A mineração modifica profundamente os ecossistemas naturais e, embora a recuperação dessas áreas seja exigida pela legislação, trata-se ainda de um grande desafio técnico. Geralmente, as estratégias de recuperação envolvem a distribuição de solo florestal superficial, a semeadura de gramíneas exóticas para cobrir o solo, chamada de \"tapete verde\", e o plantio de mudas de árvores exóticas e/ou nativas. No entanto, a semeadura de gramíneas exóticas pode restringir a regeneração de espécies nativas, sendo a avaliação da sua viabilidade ecológica necessária para determinar sua real necessidade. Nesse contexto, o objetivo desse trabalho foi avaliar se é necessário o uso de gramíneas exóticas para o recobrimento inicial do solo na recuperação de florestas tropicais em áreas de mineração de bauxita, bem como se a trajetória ecológica gerada apresenta potencial de retorno às condições pré-distúrbio. Sendo assim, utilizamos um estudo de caso de recuperação de minas de exploração de bauxita na Mata Atlântica do Brasil na região de Poços de Caldas-MG, na qual foram comparadas cronossequências de dois métodos de restauração de minas de bauxita - restauração florestal sem tapete verde (Rs) e restauração florestal com tapete verde (Rc) - tendo-se trechos de floresta nativa como ecossistema de referência. Foram avaliados dados de estrutura (cobertura de gramínea, cobertura de dossel, área basal, densidade de indivíduos com DAP ≥ 1 cm e altura ≥130 cm - classe 1 - e densidade de indivíduos com DAP < 1 cm e altura ≥ 50 cm - classe 2) e composição (riqueza, diversidade, equabilidade, riqueza e porcentagem de espécies por síndrome de dispersão). A definição da trajetória ecológica foi realizada por meio de regressões lineares. O método de restauração florestal sem tapete verde alcançou resultados superiores ao método Rc em parâmetros importantes para o estabelecimento da floresta, como cobertura de gramíneas, cobertura de dossel, riqueza e diversidade da classe 1. O método Rs também teve resultados semelhantes à Rc em vários parâmetros, apesar da idade inferior. Os dois métodos apresentaram tendências de evolução em direção aos parâmetros do ecossistema de referência, porém o método Rs, se mantiver a trajetória atual, pode alcançá-los mais rapidamente, o que reduz gastos com manutenção e manejo. Tais evidências mostram que o uso de gramíneas exóticas para recobrimento inicial de áreas mineradas não é necessário em projetos que visem à restauração florestal de áreas de mineração, pois essas prejudicam o restabelecimento da dinâmica florestal. Adicionalmente, mostrou-se ser possível recuperar áreas mineradas de bauxita com metas ecológicas mais ambiciosas, que visem o retorno de condições similares às existentes pré-distúrbio. / Mining profoundly alters natural ecosystems and, although the recovery of these areas is required by law, it is still a major technical challenge. Generally, recovery strategies involve the distribution of surface forest soil, planting of exotic grasses to cover the ground and the planting of exotic and/or native trees. However, the sowing of exotic grasses may restrict native species regeneration, therefore, context specific diagnosis must be carried out to determine the actual need of using such technique. In this context, the aim of this study was to evaluate whether the use of exotic grasses for initial soil covering in the recovery of tropical forests in areas of bauxite mining is necessary, as well as if the restored community has potential to return to the pre-disturbance conditions. Therefore, we use a case study of recovery of bauxite exploration in the Atlantic Forest region of Brazil in Pocos de Caldas, Minas Gerais, where chronosequences of two methods of restoration of bauxite mines were compared - restoration without exotic grasses (Rs) and forest restoration with exotic grasses (Rc) - taking up stretches of native forest ecosystem as a reference. We collected data on tree community structure (grass cover, canopy cover, basal area, and density of individuals CBH ≥3.1 cm and height ≥ 130 cm (1 class) and density of individuals DAP < 3.1 cm and height ≥ 50 cm (class 2) and composition (richness, diversity, evenness and richness and percentage of species by dispersion syndrome). The successional path was analyzed by linear regression. In class 1, the method of forest restoration without exotic grasses (Rs) achieved better results than Rc in key parameters for forest establishment, such as exotic grass cover, canopy cover, richness and diversity. The Rs method also had similar results to Rc in several parameters, despite being represented by younger communities. Both methods showed trends toward the parameters values found in reference ecosystem, but Rs method, if it remain the current way, can reach these values more quickly, which reduces maintenance costs and management. Such evidence shows that the use of exotic grasses for initial covering of mined areas is not necessary in projects aimed at forest restoration of mining areas, as these hinder the restoration of forest dynamics. Additionally, we proved to be possible to recover the bauxite mined areas with more ambitious ecological goals, aiming at the return of pre-disturbance conditions.

Urbanization and wetland mitigation are increasingly common in coastal watersheds with expanding populations. These mitigation wetlands are intended to offset the functional and structural losses experienced when natural systems are degraded or destroyed. In the Tampa Bay watershed, urbanization is both expanding into the upper reaches of the watershed and intensifying in previously-developed areas, resulting in the creations of hundreds of freshwater mitigation wetlands. This dissertation utilized an existing database of mitigation wetlands, publicly available data, and field surveys to investigate the relationship between constructed wetlands and their surroundings and also determine how design affects wetland condition over time. The overarching goals of this dissertation were to evaluate the geospatial distribution and areal extent of constructed freshwater mitigation wetlands in Hillsborough County and determine how they influence the landscape; evaluate design variables and environmental factors influencing constructed wetland trajectories; and determine how future changes to the landscape will likely affect constructed wetland systems. The goals of Chapter 2 were to evaluate the relationship between mitigation wetland construction and total freshwater wetland area; determine if forested and non-forested wetlands are being impacted/mitigated at similar rates; determine if wetland mitigation is offsetting impacts from increased urbanization at the landscape scale. This study concluded that since 1985, permitted impacts of non-forested wetlands have occurred at a significantly greater annual rate than forested systems, despite their smaller regional footprint. Interestingly, this increased impact frequency, combined with mitigation ratios greater than 1:1 (mitigation to impact area), have helped decrease proportional difference in area between forested and non-forested wetlands in the region. Over the period of the study, mean LDI scores for drainage basins across watershed have increased, with those containing mitigation projects significantly increasing compared to those without. Changes in drainage basin LDI were significantly correlated to the number of mitigation projects per basin, total impact area, and total mitigation area. Upward shifts in drainage basin LDI categories have been documented in 25 of Hillsborough County’s 184 basins, however no significant connection to permittee-responsible freshwater wetlands was established. These results imply that current mitigation practices are failing to ameliorate increasing development intensity at the landscape scale. The goals of Chapter 3 were to determine the current condition of created freshwater mitigation wetlands in Hillsborough County, Florida; determine if forested and non-forested wetlands maintain similar trajectories after release; and evaluate how design and changes in the landscape influence created wetland condition over time. Original wetland engineering plans and historical data were used to establish baseline conditions at the time of wetland “release” and track wetland changes over time. A chronosequence approach was utilized to determine wetland trajectories and analyze potential differences between forested and non-forested systems. This study found that surveyed freshwater wetlands had decreased in size from their intended area by a total of approximately 18%, but due to increased mitigation ratios, were likely still producing a net gain in total wetland area and meeting the goals of “no net loss”. On average, wetland condition (as determined by WRAP scores) decreased by 9% from the time of release to the time of survey. Few differences were observed between wetland types with the exception of canopy richness and wetland trajectory, although correlations between wetland condition and time were non-significant. From the regression optimization analyses, it appeared that wetland location (as measured in the design WRAP score) was one of the most important factors contributing to surveyed wetland condition. In Chapter 4, future land use data was used to determine predicted anthropogenic pressure on these urban wetland systems and evaluate changes to the overall landscape. GIS based analyses on landscape development intensity (LDI) determined that significant changes are not expected at the landscape scale by the year 2025, however drainage basins that possess mitigation wetlands are anticipated to increase in development intensity. Predicted LDI scores for constructed freshwater wetlands is predicted to increase significantly, which could have detrimental impacts on wetland condition. This dissertation highlights the significance of wetland design and location on wetland condition. From this research, it is apparent that consideration of site placement is the most important design variable for small (3 hectares or less) freshwater wetlands; and that understanding of future conditions may promote long-term success. Long-term studies such as this are valuable tools for understanding how specific ecosystems respond to changing landscapes and should be used to help shape policies that reflect these ecological advancements. Understanding the past and preparing for the future is the only way to foster restoration success.

The public acts of violence during the summer of 2012 in Toronto brought the theme of gangs back to the forefront in Canadian media coverage. As renewed debates argued old subject matters, our understanding of gangs was not able to diverge from its endless roundabout. This paper inverts the study of gangs that has classically looked towards the gang as a collective to explain its sub-cultural delinquent and sometimes violent tendencies, and explores the individualized interpretation of gang membership from the perspective of four Latin-Canadian males from the Greater Toronto Area. This study takes on the challenge of observing the trajectory of gang membership based on the first hand experiences of self-proclaimed ex-gang members and through an in-depth dialogue with these participants, ventures through the turning points that led these individual actors through the process of onset; commitment and desistance. This exploration into the lived experiences of gang membership is seen through a Symbolic Interactionist lens and views gang membership as one of many identities that can actively be portrayed by the social being. In this perspective, the concepts of gangs and gang membership are described as a subjective experience completely open to interpretation, but guided by the flow of unique interactions that these individuals encountered within a variety of complex situations and environments. That which is being observed herein is the process of how the participants interacted with their existing environments and the circumstances produced by them, highlighting the momentous events that continuously defined the individuals understanding of their own self concept as a gang member up until the point of non-membership. What was observed by a dissection of the interviewee’s accounts was that the onset of gang membership was influenced primarily by a feeling of disassociation and alienation which the participants actively sought to suppress, whereby the idea of belonging to a gang offered the remedy. The aspect of commitment was shown to be focused more towards upholding the identity of gang membership and their reputation than towards the gang itself. Reinforcing the identity maintained the individual’s social status and relevance amongst their peers, solidifying the aspired identity of gang membership. Finally, the process of desistance surfaced once the gang member identity no longer seemed beneficial. Life threats, a re-emergence of the feeling of solidarity, the experience of disloyalty and the acceptance of another identity as being more imperative were factors that separately influenced the move for the discontinuance for the projection of the gang member identity. Although the participants admit to and self proclaim ex-membership, they do nonetheless acknowledge that the gang mask could once again be put back on.

Ce travail de thèse s'inscrit dans le développement d'un véhicule autonome en milieu autoroutier. Plus précisément, il s'agit de proposer une architecture unifiée de génération de trajectoires avec une prise de décision prenant en compte les limitations de l'environnement et des informations disponibles actuellement sur un véhicule automatisé.La méthode propose d'une part de générer des trajectoires sous forme de sigmoı̈de dans une représentation spatiotemporelle continue de l'espace de navigation, préalablement réduit par la modélisation d'intervalles sans collision en conditionnominale de conduite. Les paramètres de la sigmoı̈de sont ensuite optimisés par une stratégie de recuit simulé utilisant l'algorithme de prise de décision comme fonction d'évaluation de la trajectoire générée. De cette manière, les problèmes de discrétisation et de découplage position/vitesse sont évités. D'autre part, l'agrégation des théories de logique floue etdes croyances permet une prise de décision sur des critères hétérogènes et des données incertaines. Le formalisme présenté offre la possibilité d'adapter le comportement du véhicule aux passagers, notamment selon leur perception du risque et leur souhait d'une conduite souple ou sportive.L'approche développée a finalement été évaluée et validée en environnement de simulation puis sur un véhicule de test. La brique de planification a alors été intégrée à l'architecture existante du véhicule, en aval des briques de localisation et de perception des obstacles et en amont de la brique de contrôle. / This thesis work is part of the development of a self-driving car in highway environments. More precisely, it aims to propose a unified architecture of trajectory planner and decision-maker taking into account the limitations of the environment and the available data within the current development of sensors technologies (distance limitations, uncertainties).On the one hand, the method generates sigmoid trajectories in a continuous spatiotemporal representation of the evolution space, which is reduced beforehand by modeling collision-free intervals in nominal conditions of driving. The sigmoid parameters are subsequently optimized with a simulated annealing approach that uses the decision-maker algorithm as the evaluation function for the generated trajectory. It thus makes it possible to elude both the discretization and position/speed decoupling problems. On the other hand, the aggregation of fuzzy logic and belief theory allows decision making on heterogeneous criteria and uncertain data. The proposed framework also handles personalization of the vehicle's behavior, depending on the passengers' risk perception and an aggressive or conservative driving style.The presented approach was finally evaluated and validated in a simulation environment, and then in a test vehicle. The planning block was integrated into the existing vehicle's architecture, interfaced with the localization, obstacles' perception and control blocks.

A key challenge in low-thrust trajectory design is generating preliminary solutions that simultaneously detail the evolution of the spacecraft position and velocity vectors, as well as the thrust history. To address this difficulty, a dynamical model that incorporates a low-thrust force into the circular restricted 3-body problem (CR3BP), i.e., the CR3BP+LT, is constructed and analyzed. Control strategies that deliver specific energy changes (including zero energy change to deliver a conservative system) are derived and investigated, and dynamical structures within the CR3BP+LT are explored as candidate solutions to seed initial low-thrust trajectory designs. Furthermore, insights from dynamical systems theory are leveraged to inform the design process. In the combined model, the addition of a low-thrust force modifies the locations and stability of the equilibrium solutions, resulting in flow configurations that differ from the natural behavior in the CR3BP. The application of simplifying assumptions yields a conservative, autonomous system with properties that supply useful insights. For instance, "forbidden regions" at fixed energy levels bound low-thrust motion, and analytical equations are available to guide the navigation through energy space. Linearized dynamics about the equilibria supply hyperbolic and center manifold structures, similar to the ballistic CR3BP. Low-thrust periodic orbits in the vicinity of the equilibrium solutions also admit hyperbolic and center manifolds, providing an even greater number of dynamical structures to be employed in preliminary trajectory designs. Several applications of the structures and insights derived from the CR3BP+LT are presented, including several strategies for transit and capture near the smaller CR3BP primary body. Finally, an interactive trajectory design framework is presented to explore and utilize the structures and insights delivered by this investigation.

L'objectif de cette thèse est d'analyser les transformations du politique dans la société chilienne, en partant des individus qui composent le mouvement étudiant de 2011, leurs expériences de vie et leurs organisations. Pour cela, quatre grandes dimensions sont analysées : les établissements d'enseignement, la transition de l’université républicaine à l’université des masses ; dès manifestations étudiantes des années quatre-vingt-dix jusqu'à l'explosion de 2011 ; les organisations politiques qui sont générés au sein des universités et leurs formes d'organisation ; et enfin l'individu. Dans cette dernière phase, nous nous concentrons principalement sur les leaders étudiants en observant leurs trajectoires et leurs socialisations politiques. La méthodologie utilisée est essentiellement qualitative, mais elle considère aussi des outils quantitatifs. Les instruments utilisés sont principalement des histoires de vie et des interviews, celles-ci ont été réalisées avec les dirigeants universitaires qui ont participé à des organisations au cours des dernières manifestations de 2006 et 2011, mais les dirigeants des années quatre-vingt-dix et quatre-vingt ont également été interrogés en tant qu’informateurs clés. Les résultats de cette thèse rendent compte d'une part, des mobilisations récentes et de la façon dont émergent des nouveaux types de dirigeants politiques, des formes de participation et d’une organisation plus horizontale et flexible, bien que de nombreuses organisations traditionnelles persistent. Les trajectoires politiques des leaders étudiants ne sont plus les mêmes et nous pouvons observer l'émergence de nouvelles formes de socialisation politique, où les cultures urbaines et les espaces universitaires jouent un rôle prédominant. Enfin, nous pouvons voir que le caractère individuel des récentes mobilisations imprègne le mouvement dans ses diverses dimensions : de la manière dont ils sont organisés à la façon dont la manifestation est générée. / This thesis aims to analyze the transformations the political field in the Chilean society. It is based on the individuals who made up the student movement of 2011, their experiences and their organizations. Considering this purpose, four major dimensions are analyzed: university institutions, starting from a republican university to a mass university; student mobilizations, from the 1990’s to the outbreak of 2011; the political organizations that are generated within the universities and their forms of organization; and finally, the individuals themselves. In this last phase we focus mainly on the student leaders, we intend to understand their trajectories and the way they socialize politically. The methodology used is mainly qualitative, however, we also considered quantitative tools. The instruments used are mainly life stories and in-depth interviews. These were conducted with university leaders who participated in organizations during the recent mobilizations of 2006 and 2011. However, we also interviewed leaders of the 1990’s and 1980’s, and other key informants. The results of this thesis show, on the one hand, new types of political leadership and, more horizontal and flexible forms of participation and organization that emerge from the recent mobilizations. Nevertheless, many traditional organizations remain. The political trajectories of student leaders are no longer the same as before and we could observe the emergence of new forms of political socialization, where urban cultures and university spaces played a predominant role. Finally, it is possible to observe that the individualistic character of the recent mobilizations permeates the different dimensions of the movement: starting from the way in which it is organized to the way in which the protest is generated. / El objetivo de esta tesis es analizar las transformaciones de lo político en la sociedad chilena, a partir de los individuos que conforman el movimiento estudiantil de 2011, de sus experiencias vividas y sus organizaciones. Para lo cual, se analizan cuatro grandes dimensiones: las instituciones universitarias, que transitan desde una universidad republicana hasta una universidad de masas; las movilizaciones estudiantiles a partir de la década de los noventa hasta el estallido del 2011; las organizaciones políticas que se generan en el seno de las universidades y sus formas de organización; y por último el individuo. En esta última fase nos centramos principalmente en los líderes estudiantiles, para conocer sus trayectorias y la manera como se socializan políticamente. La metodología utilizada es principalmente cualitativa, aunque también se consideran herramientas de carácter cuantitativo. Los instrumentos utilizados son principalmente historias de vida y entrevistas en profundidad, y se realizaron a dirigentes universitarios que participaron en organizaciones durante las recientes movilizaciones del 2006 y del 2011, aunque también se entrevistaron líderes de la década de los noventa y los ochenta, y a informantes claves. Los resultados de esta tesis dan cuenta por una parte, que a partir de las recientes movilizaciones y de ciertos elementos emergentes, surgen nuevos tipos de liderazgos políticos y formas de participación y de organización más horizontales y flexibles, aunque muchas organizaciones tradicionales persisten. Las trayectorias políticas de los dirigentes estudiantiles ya no son las mismas de antaño y podemos observar la emergencia de nuevas formas de socialización política, donde las culturas urbanas y los espacios universitarios tienen un rol predominante. Finalmente, es posible observar que el carácter individual de las recientes movilizaciones permea el movimiento en sus distintas dimensiones: desde la manera en cómo se organizan hasta cómo se genera la protesta.

Stroke order and velocity are helpful features in the fields of signature verification, handwriting recognition, and handwriting synthesis. Recovering these features from offline handwritten text is a challenging and well-studied problem. We propose a new model called TRACE (Trajectory Recovery by an Adaptively-trained Convolutional Encoder). TRACE is a differentiable approach using a convolutional recurrent neural network (CRNN) to infer temporal stroke information from long lines of offline handwritten text with many characters. TRACE is perhaps the first system to be trained end-to-end on entire lines of text of arbitrary width and does not require the use of dynamic exemplars. Moreover, the system does not require images to undergo any pre-processing, nor do the predictions require any post-processing. Consequently, the recovered trajectory is differentiable and can be used as a loss function for other tasks, including synthesizing offline handwritten text. We demonstrate that temporal stroke information recovered by TRACE from offline data can be used for handwriting synthesis and establish the first benchmarks for a stroke trajectory recovery system trained on the IAM online database.

The goal of this work is to provide an overview of approaches for mining anomalous behavior in trajectory data. Next part is proposes a mining task for outliner detection in trajectories and selects appropriate methods for this task. Selected methods are implemented as application for outliner trajectories detection.

The diploma thesis deals with a new approach to create a robotic arm trajectory. The first part descibes existing methods of trajectory planning. The second part shows virtual point method, implementation of the trajectory planning into the web environment and trajectory generation. Third part descibes the virtual robot model and designed comunnication protocols. The fourth part shows grafical user interface and his posibilities. The last part presents implemention of web aplication into industrial visualization.

We trained a combined deep convolutional neural network to predict seals’ age (3 categories) and gender (2 categories). The entire dataset contains 110 seals with around 489 thousand location records. Most records are continuous and measured in a certain step. We created five convolutional layers for feature representation and established two fully connected structure as age’s and gender’s classifier, respectively. Each classifier consists of three fully connected layers. Treating seals’ latitude and longitude as input, entire deep learning network, which includes 780,000 neurons and 2,097,000 parameters, can reach to 70.72% accuracy rate for predicting seals’ age and simultaneously achieve 79.95% for gender estimation.