or with analytical solutions of the Linear Theory of Elasticity. Two examples of application of FENF have been presented with Exhaustive Search Ordered, in which: one block with 16 and another with 36 piles, allowing us to evaluate the effectiveness of the program and compare its results with those predicted by the simplified manual method. It’s been noticed that the integrated treatment of the foundation system, considering it as a piled raft, allows us to obtain a more economical and safer project. / Tem-se verificado nos últimos anos uma demanda crescente por projetos de fundações mais bem elaborados e capazes de atender ao alto grau de complexidade das ações estruturais. Entretanto, a filosofia de projeto geotécnico atual se mostra defasada ou incapaz de suprir a essas necessidades, uma vez que os métodos tradicionais de cálculo de fundações estaqueadas muitas vezes desprezam o desempenho do contato do bloco com o solo e negligenciam a influência da rigidez e da interação entre os elementos que compõem o sistema de fundação. Para o aumento da qualidade da concepção de grandes grupos de estacas, com ou sem a associação de pilares, é necessário um tratamento mais rigoroso do problema utilizando, por exemplo, o conceito de radier estaqueado. Tal abordagem permite uma análise integrada de todo o conjunto responsável pelo desempenho da fundação: o radier, as estacas e o solo, mas possui uma complexidade inerente a sua formulação sendo que o seu desenvolvimento é geralmente mais bem sucedido empregando-se métodos numéricos. Nesse contexto, este trabalho visou ao desenvolvimento de uma ferramenta numérica tridimensional em elementos finitos, utilizando a linguagem de programação “C”, para o estudo de fundações em radier estaqueado, que foi denominada de Ferramenta Numérica para Análise de Fundações (FENF). O programa foi desenvolvido integralmente durante o período da pesquisa e destaca-se dos programas comerciais atuais por disponibilizar saídas de resultados necessárias ao projeto, como tensões, deformações, deslocamentos, esforços cortantes e normais e momentos fletores para o bloco e para as estacas etc. Além disso, foi desenvolvido e incorporado ao FENF um algoritmo de busca capaz de identificar a melhor combinação de altura de bloco e comprimento e seção transversal de estacas que resultem em uma solução viável tecnicamente e com o menor custo. O programa FENF emprega o modelo constitutivo elástico-linear para os materiais e os representa por meio de elementos finitos tridimensionais isoparamétricos com oito nós e funções de interpolação lineares para os campos de deslocamentos. A ferramenta numérica foi validada com êxito, a partir da comparação de seus resultados com os de outros programas, também em elementos finitos, ou com soluções analíticas da Teoria da Elasticidade Linear. Foram apresentados dois exemplos de aplicação do FENF com a Busca Exaustiva Ordenada, sendo um bloco com 16 e outro com 36 estacas, que permitiram avaliar a eficácia do programa e comparar os seus resultados com os previstos pelo método manual simplificado. Verificou-se que o tratamento integrado do sistema de fundação, considerando-o como um radier estaqueado, permite a obtenção de um projeto mais econômico e mais seguro.

The central question of this thesis is: what is mathematics about? The answer arrived at by the thesis is an unsettling and unsatisfying one. By examining two of the most promising contemporary accounts of the nature of mathematics, I conclude that neither is as yet capable of giving us a conclusive answer to our question. The conclusion is arrived at by a combination of historical and conceptual analysis. It begins with the historical fact that, since the middle of the nineteenth century, mathematics has undergone a radical transformation. This transformation occurred in most branches of mathematics, but was perhaps most apparent in geometry. Earlier images of geometry understood it as the science of space. In the wake of the emergence of multiple distinct geometries and the realization that non-Euclidean geometries might lay claim to the description of physical space, the old picture of Euclidean geometry as the sole correct description of physical space was no longer tenable. The first chapter of the dissertation provides an historical account of some of the forces which led to the destabilization of the traditional picture of geometry. The second chapter examines the debate between Gottlob Frege and David Hilbert regarding the nature of geometry and axiomatics, ending with an argument suggesting that Hilbert’s views are ultimately unsatisfying. The third chapter continues to probe the work of Frege and, again, finds his explanations of the nature of mathematics troublingly unsatisfying. The end result of the first three chapters is that the Frege-Hilbert debate leaves us with an impasse: the traditional understanding of mathematics cannot hold, but neither can the two most promising modern accounts. The fourth and final chapter of the thesis investigates mathematical structuralism—a more recent development in the philosophy of mathematics—in order to see whether it can move us beyond the impasse of the Frege-Hilbert debate. Ultimately, it is argued that the contemporary debate between ‘assertoric’ structuralists and ‘algebraic’ structuralists recapitulates a form of the Frege-Hilbert impasse. The ultimate claim of the thesis, then, is that neither of the two most promising contemporary accounts can offer us a satisfying philosophical answer to the question ‘what is mathematics about?’.

The thesis is focused on the reconnstruction of the "Old Bridge“ in Bratislava. Part of the reconstruction is the foundations of a new pier and redevelopment of an existing pier. The introduction provides an overview of methods used for the foundations within the river and from there onwards, the most suitable method haas been selected. The piers foundation is designed in several variants, coupled with the drawings. In conclusion, the variants were compared and the most suitable one was selected.

The aim of the proposed work is to verify the hypothesis based on Jonathan Haidt's Moral Foundations Theory, which says that the wider the range of the so-called moral foundations a political party addresses with its programme, the higher its chances of a good election result. This hypothesis is examined within the framework of Czech political reality. The first part of the work introduces Haidt's Theory of Moral Foundations and examines the question of its applicability to the Czech political sphere. In the next step, the mentioned theory is used (with the help of appropriate operationalization) as a means of analysing the election results of Czech political parties in the elections to the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament in 2017 in order to verify this hypothesis. The programme points of the election programmes of ten Czech political parties are subjected to the analysis. These are the parties that, according to pre-election surveys, had the greatest chance of exceeding the 5 % electoral threshold for joining the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic (i. e. ANO 2011, ČSSD, ODS, SPD, TOP 09, KDU-ČSL KSČM, STAN, Pirate Party and Green Party). The second part of this work handles the analysis of the representation of the different moral foundations in the programme of all examined...

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / A significant literature gap exists in our understanding of the motivating mechanisms for creation of foundations by philanthropists, a rapid paradigm shift that is occurring in many countries. This study aims to address the literature gap by discovering Chinese entrepreneurs' heterogeneous responses to the conditions that may lead to creation of their own foundations. Adopting the institutional entrepreneurship theory, which examines agency/change in breaking from an old institution, the researcher tested and operationalized four major factors derived from the institutional entrepreneurship theory--i.e. conflict, heterogeneity, institutional logic, and power--to account for the behavioral change. Through investigating 209 wealthy Chinese entrepreneurs from the 2003-2004 Top 100 Philanthropists List produced by the Hurun Research Institute, utilizing the event history analysis method, the study discovered that among the four factors only heterogeneity resulting from strategic industry intersection and the entrepreneurs' political power are the antecedents of their creation of foundations. Other factors--such as conflict, heterogeneity resulted from civil network, and institutional logic--were not relevant in this study. These results suggest that Chinese entrepreneurs who benefit from their improved political and social standing and increased capital are also making endeavors to take initiatives to contribute to the social and economic well-beings in the social areas that the entrepreneurs' industry intersect heavily. This study enriches our understanding of the creation of foundations from entrepreneurs' contextual background in an emerging market. The empirical validation of the antecedents of behavior change and civic leadership innovation also provides practical implications for policy-makers, philanthropy advisers, and nonprofit leaders.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The thesis, American Indian Foundations: Philanthropic Change and Adaptation, explores definition of the issues which impelled the development of grantmaking foundations as vehicles for American Indian community development. American Indian foundations are grantmaking foundations by and for American Indians. They frequently incorporate technical support, fiscal sponsorship and management of their own programs in ways which are unique to American Indians. The thesis is based on a case study and analysis of the formation and development of the Seventh Generation Fund for American Indian Development (and its predecessor the Tribal Sovereignty Program of the Youth Project), the first American Indian national public grantmaking foundation. The research design is based on primary source research and a literature review, augmented by a case study, and amplified by in-depth experience in the field of American Indian philanthropy. The literature review encompasses the relevant primary issues of the thesis and also covers an historical philanthropic review of influences on the development and inception of American Indian philanthropy. Original documents relative to these subjects were located in the manuscript and microfilm collection of the Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison; the Field Foundation Archives of the Center for American History at the University of Texas, Austin; and the Ruth Lilly Special Collections and Archives, and the Joseph and Matthew Payton Philanthropic Studies Library, both located at Indiana University in Indianapolis. The thesis is based on a primary research question and framed by six subsidiary questions. The thesis concluded that perhaps American Indian foundations were formulated to better serve their peoples in the absence of philanthropic attention. In addition they were formed to address underserved philanthropic needs in ways unique to American Indians. As well with regard to the case study, the primary reason for the founding of the first American Indian national grantmaking foundation was to apply the theoretical concepts of sovereignty and self-sufficiency into practicality in Indian country.

This thesis explores the geometric principles underlying many of the known Trichotomy Theorems. The main aims are to unify the field construction in non-linear o-minimal structures and generalizations of Zariski Geometries as well as to pave the road for completely new results in this direction. In the first part of this thesis we introduce a new axiomatic framework in which all the relevant structures can be studied uniformly and show that these axioms are preserved under elementary extensions. A particular focus is placed on the study of a smoothness condition which generalizes the presmoothness condition for Zariski Geometries. We also modify Zilber's notion of universal specializations to obtain a suitable notion of infinitesimals. In addition, families of curves and the combinatorial geometry of one-dimensional structures are studied to prove a weak trichotomy theorem based on very weak one-basedness. It is then shown that under suitable additional conditions groups and group actions can be constructed in canonical ways. This construction is based on a notion of ``geometric calculus'' and can be seen in close analogy with ordinary differentiation. If all conditions are met, a definable distributive action of one one-dimensional type-definable group on another are obtained. The main result of this thesis is that both o-minimal structures and generalizations of Zariski Geometries fit into this geometric framework and that the latter always satisfy the conditions required in the group constructions. We also exhibit known methods that allow us to extract fields from this. In addition to unifying the treatment of o-minimal structures and Zariski Geometries, this also gives a direct proof of the Trichotomy Theorem for "type-definable" Zariski Geometries as used, for example, in Hrushovski's proof of the relative Mordell-Lang conjecture.

This thesis presents experimental work and numerical analysis that has been undertaken to assess the bearing capacity of perforated offshore foundations. Perforated foundations may be used to support subsea infrastructure, including as mudmats into which a number of perforations have been made, or as grillages which consist of a series of structurally connected strip footings. Larger gravity base foundations, such as for offshore wind turbines or oil and gas platforms, may adopt a single central perforation. The advantages of using perforated foundations can include reduced material requirements and easier offshore handling as a result of smaller weight and lower hydrodynamic forces during deployment. Limited guidance currently exists for assessing the bearing capacity of these foundation types. Bearing capacity of perforated foundations has been examined in this thesis under conditions of combined vertical, horizontal and moment loading which is typical in offshore settings. Undrained soil conditions have been considered, except for the case of grillages in which drained conditions are often most relevant. Experimental work has included centrifuge testing of ring and square annular foundations on clay, and 1g testing of grillage foundations on sand. Finite element modelling has also been undertaken to assess perforated foundation capacity. A Tresca material subroutine (UMAT) and an adaptive meshing scheme have been developed to improve the accuracy of the finite element analysis carried out. The results showed that perforated foundations can be an efficient foundation solution for accommodating combined loading. As a ratio of their vertical load capacity, perforated foundations may be able to withstand higher moment and horizontal loads compared with unperforated foundations. The experimental and numerical results have been used to develop design expressions that could be employed by practitioners to estimate the vertical and combined load bearing capacity of these foundation types.

This thesis investigates the connections between henselian valuations and absolute Galois groups. There are fundamental links between these: On one hand, the absolute Galois group of a field often encodes information about (henselian) valuations on that field. On the other, in many cases a henselian valuation imposes a certain structure on an absolute Galois group which makes it easier to study. We are particularly interested in the question of when a field admits a non-trivial parameter-free definable henselian valuation. By a result of Prestel and Ziegler, this does not hold for every henselian valued field. However, improving a result by Koenigsmann, we show that there is a non-trivial parameter-free definable valuation on every henselian valued field. This allows us to give a range of conditions under which a henselian field does indeed admit a non-trivial parameter-free definable henselian valuation. Most of these conditions are in fact of a Galois-theoretic nature. Throughout the thesis, we discuss a number of applications of our results. These include fields elementarily characterized by their absolute Galois group, model complete henselian fields and henselian NIP fields of positive characteristic, as well as PAC and hilbertian fields.

No description available.