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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
771

Essais sur des questions internationales en économie des ressources naturelles

Keutiben Njopmouo, Octave 07 1900 (has links)
Cette thèse s'articule autour de trois essais portant sur des questions internationales en économie des ressources naturelles. Le premier essai examine la production et l'échange des ressources non-renouvelables dans un modèle spatial et souligne le rôle de la superficie des pays et du coût des transports dans la détermination du sens de l'échange. Le deuxième essai considère le tarif d'extraction de la rente de rareté liée aux ressources naturelles non-renouvelables avec le modèle spatial développé dans premier essai. Le cadre spatial (plus général) permet de représenter des pays qui sont à la fois importateurs et producteurs de la ressource, ce qui n'est pas possible dans les modèles traditionnels de commerce international où les pays sont traités comme des points (sans dimension). Le troisième essai aborde la question des droits de propriétés sur les zones maritimes et examine l'allocation d'une population de pêcheurs entre les activités productives et non-productives dans une communauté côtière. Le premier chapitre propose un modèle spatial de commerce international des ressources non-renouvelables. Le cadre spatial considère explicitement la différence de taille géographique (superficie) entre les pays et permet ainsi de tenir compte du fait que les gisements naturels et leurs utilisateurs soient dispersés dans l'espace, même à l'intérieur d'un pays. En utilisant un modèle spatial à la Hotelling, nous examinons l'évolution dans le temps du sens de l'échange entre deux pays (ou régions) qui diffèrent du point de vue de leur technologie de production, de leur superficie et de leur dotation en gisement d'une ressource naturelle non-renouvelable. Le chapitre met en évidence le rôle de la taille géographique dans la détermination du sens de l'échange, à côté des explications traditionnelles que sont l'avantage comparatif et les dotations des facteurs. Notre analyse est fondamentalement différente des autres contributions dans la littérature sur le commerce international des ressources naturelles parce qu'elle souligne l'importance de la taille géographique et du coût de transport par rapport à d'autres facteurs dans la détermination des flux de ressource à l'équilibre. Le coût unitaire de transport joue un rôle capital pour déterminer si la différence de superficie entre les pays influence le sens de l'échange à l'équilibre plus que les autres facteurs. Le chapitre discute aussi du caractère régional des échanges qui a été observé pour certaines ressources telles que le minerai de fer et la bauxite. Le chapitre deux aborde la question de la répartition de la rente de rareté liée aux ressources naturelles non-renouvelables entre les pays producteurs et les pays consommateurs. Cette question a été abordée dans la littérature sous une hypothèse quelque peu restrictive. En effet, dans la plupart des travaux portant sur ce sujet le pays importateur est automatiquement considéré comme dépourvu de gisement et donc non producteur de la ressource. Pourtant la réalité est qu'il existe des ressources pour lesquelles un pays est à la fois producteur et importateur. Le cadre d'analyse de ce second essai est le modèle spatial développé dans le premier essai, qui permet justement qu'un pays puisse être à la fois importateur et producteur de la ressource. Le pays importateur détermine alors simultanément le tarif optimal et le taux d'extraction de son propre stock. Nous montrons que le tarif optimal croît au taux d'intérêt et de ce fait, ne crée aucune distorsion sur le sentier d'extraction de la ressource. Le tarif optimal permet de récupérer toute la rente lorsque le pays exportateur ne consomme pas la ressource. Néanmoins, la possibilité pour le pays exportateur de consommer une partie de son stock limite la capacité du pays importateur à récupérer la rente chez le pays exportateur. La présence de gisements de la ressource dans le pays importateur réduit la rente du pays exportateur et de ce fait renforce la capacité du pays importateur à récupérer la rente chez le pays exportateur. Le tarif initial est une fonction décroissante du stock de ressource dans le pays importateur. Cet essai aborde également la question de la cohérence dynamique du tarif obtenu avec la stratégie en boucle ouverte. Le troisième chapitre examine un problème d'allocation de l'effort entre les activités productives (par exemple la pêche) et les activités non productives (par exemple la piraterie maritime) dans une population de pêcheurs. La répartition de la population entre les activités de pêche et la piraterie est déterminée de façon endogène comme une conséquence du choix d'occupation. Nous établissons l'existence d'une multiplicité d'équilibres et mettons en évidence la possibilité d'une trappe de piraterie, c'est-à-dire un équilibre stable où une partie de la population est engagée dans les actes de piraterie. Le modèle permet d'expliquer l'augmentation significative des attaques de piraterie dans le Golfe d'Aden au cours des dernières années. Le chapitre discute aussi des différents mécanismes pour combattre la piraterie et souligne le rôle crucial des droits de propriété. / This thesis consists of three essays on international issues in natural resource economics. The first essay proposes a spatial model of trade in exhaustible resources and emphasizes the role of geographical size and transport costs in the determination of trade patterns. The second essay considers the rent-extracting tariff in a spatial (more general) framework in which the importing country can be simultaneously a producer and an importer of the resource, a feature which is not possible in the traditional trade model, where countries are assumed dimensionless. The third essay tackles the issue of property rights in maritime zones and examines the allocation of a population of fishermen between productive and unproductive activities in a coastal community. The first chapter proposes a model of trade in exhaustible resources that explicitly accounts for the fact that countries have different geographical sizes while resource sites and their users are spatially distributed, even within a country. Using a spatial model à la Hotelling, we examine the evolution over time of the pattern of trade between two countries (or regions) which differ in terms of their technology, their geographical size, and their endowment of some nonrenewable natural resource. The model emphasizes the importance of geographical size in determining trade patterns besides the traditional explanations of comparative advantage and factor endowments. Indeed, three forces influence the direction of international trade in the presence of transport costs. The analysis fundamentally differs from other contributions in the natural resource literature because it emphasizes the importance of geographical size and of transport cost relative to other factors in the determination of the equilibrium resource flows. The unit cost of transport is shown to play a decisive role in determining whether the international asymmetry in terms of geographical sizes of countries has a greater influence than other factors on the equilibrium pattern of trade. The chapter also discusses the regional character of trade which has been observed for some resources such as iron ore and bauxite. Most findings in the literature on tariff and exhaustible resources have been derived under a serious abstraction. Indeed, virtually all contributions on that issue have assumed that no stocks of the resource are available within the importing country's borders and therefore the importing country is not itself a producer. Reality is in fact quite different: there are many instances of countries that are simultaneously importers and producers of a natural resource. The second chapter makes use of the spatial trade model of chapter one to depart from the usual assumption and allow the importing country to have access to a stock of the resource of its own and to determine simultaneously the optimal tariff and the rate of depletion of its own stock. The optimal tariff is shown to increase at the rate of interest and is therefore nondistortionary. Moreover, the optimal tariff captures all the rent if the exporting country gets no utility from consuming the resource. Allowing the exporting country to consume the resource restricts the ability of the importer to capture all of the foreign rent. The presence of resource deposits in the importing country reduces the available rent to foreign producers and, in essence, reinforces the ability of the importer to capture the foreign rent. In effect, the initial tariff is shown to be a decreasing function of the initial resource stock in the importing country. The essay also discusses the time consistency of the open-loop tariff. The third chapter examines how agents in a coastal community allocate effort between productive (fishing) and unproductive (piracy) activities. The allocation of population between fishing activity and piracy attacks is determined endogenously as a consequence of the occupation choice. We prove the existence of multiple equilibria and emphasize the possibility of a piracy trap, that is a steady state equilibrium where part of the population is engaged in piracy acts. The chapter offers an explanation for the significant increase in piracy attacks in the Gulf of Aden in the recent years. The chapter also discusses different schemes in combating piracy and highlights the crucial role of property rights.
772

Spillover and species interactions across habitat edges between managed and natural forests

Frost, Carol Margaret January 2013 (has links)
We are currently faced with the global challenge of conserving biological diversity while also increasing food production to meet the demands of a growing human population. Land-use change, primarily resulting from conversion to production land, is currently the leading cause of biodiversity loss. This occurs through habitat loss, fragmentation of remaining natural habitats, and resulting edge effects. Land-sparing and land-sharing approaches have been discussed as alternative ways to engineer landscapes to mitigate biodiversity loss while meeting production objectives. However, these represent extremes on a continuum of real-world landscapes, and it will be important to understand the mechanisms by which adjacent land use affects natural remnant ecosystems in order to make local land-management decisions that achieve conservation, as well as production, objectives. This thesis investigates the impact of juxtaposing production and natural forest on the community-wide interactions between lepidopteran herbivores and their parasitoids, as mediated by parasitoid spillover between habitats. The first and overarching objective was to determine whether herbivore productivity drives asymmetrical spillover of predators and parasitoids, primarily from managed to natural habitats, and whether this spillover alters trophic interactions in the recipient habitat. The study of trophic interactions at a community level requires understanding of both direct and indirect interactions. However, community-level indirect interactions are generally difficult to predict and measure, and these have therefore remained understudied. Apparent competition is an indirect interaction mechanism thought to be very important in structuring host-parasitoid assemblages. However, this is known primarily from studies of single species pairs, and its community-wide impacts are less clear. Therefore, my second objective was to determine whether apparent competition could be predicted for all species pairs within an herbivore assemblage, based on a measure of parasitoid overlap. My third objective was to determine whether certain host or parasitoid species traits can predict the involvement of those species in apparent competition. My key findings were that there is a net spillover of generalist predators and parasitoids from plantation to native forest, and that for generalists, this depends on herbivore abundance in the plantation forest. Herbivore populations across the edge were linked by shared parasitoids in apparent competition. Consequently, an experimental reduction of herbivore density in the plantation forest changed parasitism rates in the natural forest, as predicted based on parasitoid overlap. Finally, several host and parasitoid traits were identified that can predict the degree to which host or parasitoid species will be involved in apparent competition, a finding which may have extensive application in biological control, as well as in predicting spillover edge effects. Overall, this work suggests that asymmetrical spillover between production and natural habitats occurs in relation to productivity differences, with greater movement of predators and parasitoids in the managed-to-natural forest direction. The degree to which this affected species interactions has implications for landscape design to achieve conservation objectives in production landscapes.
773

Modellierung und Charakterisierung des elektrischen Verhaltens von haftstellen-basierten Flash-Speicherzellen

Melde, Thomas 28 February 2012 (has links) (PDF)
Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit werden haftstellen-basierte Speicherzellen als mögliche Alternative zum bestehenden Floating-Gate Konzept untersucht. Hierbei wird zunächst mittels Simulation und ausgewählten Messverfahren das Verständnis der Funktionsweise vertieft. Der darauffolgende Abschnitt befasst sich mit der Verbesserung der elektrischen Eigenschaften, basierend auf Änderungen der verwendeten Materialien und dem räumlichen Aufbau. Abschließend erfolgt die Untersuchung der Anwendbarkeit des Zellkonzeptes in hochdichten Zellenfeldern.
774

Breeding ecology and nest site selection of Kittlitz's murrelets on Kodiak Island, Alaska

Lawonn, Matthew James 14 December 2012 (has links)
The Kittlitz's murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris) is a rare member of the seabird family Alcidae that breeds in coastal areas of Alaska and Beringian Russia. The species belongs to the genus Brachyramphus, an unusual seabird taxon in which all three extant species nest non-colonially, situating their nests up to 75 km inland from coastal marine waters. This nesting strategy is different from that of most seabird species, which tend to nest colonially on remote islands or sea cliffs, where terrestrial predators are generally absent or cannot easily access nests. Within the genus Brachyramphus, Kittlitz's murrelet is notable because a majority of the global population appears to nest on the surface of the ground in rocky alpine habitat near inland or tidewater glaciers, foraging in adjacent marine waters influenced by glacial outflows. The unusual nesting habits of Kittlitz's murrelet have made the study of its nesting ecology difficult, and gaps therefore exist in our understanding of the species' breeding biology. Kittlitz's murrelet populations have declined substantially in core areas of its range, causing the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service to designate the species as a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act. A better understanding of Kittlitz's murrelet nesting ecology is crucial for determining potential causes of these declines and for future management of the species. To this end, I studied Kittlitz's murrelet breeding ecology and nest site selection during 2008-2011 on Kodiak Island, Alaska, in an unglaciated area that was recently found to have large numbers of accessible nests. I and my colleagues found 53 active Kittlitz's murrelet nests in inland scree-dominated habitats and placed remote, motion-sensing cameras at 33 nests. Adults exchanged incubation duties at the nest every 24 or 48 h, almost exclusively during early morning twilight. Following hatching of eggs, parents provisioned their single nestling with an average of 3.9 to 4.8 fish per day, depending on the year. Parental visits to the nest during chick-rearing occurred primarily after sunrise in the early to mid-morning hours, and during evening twilight. Fish were delivered singly to the chick, and Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus), a high-lipid forage fish, accounted for about 92% of all identifiable chick meal deliveries. Chick growth rates were high relative to confamilial species, consistent with the high quality of chick diets; the logistic growth rate constant (K) was 0.291, greater than that for any other semi-precocial alcid. Chicks fledged an average of 24.8 d after hatching and asymptotic chick body mass averaged about 135.5 g, approximately 58% of adult body mass. Age at fledging, asymptotic chick body mass (% adult mass), and the number of meal deliveries required to fledge a chick were all lower than or as low as any other species of semi-precocial alcid. The average estimated nest survival rate during 2008-2011 was 0.093 (95% CI = 0.01–0.30), which is extremely low compared to other species in the family Alcidae, and is almost certainly insufficient to sustain a stable population. The primary causes of nest failure were depredation (47% of total nest fates), mostly by red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), and unexplained nestling mortality on the nest (21% of nest fates). Saxitoxin and/or pathogenic endoparasite burdens were observed in five of six necropsied chick carcasses, suggesting possible causes for chick mortality not directly attributable to predation. Habitat characteristics of Kittlitz's murrelet nest sites differed significantly from unused sites at several scales. At a small scale (within 5 m of the nest), nest sites had a lower percent coverage of vegetation and higher percent coverage of intermediate-sized rocks (5–30 cm diameter), compared to randomly selected unused sites. Nest sites were also located on steeper, more north-facing slopes compared to randomly selected sites. Nest sites also had a lower percent coverage of vegetation than randomly-selected sites at larger scales (within 25 m and 50 m of the nest site). Nest sites were located significantly farther from the edge of densely-vegetated habitats than random sites. There was no evidence that nest sites were different from randomly-selected sites in terms of elevation, proximity to ridgelines, or proximity to the open ocean, although a low degree of variation within the study area for these habitat characteristics may have precluded detection of potential differences. Nest survival rates did not co-vary with slope, percent vegetation coverage, distance from vegetated edges, or percent cover of intermediate-sized rocks; however, this result may be an artifact of a limited sample size. The results of this thesis will provide managers with a better understanding of the factors that may limit Kittlitz's murrelet nesting success, such as nest predation and forage fish availability, as well as factors that may influence the quality and distribution of Kittlitz’s murrelet nesting habitat in the future, given on-going and progressive climate change. / Graduation date: 2013
775

Essays on the Liquidity Trap, Oil Shocks, and the Great Moderation

Nakov, Anton 19 November 2007 (has links)
The thesis studies three distinct issues in monetary economics using a common dynamic general equilibrium approach under the assumptions of rational expectations and nominal price rigidity. The first chapter deals with the so-called "liquidity trap" - an issue which was raised originally by Keynes in the aftermath of the Great Depression. Since the nominal interest rate cannot fall below zero, this limits the scope for expansionary monetary policy when the interest rate is near its lower bound. The chapter studies the conduct of monetary policy in such an environment in isolation from other possible stabilization tools (such as fiscal or exchange rate policy). In particular, a standard New Keynesian model economy with Calvo staggered price setting is simulated under various alternative monetary policy regimes, including optimal policy. The challenge lies in solving the (otherwise linear) stochastic sticky price model with an explicit occasionally binding non-negativity constraint on the nominal interest rate. This is achieved by parametrizing expectations and applying a global solution method known as "collocation". The results indicate that the dynamics and sometimes the unconditional means of the nominal rate, inflation and the output gap are strongly affected by uncertainty in the presence of the zero lower bound. Commitment to the optimal rule reduces unconditional welfare losses to around one-tenth of those achievable under discretionary policy, while constant price level targeting delivers losses which are only 60% larger than under the optimal rule. On the other hand, conditional on a strong deflationary shock, simple instrument rules perform substantially worse than the optimal policy even if the unconditional welfare loss from following such rules is not much affected by the zero lower bound per se. The second thesis chapter (co-authored with Andrea Pescatori) studies the implications of imperfect competition in the oil market, and in particular the existence of a welfare-relevant trade-off between inflation and output gap volatility. In the standard New Keynesian model exogenous oil shocks do not generate any such tradeoff: under a strict inflation targeting policy, the output decline is exactly equal to the efficient output contraction in response to the shock. I propose an extension of the standard model in which the existence of a dominant oil supplier (such as OPEC) leads to inefficient fluctuations in the oil price markup, reflecting a dynamic distortion of the economy's production process. As a result, in the face of oil sector shocks, stabilizing inflation does not automatically stabilize the distance of output from first-best, and monetary policymakers face a tradeoff between the two goals. The model is also a step away from discussing the effects of exogenous oil price changes and towards analyzing the implications of the underlying shocks that cause the oil price to change in the first place. This is an advantage over the existing literature, which treats the macroeconomic effects and policy implications of oil price movements as if they were independent of the underlying source of disturbance. In contrast, the analysis in this chapter shows that conditional on the source of the shock, a central bank confronted with the same oil price change may find it desirable to either raise or lower the interest rate in order to improve welfare. The third thesis chapter (co-authored with Andrea Pescatori) studies the extent to which the rise in US macroeconomic stability since the mid-1980s can be accounted for by changes in oil shocks and the oil share in GDP. This is done by estimating with Bayesian methods the model developed in the second chapter over two samples - before and after 1984 - and conducting counterfactual simulations. In doing so we nest two other popular explanations for the so-called "Great Moderation": (1) smaller (non-oil) shocks; and (2) better monetary policy. We find that the reduced oil share can account for around one third of the inflation moderation, and about 13% of the GDP growth moderation. At the same time smaller oil shocks can explain approximately 7% of GDP growth moderation and 11% of the inflation moderation. Thus, the oil share and oil shocks have played a non-trivial role in the moderation, especially of inflation, even if the bulk of the volatility reduction of output growth and inflation is attributed to smaller non-oil shocks and better monetary policy, respectively. / La tesis estudia tres problemas distintos de macroeconomía monetaria utilizando como marco común el equilibrio general dinámico bajo expectativas racionales y con rigidez nominal de los precios. El primer capítulo trata el problema de la "trampa de liquidez" - un tema planteado primero por Keynes después de la Gran Depresión de 1929. El hecho de que el tipo de interés nominal no pueda ser negativo limita la posibilidad de llevar una política monetaria expansiva cuando el tipo de interés se acerca a cero. El capítulo estudia la conducta de la política monetaria en este entorno en aislamiento de otros posibles instrumentos de estabilización (como la política fiscal o la política de tipo de cambio). En concreto, se simula un modelo estándar Neo-Keynesiano con rigidez de precios a la Calvo bajo diferentes regimenes de política monetaria, incluida la política monetaria óptima. El reto consiste en resolver el modelo estocástico bajo la restricción explícita ocasionalmente vinculante de no negatividad de los tipos de interés. La solución supone parametrizar las expectativas y utilizar el método de solución global conocido como "colocación". Los resultados indican que la dinámica y en ocasiones los valores medios del tipo de interés, la inflación y el output gap están muy influidos por la presencia de la restricción de no negatividad. El compromiso con la regla monetaria óptima reduce las pérdidas de bienestar esperadas hasta una décima parte de las pérdidas obtenidas bajo la mejor política discrecional, mientras una política de meta constante del nivel de precios resulta en pérdidas que son sólo 60% mayores de las obtenidas bajo la regla óptima. Por otro lado, condicionado a a un choque fuerte deflacionario, las reglas instrumentarias simples funcionan mucho peor que la política óptima, aun si las pérdidas no condicionales de bienestar asociadas a dichas reglas no están muy afectadas por la presencia de la restricción de no negatividad en si. El segundo capítulo de la tesis estudia las implicaciones de la competencia imperfecta en el mercado del petróleo, y en concreto la existencia de un conflicto relevante entre la volatilidad de la inflación y la del output gap de un país importador de petróleo. En el modelo estándar Neo Keynesiano, los choques petroleros exógenos no generan ningún conflicto de objetivos: bajo una política de metas de inflación estricta, la caída del output es exactamente igual a la contracción eficiente del output en respuesta al choque. Este capitulo propone una extensión del modelo básico en la cual la presencia de un proveedor de petróleo dominante (OPEP) lleva a fluctuaciones ineficientes en el margen del precio del petróleo que reflejan una distorsión dinámica en el proceso de producción de la economía. Como consecuencia, ante choques provinientes del sector de petróleo, una política de estabilidad de los precios no conlleva automáticamente a una estabilización de la distancia del output de su nivel eficiente y existe un conflicto entre los dos objetivos. El modelo se aleja de la discución los efectos de cambios exógenos en el precio del petróleo y se acerca al análisis de las implicaciones de los factores fundamentales que provocan los cambios en el precio del petróleo en primer lugar. Esto último representa una ventaja clara frente a la literatura existente, la cual trata tanto los efectos macroeconómicos como las implicaciones para la política monetaria de cambios en el precio del petróleo como si éstos fueran independientes de los factores fundamentales provocando dicho cambio. A diferencia de esta literatura, el análisis del capitulo II demuestra cómo frente al mismo cambio en el precio del petróleo, un banco central puede encontrar deseable bien subir o bajar el tipo de interés en función del origen del choque. El tercer capitulo estudia el grado en que el ascenso de la estabilidad macroeconómica en EE.UU. a partir de mediados de los 80 se puede atribuir a cambios en la naturaleza de los choques petroleros y/o el peso del petróleo en el PIB. Con este propósito se estima el modelo desarrollado en el capitulo II con métodos Bayesianos utilizando datos macroeconómicos de dos periodos - antes y después de 1984 - y se conducen simulaciones contrafactuales. Las simulaciones permiten dos explicaciones alternativas de la "Gran Moderación": (1) menores choques no petroleros; y (2) mejor política monetaria. Los resultados apuntan a que el petróleo ha jugado un papel no-trivial en la moderación. En particular, el menor peso del petroleo en el PIB a partir de 1984 ha contribuido a una tercera parte de la moderación de la inflación y un 13% de la moderación del output. Al mismo tiempo, un 7% de la moderación del PIB y 11% de la moderación de la inflación se pueden atribuir a menores choques petroleros.
776

Holographic imaging of cold atoms

Turner, Lincoln David Unknown Date (has links) (PDF)
This thesis presents a new optical imaging technique which measures the structure of objects without the use of lenses. Termed diffraction-contrast imaging (DCI), the method retrieves the object structure from a Fresnel diffraction pattern of the object, using a deconvolution algorithm. DCI is particularly adept at imaging highly transparent objects and this is demonstrated by retrieving the structure of an almost transparent cloud of laser-cooled atoms. Applied to transparent Bose-Einstein condensates, DCI should allow the non-destructive imaging of the condensate while requiring only the minimum possible apparatus of a light source and a detector. (For complete abstract open document)
777

Sensors and wireless networks for monitoring climate and biology in a tropical region of intensive agriculture : methods, tools and applications to the case of the Mekong Delta of Vietnam / Réseaux de capteurs sans fil pour l’observation du climat et de la biologie dans une région tropicale d’agriculture intensive : méthodes, outils et applications pour le cas du Delta du Mékong, Vietnam

Lam, Bao Hoai 26 January 2018 (has links)
Les changements climatiques ont des impacts considérables sur le temps, les océans et les rivages, la vie sauvage. Ils amènent des problèmes désormais considérés comme majeurs par les gouvernements et organisations internationales. Ces efforts ont fourni un cadre à cette thèse, qui propose de procéder en boucle fermée de l’observation d’insectes ravageurs, avec des centaines de capteurs en réseau ("light traps"), au système d’information, et enfin à des décisions de lutte, manuelles ou automatiques. Le point d’appui pratique est la conception d’un système de comptage d’insectes proliférant dans les cultures de riz (BPH). L’abstraction que nous développons est celle d’une machine environnementale de grande taille, distribuée, qui capte et synthétise l’information, élabore des connaissances, et prend des décisions. Autour de cette abstraction, nous avons élaboré un système de vision "fisheye" effectuant le comptage des insectes. Nous proposons un système d’information géographique directement connecté au réseau de capteurs. Le couplage direct, "cyber-physique", entre les systèmes d’information et l’observation de l’environnement à échelle régionale est une nouveauté transposable, qui permet de comprendre et contrôler quantité d’évolutions. / Climate changes bring problems related to nature evolutions. Global warming has an impact on sea level, weather patterns, and wild life. A number of national and international organizations are developing research programs in these directions, including threats on cultures and insect proliferation. Monitoring these phenomena, observing consequences, elaborating counteracted strategies are critical for the economy and society.The initial motivation of this work was the understanding of change impacts in the Mekong Delta region. From there, automatic observation tools were designed with a real time information system able to integrate environmental measures, then to support knowledge production.Tracking environment evolutions is distributed sensing, which can be the association of efficient sensors and radio communications, operated under the control of an information system. Sensing insects is very complex due to their diversity and dispersion. However, this is feasible in the case of intensive agricultural production as it is the case of rice, having a small number of pests. An automatic vision observatory is proposed to observe the main threats for the rice, as an evolution of manual light traps. Radio communication weaves these observatories into a network with connection to databases storing measures and possible counteractions. An example observatory has a fisheye camera and insect counting algorithms for the BPH practical case in Vietnam.By considering the observation system as an input for an abstract machine, and considering decision and actions taken as a possible control on the environment, we obtain a framework for knowledge elaboration that can be useful in lots of other situations.
778

The risk of falling into the acceleration trap during a privatization process: a case study of a European telecommunication company

Montcel, Julien Antoine Marie 20 January 2015 (has links)
Submitted by Julien Antoine Marie Montcel (julienmontcel@gmail.com) on 2015-02-20T17:14:37Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Julien Montcel_Thesis_FGV_20022015 - Final version post presentation.pdf: 535252 bytes, checksum: bfe7fc52e8d66af7ff52b70f555400f0 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luana Rodrigues (luana.rodrigues@fgv.br) on 2015-02-20T18:47:35Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Julien Montcel_Thesis_FGV_20022015 - Final version post presentation.pdf: 535252 bytes, checksum: bfe7fc52e8d66af7ff52b70f555400f0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-02-20T19:36:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Julien Montcel_Thesis_FGV_20022015 - Final version post presentation.pdf: 535252 bytes, checksum: bfe7fc52e8d66af7ff52b70f555400f0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-01-20 / A privatização de uma empresa é uma mudança empresarial disruptiva que geralmente coincide com o fim de uma posição de monopólio e da subsequente entrada num ambiente competitivo. Os desafios que a privatização coloca são tão árduos que eles levam muitas vezes a liderança (leadership) para executar planos ambiciosos de mudança empresarial. No entanto, a literatura mostra que muitos deles falharam. Na verdade, esses planos preveem mudanças bruscas e importantes que tendem a empurrar a empresa privatizada na armadilha de aceleração (acceleration trap). Um tipo de 'burnout organizacional' (organizational burnout) onde a exaustão e a resignação da força de trabalho afetam drasticamente o desempenho da empresa. A tese, portanto, focalizou em estudar a ligação entre um processo de privatização e o risco de cair na armadilha de aceleração. Uma investigação preliminar sobre a literatura das mudanças empresariais permitiu a concepção de um quadro preliminar teórico que sugere a existência de dois moderadores (moderators) deste relacionamento entre um processo de privatização e a armadilha de aceleração: um 'choque cultural' (cultural clash) e um 'fraco clima de liderança transformacional' (weak transformational leadership). Em seguida, um estudo de caso - baseado numa empresa de telecomunicações europeia e conduzido através de uma abordagem metodológico não puramente indutivo (non-purely inductive approach) - confirma, mas também aprofunda a compreensão da ação desses dois moderadores. A respeito do moderador 'choque cultural' (cultural clash moderator), a análise de dados do estudo de caso da empresa de telecomunicações europeia mostra a importância exercitado tanto por um 'choque de identidade corporativa' (corporate identity conflict) como por um 'conflito de identidade gerencial' (management identity conflict). Quanto ao moderador 'fraco liderança transformacional', a análise dos dados destaca o papel da 'falta de confiança na nova gerência' (lack of trust in the new management), mas também de 'sentido do trabalho' (lack of job sense), principalmente através da perda de 'orgulho no trabalho' (loss of proudness). Finalmente, a análise dos dados salienta que a 'não aceitação do novo sistema de incentivos' (non-acceptance of the new incentive system) afeta significativamente a relação entre a privatização e a armadilha de aceleração, contribuindo tanto para um 'choque cultural' como para um 'fraco clima de liderança transformacional'. / The privatization of a company is a disruptive shift that generally coincides with the end of a monopoly position and the subsequent entry into the competitive game. The challenges that it raises are so arduous that they tend to lead the leadership to execute massive corporate changes. Yet, the literature shows that many of them fail. In fact, those plans envisage abrupt and severe changes that tend to push the privatized company into the acceleration trap: a type of organizational burnout where the exhaustion and the resignation of the workforce affect dramatically the performance of the company. The thesis has therefore focused on studying the link between a privatization process and the risk of falling into the acceleration trap. An initial investigation into the corporate change literature has permitted to design a preliminary theoretical framework, which has suggested the existence of two moderators of the relationship between privatization and acceleration trap: a cultural clash and a weak transformational leadership climate. Then, a single case study - based on a European telecommunication company and driven through a non-purely inductive approach – has confirmed but also deepened the understanding of the action of those two moderators. Regarding the cultural clash moderator, the data analysis of the company’s case study shows the importance played by not only a corporate identity conflict but also by a management identity clash. With regard to the weak transformational leadership climate moderator, the data analysis highlights the role of lack of trust in the new management but also of job sense, particularly through a loss of proudness. Finally, it also derives from the data analysis that the non-acceptance of the new incentive system also significantly affects the relationship between privatization and acceleration trap by contributing to both a cultural clash and a weak transformational leadership climate.
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Tecnologia alternativa para tratamento seletivo de efluentes domésticos / Alternative technology for selective treatment of domestic sewage

Pizzatto, Gabriele 24 February 2012 (has links)
Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T18:07:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Gabriele Pizzatto.pdf: 2509942 bytes, checksum: 2ced823abdb0d261ba88e1b1559d76a3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-02-24 / The effluent from the kitchen sink, dishwasher, tank/washing machine, toilet bowl, shower, sink and tub when not covered are the source of many environmental problems and public health. The current management models based on conventional technologies still present technical and economic limitations. In this context, the study aimed to develop and propose a new model of management of domestic sewage and specifically the development of an alternative technology for the preliminary treatment of wastewater generated in the kitchen sink (due to its specific characteristics). The methodology included the qualitative and quantitative characterization of the generating source and domestic effluents, methods of collection, transportation and conventional treatment of domestic sewage and explanation of the advantages/disadvantages of the methods, processes and conventional technology. The results of the monitoring activities and habits of a family allowed determining the water consumption and the consequent generation of waste in each of the sources, which resulted in a correlation that will assist in the calculation of generation capacity/production of domestic sewage in homes and corresponding diagnosis. The tests performed with commercially available technologies for treating the effluent from the kitchen sink (grease trap) have identified the technical limitations of these technologies and the consequence was that the development of a new technology with innovative features called "ash for treatment of effluent from the sink kitchen with simultaneous separation of fat and settleable solids - Model UNIOESTE" innovative technology and in the process of patenting. It therefore contributes to mitigating the negative impacts that result from inadequate management of domestic wastewater using for such technological innovations resulting from intellectual activity with experimental validation. Key-words: domestic sewage, effluent from the kitchen sink, waste management, grease trap. / Os efluentes domésticos provenientes da pia da cozinha, máquina de lavar louça, tanque/máquina de lavar roupas, bacia sanitária, chuveiro, lavatório e banheira quando não tratados são fonte de muitos problemas ambientais e de saúde pública. Os atuais modelos de gestão com base de tecnologias convencionais ainda apresentam limitações técnicas e econômicas. Nesse contexto, o trabalho objetivou o desenvolvimento e proposição de um novo modelo de gestão de efluentes domésticos e especificamente o desenvolvimento de uma tecnologia alternativa para o tratamento preliminar do efluente gerado na pia da cozinha (devido às suas características peculiares). A metodologia contemplou a caracterização qualitativa e quantitativa da fonte geradora e dos efluentes domésticos, dos métodos de coleta, transporte e tratamento convencional de efluentes domésticos e explicitação das vantagens/desvantagens dos métodos, processos e da tecnologia convencional. Os resultados do monitoramento das atividades e hábitos de uma família permitiram determinar o consumo de água e a conseqüente geração de efluentes em cada uma das fontes, cujo resultado foi uma correlação que deverá auxiliar no cálculo da capacidade de geração/produção de efluentes domésticos nas residências e o correspondente diagnóstico. Os testes realizados com tecnologias disponíveis no mercado para tratamento do efluente da pia da cozinha (caixa de gordura) permitiram identificar as limitações técnicas dessas tecnologias e a conseqüência disso foi o desenvolvimento de uma nova tecnologia com características inovadoras denominada Caixa para tratamento de efluente da pia da cozinha com separação simultânea de gordura e sólidos sedimentáveis Modelo UNIOESTE , de tecnologia inovadora e em fase de patenteamento. Desta forma, contribui-se com a mitigação dos impactos negativos que resultam da gestão inadequada dos efluentes domésticos utilizando-se para tal, inovações tecnológicas resultantes da atividade intelectual com validação experimental.
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Stewardship in an urban world : Civic engagement and human–nature relations in the Anthropocene

Enqvist, Johan January 2017 (has links)
Never before have humans wielded a greater ability to alter and disrupt planetary processes. Our impact is becoming so noticeable that a new geological epoch has been proposed – the Anthropocene – in which Earth systems might no longer maintain the stable and predictable conditions of the past 12 millennia. This is particularly evident in the rapid expansion of urban areas, where a majority of humans now live and where environmental changes such as rising temperatures and habitat loss are happening faster than elsewhere.  In light of this, questions have been raised about what a more responsible relationship between humans and the rest of the planet might look like. Scholars in sustainability science employ the concept of ‘stewardship’ in searching for an answer; however, with multiple different applications and definitions, there is a need to better understand what stewardship is or what novelty it might add to sustainability research. This thesis investigates stewardship empirically through two case studies of civic engagement for protecting nature in cities – Bengaluru, India and New York City, USA. Further, the thesis also proposes a conceptual framework for how to understand stewardship as a relation between humans and the rest of nature, based on three dimensions: care, knowledge and agency. This investigation into stewardship in the urban context uses a social–ecological systems approach to guide the use of mixed theory and methods from social and natural sciences. The thesis is organized in five papers. Paper I reviews defining challenges in managing urban social–ecological systems and proposes that these can more effectively be addressed by collaborative networks where public, civic, other actors contribute unique skills and abilities. Paper II and Paper III study water resource governance in Bengaluru, a city that has become dependent on external sources while its own water bodies become degraded and depleted.Paper II analyzes how locally based ‘lake groups’ are able to affect change through co-management arrangements, reversing decades of centralization and neglect of lakes’ role in Bengaluru’s water supply.Paper III uses social–ecological network analysis to analyze how patterns in lake groups’ engagements and collaborations show better fit with ecological connectivity of lakes.Paper IV employs sense of place methods to explore how personal bonds to a site shapes motivation and goals in waterfront stewardship in New York City. Finally,Paper V reviews literature on stewardship and proposes a conceptual framework to understand and relate different uses and underlying epistemological approaches in the field. In summary, this thesis presents an empirically grounded contribution to how stewardship can be understood as a human–nature relation emergent from a deep sense ofcare and responsibility, knowledge and learning about how to understand social–ecological dynamics, and theagency and skills needed to influence these dynamics in a way that benefits a greater community of humans as others. Here, the care dimension is particularly important as an underappreciated aspect of social–ecological relations, and asset for addressing spatial and temporal misalignment between management institutions and ecosystem. This thesis shows that care for nature does not erode just because green spaces are degraded by human activities – which may be crucial for promoting stewardship in the Anthropocene. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 4: Manuscript. Paper 5: Manuscript.</p>

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