Orientador: Monica Fürkotter / Banca: Helena Faria de Barros / Banca: Maria Raquel Miotto Morelatti / Resumo: Este trabalho, desenvolvido no contexto da linha de pesquisa "Práticas e processos formativos em Educação", do Programa de Pós-graduação em Educação - Mestrado da Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, UNESP - Univ. Estadual Paulista, Campus de Presidente Prudente, teve por objetivo investigar quais as contribuições da Webquest "Viajando nas Obras de Arte" no ensino de formas geométricas para crianças do 2º ano do Ensino Fundamental. Assim, situa-se no bojo da Educação Matemática, e sua relevância está em contribuir para ampliar a compreensão sobre o uso do computador na aprendizagem matemática de alunos de 6 a 8 anos. Trata-se de uma pesquisa intervenção, desenvolvida com 12 alunos do 2º. ano do Ensino Fundamental, na faixa etária de 6 a 8 anos, do Colégio de Aplicação João XXIII da Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF), da cidade de Juiz de Fora (MG). Os dados, coletados por meio de observações, produções dos alunos, bem como fotos e vídeos, apontaram que somente a atividade Webquest "Viajando nas obras de Arte" não propiciou que a criança dessa faixa etária vivenciasse os quatro processos que devem estar presentes e articulados no ensino de Geometria, a saber, percepção, construção, representação e concepção. Com ela, conseguimos trabalhar a percepção e habilidades para visualizar as formas geométricas. No entanto, a Webquest não viabilizou a construção e a representação dessas formas. Contemplamos os outros processos com as demais atividades desenvolvidas, uso de material concreto, planificação, produção de desenhos e de narrativas. Com essas últimas, os alunos perceberam, construíram e representaram as formas, e iniciaram a sistematização conceitual... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: This paper, developed in the context of the "Practices and formative processes in Education" research line, from the Pos-graduate Program in Education - Masters Degree of Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, UNESP - Univ. Estadual Paulista, Presidente Prudente Campus, aimed at investigating which attributions of the "Traveling with Works of Art" Webquest in the teaching of geometric shapes for children from 2nd year of elementary school. Thus, is situated in the midst of Mathematics Education and its relevance lies in the contribution to broaden the comprehension about the use of the computer in the process of learning mathematic of students from 6 to 8 years. Is is an intervention research, which was carried out with 12 students from the 2nd year of the elementary school, aged 6 to 8 years, of the Colégio de Aplicação João XXIII, at the Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF), in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The data, collected through observation, the students' work, as well as photos and videos, pointed that the Webquest alone did not provide the kid of this age with the opportunity to experience the four processes which ought to be present and to be articulated in the teaching of Geometry, which are, perception, construction, representation and conception. Through this, we were able to work the perception and the ability to visualize geometrical shapes. However, the Webquest did not enable the construction and representation of these shapes. We have approached the other processes with the other activities carried out. The use of real materials, planification, drawings and narratives. With the latter, the students realized, constructed and represented the shapes, and started a conceptual sistematization... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Volatile substances such as perfumes, insect pheromones and volatile corrosion inhibitors can be released into the atmosphere from polymer matrices. The release characteristics of the volatile substances depend on the original concentration of the substances, and also on the type and geometry of the matrix. The design of the matrix can be done with a trial and error process involving several iterations of tool making followed by testing of the release characteristics. However, this is a costly and time-consuming method. The objective of this study is to propose and evaluate a mathematical model based on Fick's second law of diffusion. The model can be used to predict the release profiles of volatile substances from polymer matrices based on the initial volatile concentration, matrix geometry and the coefficient of diffusion of the volatile through the polymer. The alcohols I-propanol, I-butanol, I-hexanol and I-octanol and the polymer ethylene-eo-vinyl acetate (EVA) were chosen as a model system for this study. The coefficients of diffusion of all the alcohols through the EVA were determined with the time lag test using a diffusion cell and polymer sheets. Several methods of making polymer sheets were evaluated. Injection moulded disks was the most suitable method for the system under consideration. Based on the results of the time lag tests, the proposed model was used to predict the release characteristics of the different alcohols from two EVA matrix designs. Injection moulded test pieces of both designs were prepared. All the test pieces contained ca. 10% of one of the alcohols. The test pieces were aged at ambient conditions and the release of the alcohols was monitored. It was found that the proposed model gave a good prediction of the residual mass of the dispensers, never diverging more than 10% from the experimental result. The experimental results tended to show faster release than predicted. This was expected since the model does not consider the effect of concentration on the coefficient of diffusion. It was concluded that the model gave accurate predictions of the release characteristics of the system investigated. It would be a useful tool in the design and development of polymer dispensers for volatile substances. The smaller number of tool modifications and release tests required will lead to cost and time savings in the development process. / Dissertation (M Eng (Chemical Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Chemical Engineering / unrestricted

AFRIKAANS: Die begeerte om oor hierdie onderwerp te skryf, het uit my leefwêreld ontstaan. Dit was gedurende 1994¬-2001, die eerste jare van die na-apartheidsera. Die meeste inwoners het die veranderinge demokraties aanvaar en andere het die verandering op politieke en sosiale gebied as te dramaties ervaar. Onder dié wat bedreig voel, bestaan die moontlikheid van 'n gewelddadige heilige oorlog wat uit die Ou Testament geregverdig word. Die probleemstelling is: • dat menslike geweld in 'n heilige oorlog vanuit die Ou Testament geregverdig kan word omdat daar nie rekening gehou word met die heilige-oorlog-tradisiegeskiedenis van die Ou Testament nie. Die hipotese is: • dat daar 'n ontwikkeling in Israel se denke oor 'n heilige oorlog in die Ou Testament plaasgevind het, • dat 'n studie oor die groei in Israel se denke oor 'n heilige oorlog in die Ou Testament by die eindpunt in 2 Kronieke 20:1-30 sal uitkom wat 'n heilige oorlog as 'n kultiese handeling beskou, • dat hierdie kulminasiepunt van die heilige-oorlog-tradisie in die Ou Testament uitIoop op 'n heilige oorlog sander gewelddadige menslike deelname. Die doelstellings is: • om volgens Gerhard von Rad die groei in Israel se denke oor 'n heilige oorlog aan te toon, • om die eindpunt van die heilige-oorlog-tradisie in 2 Kronieke 20:1-30 in diepte te ontleed, • om aan toon dat Israel se voortdurende afskaling van geweld konsekwensies vir ons inhou. Hoofstuk 1 is die inleidende hoofstuk waarin bogenoemde probleemstelling, hipotese en doelstellings geformuleer is. In hoofstuk 2 is daar volgens Von Rad aangetoon hoedat Israel se denke oor die heilige oorlog 'n ontwikkeling gehad het. Hy bespreek die nadenke oor 'n heilige oorlog in die geskiedenis van ou Israel, na-Salomoniese novelle, profete, Deuteronomium en die Kronis. Hierdie nadenke het 'n eindpunt bereik in 2 Kronieke 20:1-30. 'n Dieptestudie in hoofstuk 3 van 2 Kronieke 20:1-30 het aangetoon dat die Ou Testament tot die gevolgtrekking kom dat 'n heilige oorlog nie uit gewelddadige menslike deelname behoort te bestaan nie, maar uit gebed, vas, aanbidding, lofprysinge, raadpleging van en geloofsvertroue in Jahwe. In die jaar 200 I wil hierdie verhandeling vir die wat bedreig voel hierdie perspektief van 2 Kronieke 20:1-¬30 oor 'n heilige oorlog gee. Die bede is dat hierdie studie die Kronis se beskouing oor 'n heilige oorlog sal herleef en dat dit 'n bydrae tot vrede sal lewer. ENGLISH: The desire to write about this subject arose from the world in which I live. It was during 1994-2001, the first years of the post-apartheid era. Most citizens accepted the changes democratically, others experienced the changes in the political and social spheres as too dramatic. Amongst those who feel threatened , the possibility exists that a violent holy war may be justified out of the Old Testament. The problem statement is: • that human violence in a holy war may be justified from the Old Testament because the history of the holy-war-tradition of the Old Testament was not taken into account. The hypothesis is: • that, in the Old Testament, an evolution took place in Israel's thoughts on a holy war; • that a study of the growth in Israel's thoughts on a holy war in the Old Testament would eventually culminate in 2 Chronicles 20: 1-30, which regards a holy war as a cultic action; • that this culmination point of the holy war tradition in the Old Testament will lead to a holy war without violent human participation. The objectives are • to demonstrate the growth in Israel's thoughts on a holy war according to Gerhard von Rad; • to analyse in depth, the culmination point of the holy-war-tradition in 2 Chronicles 20: 1-30; • to demonstrate that Israel's continual de-escalating of violence holds consequences for us; Chapter 1 is the introductory chapter in which the above problem statement, hypothesis, and objectives were formulated. In Chapter 2, the development of lsrael's thoughts on the holy war, according to Von Rad, is illustrated. He discusses the reflections on a holy war in the history of old Israel, in the post-Solomonic novel, prophets, Deuteronomy and the Chronicler. Such reflection culminated in 2 Chronicles 20:1-30. An in-depth study in Chapter 3 of 2 Chronicles 20:1-30 showed that the Old Testament came to the conclusion that a holy war ought not comprise violent human participation, but rather: prayer, fasting, worship, praising, consultation of Yahweh and trust in Yahweh. In 2001, this thesis should provide the perspective of 2 Chronicles 20: 1-30 on a holy war to those who feel threatened. It is our prayer that this study will revive the Chronicler's views on a holy war and that it will contribute to peace. / Dissertation (MA (Theology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Old Testament Studies / unrestricted

This dissertation is intended as a contribution to research on Dong Zhongshu (c. 195 - c. 115 BCE). Dong is generally acknowleged the most important Confucian philosopher of the Former Han dynasty (206 BCE - 6 CE) and is usually-assigned a key role in the adaptation of Confucian thought to the demands of the centralized imperial state. However, recent research has brought his contribution to this process into question. In particular, it has been pointed out that the usual source of evidence for Dong's ideas, the Chunqiu fanlu, is inconsistent with contemporary material in one vital respect - the cosmological framework employed to interpret natural disasters and strange events. The dissertation is divided into four parts. In the first, I reconstruct the events of Dong's life. I review all evidence on his dates of birth and death, his service in the imperial government, and the times at which documents by him were written, determining his chronology with greater accuracy than has been the case previously. I also review the state of Dong's works in the Han, clarifying several anomalies in references to them. The second part relates Dong's philosophy in as much detail as possible, leaving aside all Chunqiu fanlu material except that which can be shown to be authentic. The first chapter deals with Han forerunners of Dong: the Huang-Lao and early Gongyang schools, the Shangshu dazhuan, Lu Jia, and Jia Yi. The second chapter reconstructs a general outline of his philosophical system, and the third discusses three aspects of it for which quantities of reliable material have survived: his legal thought, prognosticatory theory, and attempts to control rain. The picture of Dong as the architect of "Imperial Confucianism," long under suspicion, is revealed as a total fiction: for instance, his cyclical theory of history stated that the Han dynasty was cosmologically bound to abdicate. As earlier suspected, Five Forces concepts were absent from Dong's thought. It is possible to reconstruct details of a Yin-Yang cosmology quite different from that earlier attributed to Dong, although his full system remains somewhat unclear. Part Three traces the development of Gongyang thought from the time of Dong's death up to He Xiu (129 - 172 CE). I demonstrate a correlation between the fortunes of the two branches of the Gongyang tradition and their attitudes to the Wang Mang interregum, and show the close links between Gongyang scholars and the Later Han court. Gongyang thought appears to have been stable for half a century after Dong's death, but in the next fifty years it suffered drastic modifications marked by Five Forces ideas and a historical theory asserting the legitimacy of the Han. The topic of Part Four is the Chunqiu fanlu itself. The first chapter discusses its physical condition, the second reviews previous scholarship, the third investigates Yin-Yang and Five Forces ideas, the fourth takes up a variety of other features, and the fifth is devoted to a detailed analysis of rainmaking. Among other things, it is demonstrated that much physical damage derives from a single copy with 420 words per page, that there are clear traces of earlier independent works within the Chunqiu fanlu, and that several chapters can be dated to the time immediately preceding the accession of Wang Mang. The chapter on seeking rain proves to have been rewritten at least once, with the object of introducing material relevant to the Five Forces. On the other hand, I am also able to show that there are several groups of chapters in the text which may well be from Dong Zhongshu, including some chapters on Yin-Yang and the discussions of the suburban sacrifice. / Arts, Faculty of / Asian Studies, Department of / Graduate

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While much of Nāgārjuna’s writings are aimed at deconstructing fixed views and views that hold to some form of substantialist thought (where certain qualities are held to be inherent in phenomena), he does not make many assertive propositions regarding his philosophical position. He focuses most of his writing to applying the prasaṅga method of argumentation to prove the importance of recognizing that all phenomena are śūnya by deconstructing views of phenomena based on substance. Nāgārjuna does, however, assert that all phenomena are empty and that phenomena are meaningful because śūnyatā makes logical sense.1 Based on his deconstruction of prevailing views of substance, he maintains that holding to any view of substance is absurd, that phenomena can only make sense if viewed from the standpoint of śūnyatā. This thesis grapples with the problem that Nāgārjuna does not provide adequate supporting arguments to prove that phenomena are meaningful due to their śūnyatā. It is clear that if saṃvṛti is indiscernible due to its emptiness, saṃvṛtisatya cannot be corroborated on its own terms due to its insubstantiality. But how does viewing phenomena as empty make them meaningful? Scholars who base their understanding of how meaning is established in Nāgārjuna’s thought based on Candrakīrti’s interpretation of his twotruths formulation, which grants both paramārtha and saṃvṛti truths their distinctive truth-values, tend to prove the distinctive truth of saṃvṛti in terms of its linguisticallybased, conventional status.2 I am critical of this approach and argue, instead, that an explanation of how phenomena are meaningful due to their emptiness is found in the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra’s (PPM)’s use of metaphoricity. Rather than seeing the two truths as distinctive, I argue that saṃvṛtisatya and paramārthasatya both make sense based on their metaphorical relationship in that they are both śūnyatā and that phenomena point to, or are metaphors for, the all-inclusive śūnyatā of reality akin to understanding of ākāśa in the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras which although experienced cannot be cognitively grasped. / Religious Studies and Arabic / D. Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies)

Ce travail s’intéresse à l’étude de l’adsorption sélective du phénol dans des solutions d’hydrocarbures pour la purification des biocarburants issus de la biomasse de la 2ème génération. L’objectif de ce travail est de proposer, à l’aide d’une approche expérimentale et théorique, un adsorbant présentant à la fois une grande capacité d’adsorption du phénol, une sélectivité envers le phénol même en présence d’autres composés aromatiques ainsi qu’un bon pouvoir régénératif dans des conditions douces.Plusieurs familles d’adsorbants sont étudiées : des zéolithes Y et USY avec différents cations de compensation de charge (H+ et Na+) et différentes proportions de la surface micro et de mésoporeuse, des solides siliciques ayant des variables teneurs en groupement silanols et du charbon actif comme solide de référence. Les résultats d’adsorption montrent que dans les micropores des zéolithes, le phénol « interne » peut s’adsorber au nombre de 2 à 4 molécules par supercage, sans pouvoir entrer dans les cages sodalites. Dans la surface mésoporeuse des zéolithes USY et des solides siliciques, la quantité de phénol « externe » adsorbée dépend de la densité des silanols. En présence de toluène dans le mélange, les sites acides montrent une sélectivité importante envers l’adsorption du phénol, cette sélectivité est justifiée par une énergie d’interaction du phénol supérieure à celle du toluène sur ces sites. En revanche, l’adsorption du phénol sur le Na+ et les groupements silanols est affectée respectivement par la présence de faibles et de hautes teneurs en toluène. L’étude de la capacité de régénération des adsorbants met en évidence que les espèces phénoliques fortement liées sont formées sur les sites acides des zéolithes Y (H+Y, Na+Y et USY).Le meilleur compromis en termes de capacité d’adsorption de phénol, de sélectivité et de pouvoir régénératif est obtenu sur la zéolithe H+Y présentant un rapport Si/Al de 2,9. / This work focuses on the study of the selective adsorption of phenol from hydrocarbon solutions for the purification of 2nd generation biofuels. The objective of this work is to propose, using experimental and theoretical approaches, an adsorbent that can gather a good adsorption capacity of phenol, a selectivity towards phenol even in the presence of other aromatic compounds as well as good regeneration capacity under mild conditions.Several adsorbents were studied: Y and USY zeolites with different cations (H+ and Na+) and different proportions of micro and mesoporous surfaces, silica based solids presenting variable amount of silanol group and charcoal as a reference. The adsorption results show that, in the microporous of zeolites, the "internal" phenol can be adsorb to the number of 2 to 4 molecules per supercage, without being able to enter in the sodalite cages. In the mesoporous surface of the USY zeolites and the silica based solids, the amount of adsorbed "external" phenol depends on the density of the silanol groups. In the presence of toluene in the mixture, the acidic sites show a high selectivity towards phenol adsorption, this selectivity is justified by a higher interaction energy of phenol than toluene over these sites. Whereas, the adsorption of phenol over Na+ cation and over the silanol groups was respectively affected at low and high toluene levels. The study of the regeneration capacity of the adsorbents shows that the strongly bounded phenolic species are formed on the acidic sites of Y zeolites (H+Y, Na+Y and USY).The best compromise in terms of phenol adsorption capacity, selectivity and regeneration ability was obtained over the H+Y zeolite presenting a Si/Al ratio of 2.9.

The thesis focuses on a previously untreated topic. It deals with Czech stained glass from 1945 to the present. Based on the exploration of stained glass on both sacral and public premises, as well as on pieces created for the presentation of Czechoslovakia at international exhibitions, it creates a comprehensive picture of the development of Czech stained glass in this period. The first part deals with the renewal of glass making and professional schools. Most attention is paid to Josef Kaplický's studio at the Academy of Arts, Architecture & Design in Prague. The thesis also documents works of glassmakers and artists in 1950s. As a breaking point for the development of stained glass, EXPO'58 is stated. In 1960s, the World Fair in Brussels widely influenced activities of Czech glassmaker who started inserting stained glass innovatively into reliefs using other experimental forms. It also shows that, in connection with new technological innovations in 1970s and 1980s, stained glass was applied in reconstructed and new buildings. The text implies that after the Velvet Revolution in 1989, a change occurred in the State's approach to the support of decorating public buildings, and in the same period, new private artistic glassmaking workshops and stained glass studios were established. There was more...

In this paper, we describe a recent trend in the introductory computer science curriculum which advocates conceptualizing computation primarily as coordinated concurrent activities [8], [9], [10]. Consistent with this philosophy is the focus on the event-driven model of computation [7]. While one can utilize these approaches with any thread and/or event supporting object-oriented language (e.g. Java) in a desktop programming environment, they become particularly worthwhile when used in conjunction with physical robots. This paper argues the case for the benefits of this approach and provides sample exercises that illustrate the use of this pedagogy using Lego Mindstorms RCX bricks programmed in Java for use in introductory programming.

Kalman-type filtering methods are mostly designed based on exact knowledge of the system’s model with known parameters. In real applications, there may be considerable amount of uncertainties about the model structure, physical parameters, level of noise, and initial conditions. In order to overcome such difficulties, robust state estimation techniques are recommended. This PhD thesis presents a novel robust state estimation method that is referred to as the 2nd-order smooth variable structure filter (2nd-order SVSF) and satisfies the first and second order sliding conditions. It is an extension to the 1st-order SVSF introduced in 2007. In the 1st-order SVSF chattering is reduced by using a smoothing boundary layer; however, the 2nd-order SVSF alleviates chattering by preserving the second order sliding condition. It reduces the estimation error and its first difference until the existence boundary layer is reached. Then after, it guarantees that the estimation error and its difference remain bounded given bounded noise and modeling uncertainties. As such, the 2nd-order SVSF produces more accurate and smoother state estimates under highly uncertain conditions than the 1st-order version. The main issue with the 2nd-order SVSF is that it is not optimal in the mean square error sense. In order to overcome this issue, the dynamic 2nd-order SVSF is initially presented based on a dynamic sliding mode manifold. This manifold introduces a variable cut-off frequency coefficient that adjusts the filter bandwidth. An optimal derivation of the 2nd-order SVSF is then obtained by minimizing the state error covariance matrix with respect to the cut-off frequency matrix. An experimental setup of an electro-hydrostatic actuator is used to compare the performance of the 2nd-order SVSF and its optimal version with other estimation methods such as the Kalman filter and the 1st-order SVSF. Experiments confirm the superior performance of the 2nd-order SVSF given modeling uncertainties. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)