This research explores the compositional relationships between acousmatic music and electronica in order to offer a way of unifying the two musical forms. The original contribution to knowledge comes from the creation of a portfolio of compositions that extend the two idioms towards one another, resulting in a series of works that are presented as a journey between and a fusion of electronica and acousmatic music. The dissertation offers a collection of associated theories that underpin the creation of the portfolio. In turn this dissertation addresses three areas that relate to compositional materials, the use of space, with consideration for both compositional and performance space, and a selection of associated cultural considerations that relate to the musics in question. The literature that relates to these three aspects is introduced and discussed with relation to the portfolio. The method behind the composition of the portfolio was not intended to present a collection of fusion works from the outset, but rather to begin composing a selection of purely acousmatic works in order to gain practical compositional understanding of the music. The process was then to grow the portfolio towards the electronica realm, and in parallel map this journey in the dissertation.

This thesis studies a class of optimisation algorithms, namely Memetic Computing Structures, and proposes a novel set of promising algorithms that move the first step towards an implementation for the automatic generation of optimisation algorithms for continuous domains. This thesis after a thorough review of local search algorithms and popular meta-heuristics, focuses on Memetic Computing in terms of algorithm structures and design philosophy. In particular, most of the design carried out during my doctoral studies is inspired by the lex parsimoniae, aka Ockham’s Razor. It has been shown how simple algorithms, when well implemented can outperform complex implementations. In order to achieve this aim, the design is always carried out by attempting to identify the role of each algorithmic component/operator. In this thesis, on the basis of this logic, a set of variants of a recently proposed algorithms are presented. Subsequently a novel memetic structure, namely Parallel Memetic Structure is proposed and tested against modern algorithms representing the state of the art in optimisation. Furthermore, an initial prototype of an automatic design platform is also included. This prototype performs an analysis on separability of the optimisation problem and, on the basis of the analysis results, designs some parts of the parallel structure. Promising results are included. Finally, an investigation of the correlation among the variables and problem dimensionality has been performed. An extremely interesting finding of this thesis work is that the degree of correlation among the variables decreases when the dimensionality increases. As a direct consequence of this fact, large scale problems are to some extent easier to handle than problems in low dimensionality since, due to the lack of correlation among the variables, they can effectively be tackled by an algorithm that performs moves along the axes.

Due to the availability of technology, there has been a shift from traditional assessment methods to e-assessment methods designed to support learning. With this development there is a need to address the suitability and effectiveness of the e-assessment interface. One development in the e-assessment interface has been the use of the multimodal metaphor. Unfortunately, the associated effectiveness of multimodality in terms of usability and its suitability in achieving assessment aims has not been fully addressed. Thus, there is a need to determine the impact of multimodality on the effectiveness of e-assessment and to reveal the benefits, primarily to the user. Moreover, those involved in the development and assessment should be aware of potential impacts and benefits. This thesis investigates the role and effectiveness of multimodal metaphors in e-assessment, specifically; the thesis assesses the effect of multimodal metaphors, alone or in combination, on usability in e-assessment. Usability includes efficiency, effectiveness and user satisfaction. The empirical research described in this study consisted of three experiments of 30 participants each to evaluate the effect of description text, avatars and images individually, avatars, description text and recorded speech in combination with images, and finally, the use of avatars with whole body gestures, earcons and auditory icons. The experimental stages were designed as a progression towards the main focus of the study, which was the effectiveness of full body gesture avatar, considered to be the latest development in multimodal metaphors. The experimentation also assessed the role that an avatar could play as a tutor in e-assessment interfaces. The results proved the positive effectiveness and applicability of metaphors to enhance e-assessment usability. This was achieved through a more effective interaction between the user and the assessment interface. A set of empirically derived guidelines for the design and use of these metaphors to enhance e-assessment is also used in order to generate more usable e-assessment interfaces.

This thesis investigates the use of electronic medical record (EMR) systems and risk management in hospitals. It provides a critical analysis of recognized EMR systems and potential failures and discusses six traditional risk management techniques including brain storming, cause, effect analysis, failure mode effective analysis (FMEA), fault tree analysis (FTA), and Binary Decision Diagram (BDD) in addition, to one of the most recent systematic risk management techniques, Systems Theoretic Accident Model Process (STAMP). The traditional techniques are not as well suited to managing risks and preventing failures in modern information systems with complex software that involves human and machine interaction. The thesis introduces the implementation of common traditional risk management technique such as BDD and FTA which is mostly used in nuclear plants, transportation and medical devices backed by a hypothetical example to help and explain the process of the FTA usage. Most traditional techniques rely on a direct cause-and-effect chain and have no clear formal guidance. The systematic technique introduced and used in this study, is known as Systems Theoretic Accident Model Process (STAMP). It is one of the recent systematic techniques developed and used in many sectors including aerospace. This study applied the STAMP technique to the EMR system failure at King Khalid General Hospital (KKGH) in Riyadh. One of the reasons for selecting the STAMP technique is that it is based on system theory and established the risk factors that lead to system failure. It also provides guidance for managing and controlling risk factors. This thesis discusses the implementation of STAMP, supported by examples, to explain how the technique conducted. System failures occur unexpectedly and have the potential to affect health services; they can compromise patient health and sometimes lead to death. The aims of this study are to explore The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia healthcare usage of EMRs and risk factors that leads to system failure and demonstrate the benefit of STAMP for RM in EMR system, define gaps and provide suggestion based on international best practice The study was conducted in three phases. The first phase explored EMR system usage and failures. The second phase implemented the STAMP risk management technique at one hospital of our 8 surveyed hospitals, the King Khalid General Hospital’s (KKGH), to identify and manage risks. In the third phase, the study modified the STAMP technique and reapplied it. The modified technique STAMP Checklist (STAMPC) was compared with the original STAMP technique. We found that STAMPC is much more usable and subjectively beneficial for the hospital that uses a hybrid system. Data extracted using the modified technique provided more useful information to improve EMR system safety, and prevent potential failures. This study addresses the challenges of how effectively RM techniques used to reduce the potential risk of EMR system failures in hospitals. It improves the efficiency of the STAMP risk management technique by proposing a new (STAMPC) technique. There are 3 important implications for both RM and EMRs practice: first, the study suggests that RM and EMRs are integral parts of the management decision-making process; second, they are necessary to improve human health and safety; and, third, RM may minimise the possibility of system failure.

Shear spinning of Haynes 282, Alloy 718, Alloy 600 and AISI 316L was done using several tool feeds and mandrel clearances. Multi passing of the materials was limited due to strain hardening and circumferential cracking except for AISI 316L. The effect of the tool feed and the mandrel clearance on the successful forming of the materials was established. The successfully spun samples were solution heat treated at varying temperatures and holding times to establish a range of grain sizes and hardness levels. An aging heat treatment process was performed for Haynes 282 and Alloy 718 to achieve precipitation strengthening. The micro hardness measurements were conducted for the materials prior to spinning and after spinning. The same was also done after the various heat treatment processes. Grain size mapping was conducted by the use of lineal intercept methods. Comparison of the results in terms of grain sizes and hardness values was done. The temperature ranges suitable for full recrystallization of the materials after the shear spinning were identified and the effect of the holding times on the grain growth established. Comparison with unspun samples showed that the heat treatment times required to achieve comparative hardness and grain sizes were distinctively different.

Water distribution systems are large and complex structures. Hence, their construction, management and improvements are time consuming and expensive. But nearly all the optimisation methods, whether aimed at design or operation, suffer from the need for simulation models necessary to evaluate the performance of solutions to the problem. These simulation models, however, are increasing in size and complexity, and especially for operational control purposes, where there is a need to regularly update the control strategy to account for the fluctuations in demands, the combination of a hydraulic simulation model and optimisation is likely to be computationally excessive for all but the simplest of networks. The work presented in this thesis has been motivated by the need for reduced, whilst at the same time appropriately accurate, models to replicate the complex and nonlinear nature of water distribution systems in order to optimise their operation. This thesis attempts to establish the ground rules to form an underpinning basis for the formulation and subsequent evaluation of such models. Part I of this thesis introduces some of the modelling, simulation and optimisation problems currently faced by water industry. A case study is given to emphasise one particular subject, namely reduction of water distribution system models. A systematic research resulted in development of a new methodology which encapsulate not only the system mass balance but also the system energy distribution within the model reduction process. The methodology incorporates the energy audits concepts into the model reduction algorithm allowing the preservation of the original model energy distribution by imposing new pressure constraints in the reduced model. The appropriateness of the new methodology is illustrated on the theoretical and industrial case studies. Outcomes from these studies demonstrate that the new extension to the model reduction technique can simplify the inherent complexity of water networks while preserving the completeness of original information. An underlying premise which forms a common thread running through the thesis, linking Parts I and II, is in recognition of the need for the more efficient paradigm to model and simulate water networks; effectively accounting for the discontinuous behaviour exhibited by water network components. Motivated largely by the potential of contemplating a new paradigm to water distribution system modelling and simulation, a further major research area, which forms the basis of Part II, leads to a study of the discrete event specification formalism and quantised state systems to formulate a framework within which water distribution systems can be modelled and simulated. In contrast to the classic time-slicing simulators, depending on the numerical integration algorithms, the quantisation of system states would allow accounting for the discontinuities exhibited by control elements in a more efficient manner, and thereby, offer a significant increase in speed of the simulation of water network models. The proposed approach is evaluated on a number of case studies and compared with results obtained from the Epanet2 simulator and OpenModelica. Although the current state-of-art of the simulation tools utilising the quantised state systems do not allow to fully exploit their potential, the results from comparison demonstrate that, if the second or third order quantised-based integrations are used, the quantised state systems approach can outperform the conventional water network simulation methods in terms of simulation accuracy and run-time.

Submitted by Cristiane Chim (cristiane.chim@ucpel.edu.br) on 2016-07-15T18:57:22Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Marília Souza.pdf: 1512758 bytes, checksum: c2fad251bfc01d66514ebcf300fa52c9 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-15T18:57:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marília Souza.pdf: 1512758 bytes, checksum: c2fad251bfc01d66514ebcf300fa52c9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-11-20 / Caregivers of patients with bipolar disorder (BD) have high levels of stress, poor health status, depressed mood, feeling of distress, among other symptoms of physiological and psychological conditions, consequently of burden. The impact of TB is not limited to patients, this psychopathology presents a significant challenge to caregivers. The unpreparedness and lack of knowledge about the disease can cause damage in relations, may cause increased demand for health care system. Psychoeducation is a complementary intervention for TB. This type of intervention performed with caregivers is effective for prevention to relapse and patient adherence to drug treatment well as for the prevention of health problems caused by the caregiver burden of care. This research aimed to examine the efficacy of psychoeducation for caregivers of patients with TB. Bothered to investigate the impact of mental illness on caregivers of patients diagnosed with TB, evaluate the burden scores, degree of perceived self-esteem and changes in symptoms of common mental disorders in caregivers. Data collection was done through assessments with structured questionnaires. The instruments used were: Family Burden Interview Schedule (FBIS) to evaluate burden, Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale (SES) for the measurement of self-esteem. The assessment of symptoms of common mental disorders was performed using the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20). After, through randomization, was selected randomly assigning the intervention to be performed. Then it was establish in one of two groups, psychoeducational intervention for caregivers responsible (experimental group) and one for the caregiver without any specific intervention (control group). After analysis it was found that there is no difference with regard to improving the perceived self-esteem, the degree of burden or symptoms of common mental disorders, when comparing the intervention with usual care. A possible explanation for these differences can refer to the limitations of this study. A longitudinal follow-up would be crucial to study whether there are differences regarding the variables over time in caregivers. Besides increasing the number of sessions and make the content more geared for caregivers and their needs. / Cuidadores de pacientes com transtorno bipolar (TB) apresentam elevados níveis de estresse, pobre estado de saúde, humor deprimido, sentimento de angustia, entre outros sintomas de condições fisiológicas e psicológicas, em consequência da sobrecarga de cuidados. A repercussão do TB não está limitada aos pacientes, esta psicopatologia apresenta um desafio significativo aos cuidadores. O despreparo e a falta de conhecimento a respeito da doença provocam prejuízos nas relações tanto dos cuidadores quanto dos pacientes, podendo ocasionar um aumento da demanda do sistema de atenção à saúde. A psicoeducação é uma intervenção complementar para o TB. Esta modalidade de intervenção realizada com cuidadores é efetiva para a prevenção de recaídas e aderência ao tratamento medicamentoso (do paciente) bem como para a prevenção de problemas de saúde do cuidador causado pela sobrecarga de cuidados. Esta pesquisa teve como propósito analisar a eficácia da psicoeducação em cuidadores de pacientes com TB. Preocupou-se em investigar o impacto da doença mental em cuidadores de pacientes diagnosticados com TB, avaliar os escores de sobrecarga, grau de autoestima percebida e mudanças de sintomatologia de transtornos mentais comuns nos cuidadores. A coleta de dados foi feita mediante avaliações com questionários estruturados. Os instrumentos utilizados foram: Family Burden Interview Schedule (FBIS) para avaliar a sobrecarga, Escala de Autoestima de Rosenberg (EAR) para a mensuração da autoestima. A avaliação da sintomatologia de transtornos mentais comuns foi realizada através do Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20). Após, através da randomização, foi sorteada aleatoriamente a atribuição da intervenção a ser realizada. Teve-se então a constituição de dois grupos, um de intervenção psicoeducacional para o cuidador responsável (grupo experimental) e outro para o cuidador sem nenhum tipo de intervenção específica (grupo controle). Após a análise verificou-se que não existe nenhuma diferença em relação à melhoria da autoestima percebida, ao grau de sobrecarga ou sintomas de transtornos mentais comuns, quando se compara a intervenção com o tratamento usual. Uma possível explicação para estas diferenças pode se referir às limitações do presente estudo. Um acompanhamento longitudinal seria crucial para estudar se há diferença em relação às variáveis analisadas ao longo do tempo nos cuidadores. Além de aumentar o número das sessões e tornar o conteúdo mais voltado para o cuidador e suas necessidades.

Submitted by Cristiane Chim (cristiane.chim@ucpel.edu.br) on 2016-07-19T23:00:50Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Patricia Tese com anexos - retornando.pdf: 2284763 bytes, checksum: deb141c64fcf2c4ba67652ef2a917208 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-19T23:00:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Patricia Tese com anexos - retornando.pdf: 2284763 bytes, checksum: deb141c64fcf2c4ba67652ef2a917208 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-08-11 / This work aims to investigate the discourse functioning on Zé Pelintra, “entity” of umbandist religion, considering the articulation of meanings related to the processes of “desafricanization” and “reafricanization” of Negro in Brazil. For this, it is used a theoretical framework of French Discourse Analysis approach, an interpretative science that deals with issues related to the socio-historical process of meanings production. The relationships among these movements are analyzed by observing discursive practices, linked to processes of designation, present in the selected clippings, referring them to the discursive memory. The intra and interdiscursive mechanisms therein involved allow to highlight contradictory aspects in the constitution of that character, producing different effects of meaning. / Este trabalho tem por objetivo investigar o funcionamento do discurso sobre o Zé Pelintra, “entidade” da religião umbandista, considerando a articulação dos sentidos relacionados aos processos de “desafricanização” e “reafricanização” do negro no Brasil. Para tanto, utiliza-se do referencial teórico da Análise de Discurso de linha francesa, ciência interpretativa que se ocupa de questões ligadas ao processo sócio-histórico de produção dos sentidos. As relações entre esses movimentos são analisadas mediante a observação de práticas discursivas, ligadas a processos de designação, presentes nos recortes selecionados, remetendo-as à memória discursiva. Os mecanismos intra e interdiscursivos aí envolvidos permitem evidenciar aspectos contraditórios presentes na constituição dessa personagem, produzindo diferentes efeitos de sentido.

Submitted by Cristiane Chim (cristiane.chim@ucpel.edu.br) on 2016-07-19T23:36:58Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Daniela Abrahão Giusti.pdf: 850397 bytes, checksum: 386189fb3edcdfef54379fc825099834 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-19T23:36:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Daniela Abrahão Giusti.pdf: 850397 bytes, checksum: 386189fb3edcdfef54379fc825099834 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-11-24 / The present study aimed to evaluate quality of life and associated factors of freshman students in the technical and technological education. The study was characterized by cross-sectional design. The target population of the study was freshman students in the 2014/2 semester, from technical and undergraduate courses, aged between 14 and 24 years old. In conducting this research, 240 students were randomly selected and, after signing the informed consent form, completed a self-applied questionnaire and the WHOQOL-BREF instrument to evaluate quality of life. The data entry and analysis were performed in the programs EpiInfo 6.04d and Stata 12, respectively. The findings indicated that students in post-secondary education, female and young adults present more vulnerability and negative perception on quality of life. / O presente estudo teve por objetivo avaliar qualidade de vida e fatores associados de estudantes ingressantes no ensino técnico e tecnológico. O estudo caracterizou-se pelo delineamento transversal. A população alvo do estudo foi estudantes ingressantes no semestre letivo 2014/2, dos cursos técnicos e de graduação, com idades entre 14 a 24 anos. Na realização desta pesquisa, 240 estudantes foram sorteados e após assinarem o termo de consentimento livre e esclarecido, responderam a um questionário auto aplicado e ao instrumento WHOQOL-Bref para avaliar a qualidade de vida. A entrada e análise dos dados foram realizadas nos programas EpiInfo 6.04d e Stata 12 respectivamente. Os achados indicaram que estudantes do ensino pós-médio, sexo feminino e adultos jovens apresentam maior vulnerabilidade e percepção negativa da qualidade de vida.

Submitted by Cristiane Chim (cristiane.chim@ucpel.edu.br) on 2016-07-20T14:56:04Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ana cristina moraesdo em março2013- CD.pdf: 1084476 bytes, checksum: c9104bca778595d46f64a90fad323714 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-20T14:56:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ana cristina moraesdo em março2013- CD.pdf: 1084476 bytes, checksum: c9104bca778595d46f64a90fad323714 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-05-31 / The first silicone implants were used in the early 60. Nowadays, breast augmentation surgery ranks second in plastic procedures, and its use is of high relevance in mammary reconstruction after mastectomy. However, breast implants exhibit particular clinical complications related to inflammatory response with subsequent formation of fibrous capsule surrounding the implant [1,2]. The development of an avascular fibrous capsule constitutes a reaction to the foreign body as a part of local reparative process in which the dissected tissue cavity behaves as a surgical wound / A utilização do implante de silicone teve inicio no final da década de 60. Desde então, as cirurgias de implante de silicone mamário tornaram-se cada vez mais frequentes e populares, com as modernas próteses de silicone. Com a crescente utilização destes materiais nas cirurgias reparadoras e estéticas das mamas e em outras partes do corpo, o interesse pelas reações teciduais destes materiais nos tecidos tem sido motivo de estudo para entender as suas principais complicações: a contratura capsular e a perda da integridade do implante[15]. A contratura capsular é uma complicação cirúrgica importante, resultado de uma resposta fibrótica tecidual no processo inflamatório local, ocorrendo em 4 a 17% dos casos quando encontrase em contato com o tecido mamário