We address the challenge of providing low-cost, universal access of useful information to people in different parts of the globe. We achieve this by following two strategies. First, we focus on the delivery of information through computerized devices and prototype new methods for making that delivery possible in a secure, low-cost, and universal manner. Second, we focus on the use of participatory media, such as blogs, in the context of news related content, and develop methods to recommend useful information that will be of interest to users. To achieve the first goal, we have designed a low-cost wireless system for Internet access in rural areas, and a smartphone-based system for the opportunistic use of WiFi connectivity to reduce the cost of data transfer on multi-NIC mobile devices. Included is a methodology for secure communication using identity based cryptography. For the second goal of identifying useful information, we make use of sociological theories regarding social networks in mass-media to develop a model of how participatory media can offer users effective news-related information. We then use this model to design a recommender system for participatory media content that pushes useful information to people in a personalized fashion. Our algorithms provide an order of magnitude better performance in terms of recommendation accuracy than other state-of-the-art recommender systems. Our work provides some fundamental insights into the design of low-cost communication systems and the provision of useful messages to users in participatory media through a multi-disciplinary approach. The result is a framework that efficiently and effectively delivers information to people in remote corners of the world.

We address the challenge of providing low-cost, universal access of useful information to people in different parts of the globe. We achieve this by following two strategies. First, we focus on the delivery of information through computerized devices and prototype new methods for making that delivery possible in a secure, low-cost, and universal manner. Second, we focus on the use of participatory media, such as blogs, in the context of news related content, and develop methods to recommend useful information that will be of interest to users. To achieve the first goal, we have designed a low-cost wireless system for Internet access in rural areas, and a smartphone-based system for the opportunistic use of WiFi connectivity to reduce the cost of data transfer on multi-NIC mobile devices. Included is a methodology for secure communication using identity based cryptography. For the second goal of identifying useful information, we make use of sociological theories regarding social networks in mass-media to develop a model of how participatory media can offer users effective news-related information. We then use this model to design a recommender system for participatory media content that pushes useful information to people in a personalized fashion. Our algorithms provide an order of magnitude better performance in terms of recommendation accuracy than other state-of-the-art recommender systems. Our work provides some fundamental insights into the design of low-cost communication systems and the provision of useful messages to users in participatory media through a multi-disciplinary approach. The result is a framework that efficiently and effectively delivers information to people in remote corners of the world.

Persistent poverty, social and economic inequalities are some of the challenges in the process of national development efforts targeted in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Yet in South Africa, poverty, hunger, social and economic inequalities are still on the increase especially among poor rural to urban migrants. Because of severe poverty in rural areas, large populations of rural poor migrate to urban areas in search of better life. However, the growing energy needs in the urban areas where these people settle and their use of inefficient energy technologies negatively impact on the balance of environmental resources on which their socio-economic development depends. Efficient, affordable and environmental friendly technologies are therefore vital for improving the livelihood conditions and protecting the much needed environmental resources of the country. On the contrary, current practices presently dominating energy provision issues in South Africa are insufficient to solve the problems of socio-economic inequalities, especially for the increasing urban poor population. In addition, they are also failing to protect the environment and natural resources. Electrification of poor urban and peri-urban areas by both grid and off-grid systems through the top-down development practice is doing very little to change the socio-economic conditions of the poor section of the population in the country. Likewise, the provision of modern energy through public sector agencies such as Eskom is inadequate and inappropriate for the rapidly expanding urban and peri-urban poor areas in the country. One major reason that hinders provision of such services to the overcrowded consumer population in these areas is the massive capital investment required and inability to pay electricity bills by urban poor households. Against the above background, this study examined the use of improved wood stoves in two peri-urban areas (Umsilinga and Isnathing) in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa as an alternative modern energy technology on how they would socio-economically benefit the peri-urban poor. It looked at the following: The efficiency of four improved wood stoves (Yamampera, Simunye, Household Rocket and Vesto) in comparison with the three stone open fire, The impact of the efficient burning of the four improved stoves, Factors influencing consumers in choosing a specific energy technology to use, The effectiveness of the improved wood stoves placed in 24 peri-urban households and observed for the specified period, and Additional potentials of such stoves to other prospective users. The key finding of this research is that the use of these improved wood stoves could play a pivital role in household economic growth and improving livelihoods. Participants ranked smokeless burning, low selling price, fuelwood saving and light weight of the stoves as priority preferences for using these stoves. Speed of cooking and less constant attention to the fire were also ranked as important preferences. From women participants view point, the low selling price of the stoves and their considerable fuel saving would reduce strain on the household investment capital, household indoor pollution and tedious work of women’s fuelwood collection. Low investment costs in acquiring the stoves would encourage women’s participation as entrepreneurs in modern energy technologies. However, results from focused group discussions and observations of usage of stoves that were placed in 24 homes showed that the incorporation of consumer preferences in the design of improved wood stoves would be key. This would enable stoves to adequately meet the energy needs of targeted users and be used frequently as an alternative energy solution by both urban and peri-urban poor who are currently lacking electricity and suffering from energy poverty. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermarizburg, 2009.

As tecnologias e a sociedade atual demandam novas competências dos professores. Portanto, a formação inicial desses profissionais é fundamental para que os futuros professores possam integrar as Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TIC), de maneira criativa e inovadora, às suas práticas pedagógicas para potencializar o processo ensino-aprendizagem. Em consequência, as maneiras como os professores formadores se apropriam das TIC para essa formação são de grande importância. O objetivo geral do estudo foi analisar como os professores formadores do Conselho de Formação em Educação (CFE) no Uruguai se apropriam das TIC para a formação de futuros professores. A revisão da literatura aborda conceitos e questões inerentes à apropriação das tecnologias pelos professores: mudanças necessárias na formação de professores; o conceito de apropriação da tecnologia pelos professores, que abrange como os professores adquirem conhecimentos para utilizar as TIC como recursos pedagógicos; os significados que eles constroem sobre a sua importância no processo de ensino-aprendizagem e os usos que eles dão a elas; os aspectos que favorecem ou dificultam os processos de transformação para a inovação com as tecnologias; as discussões sobre a formação inicial para a utilização das TIC como recurso pedagógico; o contexto da formação de professores no Uruguai e as políticas relacionadas às tecnologias. A pesquisa foi qualitativa de natureza interpretativa. O estudo foi realizado em um centro de formação de professores no Uruguai. A técnica de coleta de dados foi a entrevista individual semiestruturada. Os participantes do estudo foram 16 professores que ministram as disciplinas de didática nos diferentes cursos de formação de professores. A amostra foi intencional por critérios. Os principais resultados do estudo foram: a utilização das TIC mantendo metodologias tradicionais com novas ferramentas e a dificuldade de aproveitar as vantagens que as TIC proporcionam para transformar as metodologias de ensino. Entre as dificuldades estão: a falta de conhecimentos sobre como utilizar as TIC como recurso pedagógico; a predominância da individualidade na busca de conhecimentos sobre como integrar as TIC nas aulas e atividades e a necessidade de preparar os formadores em relação às TIC para que possam formar os futuros professores mediante o exemplo. / Technologies and today's society require new competences from teachers. Therefore, teacher training is essential for future teachers to be able to integrate Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) creatively and innovatively into their pedagogical practices to enhance the teaching-learning process. As a consequence, the ways in which teacher trainers appropriate ICT for this training is of great importance. The general objective of this study was to analyze how training teachers of the Education Training Council (CFE) in Uruguay appropriate ICT for the training processes of future teachers. The literature review contemplates concepts and issues inherent to teachers' appropriation of technologies: changes in technological competences needed for teaching, the concept of technology appropriation by teachers, which includes how teachers acquire knowledge to use ICT as pedagogical resources, the meanings they construct about their importance in the teaching-learning process and the uses they give to them; aspects that promote or make it difficult to innovate with technologies; discussions on teacher training for the use of ICT as a pedagogical resource; the context of teacher education and technology education policies in Uruguay. The methodological approach was qualitative. The study was conducted with sixteen teachers at a teacher training center in Uruguay. The technique of data collection was the semi-structured interview. The sample was intentional by criteria. The main results of the study were: the use of ICT maintaining traditional methodologies with new tools; the difficulty of taking advantage of the benefits of ICT to transform teaching methodologies. Among the difficulties were: the lack of knowledge on how to use ICT as pedagogical resources; the predominance of individuality in the search for knowledge on how to integrate ICT; the need to prepare teachers to use ICT to train future teachers by example.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T12:27:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 1212927 bytes, checksum: 7adf068a0a8f76b2fa586b434a9e3c65 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-03-20 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The EFC bleaching with the current technologies, based on the chlorine dioxide use represents the second greatest cost in the eucalyptus kraft pulp bleaching (US$ 25-30/t), being the wood the first (US$ 40-80/t). On the other hand, the bleaching reagents offer, typically chlorine dioxide, has been a limiting factor for the production increase in many old industrial units since the units capacity generating this reagent can only be increased by its complete substitution. Besides, the bleaching effluent with the chlorine dioxide is of difficult re-circulation in the chemical recovery. Pulp bleaching alternative technologies, which minimize the use of chlorine dioxide are, therefore, very welcome. The focus of the investigations searching for alternative reagents have been based on the pulp pre-bleaching, i.e., in the two stages of the bleaching sequence, aiming at using less chlorine dioxide and lower the number of kappa pulp that follows the bleaching phase. The practical industrial experience in Brazil shows that the kappa number, after the wood cooking and delignification with oxygen, varies from 9 to 11. The subsequent pulp bleaching with this level of kappa number requires from 33 to 44kg of active chlorine per pulp ton, that is, about 4kg of chlorine per kappa number unit. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to investigate alternatives, which allowed, not only the specific chlorine dioxide consume reduction but also, and mainly, the kappa pulp number reduction that follows to the bleaching phase. Such alternatives included: (1) increase in the delignification efficiency with oxygen by the use of additives and optimization of the operational variables; (2) substitution of the acid stage and/or first de-oxidation stage by a peroxide acid catalyzed with molybdenum salts (PMo) or other salts; (3) industrial evaluation of the PMo stage in a PMoZDP sequence; and (4) NaOH substitution by Mg(OH)2 in the P and Ep stages of the AZDP, a/(Ze)DP and D*(Ep)D bleaching sequences. These objectives accomplishments resulted in the four chapters of this work. The MgSO4 use in the oxygen delignification and the application of the most severe alkali conditions (25kg/t) and of the temperature (115oC) allow the kappa pulp number reduction to values of 9,0, thus reducing the bleaching cost by the Oa/(Ze)DP sequence, without pulp quality loss. The substitution of the sequence AZDP acid stage by the peroxide acetic stage (produced from the glucose pentacetate), also reduced the kappa of the bleaching start, with the bleaching time reduction. The peroxide acid catalyzed with molybdenum (PMo) use in substitution of the acid stage (A) reduced substantially the kappa of the bleaching start, having also reduced the bleaching total cost by the AZDP sequence in R$2,13/t of pulp. Such results were confirmed in a trial mill in a 1200t/day plant without pulp quality loss and the bleaching effluent. The best conditions to operate the PMo stage were: temperature 90-95OC; pH 3,5; 2 hours; 0,1kg/t molybdenum and; 5kg/t hydrogen peroxide. The principal effect of the kappa reduction observed in the PMo stage occurred through the hexenuronic acid removal from the pulp. That the substitution of 25% of the sodium hydroxide and 100% of magnesium sulphate used in the Ep stage by the Mg(OH)2 was demonstrated to be possible without significant damage to the viscosity and brightness of the pulp bleached by the D*(Ep)D sequence / O branqueamento ECF com as tecnologias atuais, à base de dióxido de cloro representa o segundo maior custo de produção de polpa kraft branqueada de eucalipto (US$ 25-30/t), sendo a madeira o primeiro (US$ 40-80/t). Por outro lado, a oferta de reagentes de branqueamento, tipicamente dióxido de cloro, tem sido fator limitante para o aumento da produção de muitas unidades industriais antigas, já que a capacidade de unidades geradoras desse reagente só pode ser aumentada pela sua completa substituição. Além disso, o efluente do branqueamento com dióxido de cloro é de difícil recirculação no sistema de recuperação química da fábrica. Tecnologias alternativas de branqueamento de polpa que minimizem o uso de dióxido de cloro são, portanto, muito bem-vindas. O foco das investigações em busca de reagentes alternativos tem sido na fase de pré-branqueamento da polpa, i.e., nos dois primeiros estágios da seqüência de branqueamento, visando a utilizar menos dióxido de cloro e baixar o número kappa da polpa que segue para a fase de alvejamento. A experiência prática industrial no Brasil demonstra que o número kappa da polpa, após cozimento da madeira e deslignificação com oxigênio, varia de 9 a 11. O branqueamento subseqüente da polpa com esse nível de número kappa requer de 36 a 44kg de cloro ativo por tonelada de polpa, ou seja, cerca de 4kg de cloro ativo por unidade de número kappa. Portanto, o principal objetivo deste estudo foi investigar alternativas que permitissem não só reduzir o consumo específico de dióxido de cloro, mas, principalmente, reduzir o número kappa da polpa que segue para a fase de alvejamento Tais alternativas incluíram: (1) aumento da eficiência de deslignificação com oxigênio pelo uso de aditivos e otimização de variáveis operacionais; (2) substituição do estágio ácido e/ou primeiro estágio de dioxidação por um estágio de peróxido ácido catalisado com sais de molibdênio (PMo) ou outros sais; (3) avaliação industrial do estágio PMo numa seqüência PMoZDP; e (4) substituição do NaOH por Mg(OH)2 nos estágios P e Ep das seqüências de branqueamento AZDP, a/(Ze)DP e D*(Ep)D. O cumprimento desses objetivos resultou nos quatro capítulos deste trabalho. Foi concluído que o uso do MgSO4 na deslignificação com oxigênio associados à aplicação de condições mais severas de álcali (25kg/t) e temperatura (115ºC) permitem reduzir o número kappa da polpa para valores abaixo de 9,0, diminuindo o custo do branqueamento pela seqüência Oa/(Ze)DP, sem prejuízo para a qualidade da polpa. A substituição do estágio ácido da seqüência AZDP, pelo estágio de peroxiacético (produzido a partir do pentacetato de glicose), também reduziu o kappa de entrada do alvejamento. A utilização do estágio de peróxido ácido catalisado com molibdênio (PMo) em substituição ao estágio ácido (A) reduziu o kappa de entrada do alvejamento substancialmente, tendo reduzido também o custo total do branqueamento pela seqüência AZDP em R$2,13/t de polpa. Tais resultados foram confirmados em teste industrial numa planta de 1200t/dia, sem prejuízo para a qualidade da polpa e do efluente de branqueamento. As melhores condições para operar o estágio PMo foram: temperatura 90-95ºC; pH 3,5; 2 horas; 0,1kg/t molibdênio; e 5kg/t peróxido de hidrogênio. O principal efeito da redução do kappa observado no estágio PMo ocorreu pela remoção de ácidos hexenourônicos da polpa. Foi demonstrado ser possível substituir 25% do hidróxido de sódio e 100% do sulfato de magnésio utilizados no estágio Ep pelo Mg(OH)2, sem danos significativos para a viscosidade e alvura da polpa branqueada pela seqüência D*(Ep)D

O tema Políticas Públicas de Inclusão Digital no Brasil tem chamado bastante à atenção, posto que a inserção das novas Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TICs) é uma realidade nas sociedades modernas. Atualmente, está sob a responsabilidade do Governo Federal cerca de 17 programas voltados para a inclusão digital. Entretanto, 42% da população do país nunca acessaram a internet. Assim, a importância desta pesquisa está na possibilidade de produzir reflexões sobre a realidade das políticas públicas em âmbitos regionais e locais. Desta forma, a pesquisa teve como objetivo analisar a implementação das políticas públicas de inclusão digital existentes no Litoral do Paraná, examinando se elas contemplam três dimensões: técnica (disponibilização de acesso à computadores, internet e noções básicas de informática), econômica (acesso à equipamentos e internet a preços subsidiados) e cognitiva (acesso aos cursos avançados por meio da apropriação crítica da tecnologia). Para tanto, a investigação se iniciou com a pesquisa bibliográfica e documental, o que possibilitou a realização de diálogos com autores que discutem as seguintes temáticas: políticas públicas, inclusão digital, exclusão digital, sociedade da informação, dentre outras. Após, deu-se início o mapeamento dos programas de inclusão digital existentes no Brasil, focando no Litoral do Paraná. O mapeamento foi realizado por meio do Mapa da Inclusão Digital (MID) do Instituto Brasileiro de Informação em Ciência e Tecnologia (IBICT), pela Secretária de Assuntos Estratégicos do Estado do Paraná e pelas prefeituras dos municípios do litoral paranaense, possibilitando a recuperação de 33 endereços de Pontos de Inclusão Digital (PIDs). Em seguida foi empreendida a pesquisa de campo. Foram solicitados e analisados documentos referentes aos PIDs e realizadas observações participantes nos locais e entrevistas com os agentes que atuam diretamente com programas de inclusão digital. A pesquisa revelou que os programas de inclusão digital no Litoral do Paraná propendem maior atendimento à dimensão técnica, não contemplando plenamente as dimensões econômica e cognitiva. Demonstrou que o foco das políticas, em geral, está voltado para um tipo específico de equipamento, o computador de mesa, não pensado na inclusão digital a partir de outras perspectivas de TICs. Revelou ainda a existência do sombreamento de uma política sobre a outra e que elas vêm sendo implementadas de forma geral em todas as localidades, não se fazendo um estudo das especificidades e necessidades locais. Concluiu-se que, na prática, a inclusão digital no litoral do Paraná é deficitária e está mais centrada na universalização da tecnologia do que na apropriação crítica dela, pois a maioria dos programas tem fomentado ações que apenas disponibilizam o acesso aos computadores e à internet. / The issue of Public Policies for Digital Inclusion in Brazil has drawn considerable attention, since the inclusion of the new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is a reality in modern societies. It is currently under the responsibility of the Federal Government about 17 programs for digital inclusion. However, 42% of the population never accessed the Internet. Thus, the importance of this research lies in the possibility of producing reflections on the reality of public policies at regional and local levels. In this way, the survey aimed to analyze the implementation of public policies for existing digital inclusion in the Coast of Paraná, examining whether they include three dimensions: technical (providing access to computers, internet and computer basics), economic (access equipment and internet at subsidized prices) and cognitive (access to advanced courses through critical appropriation of technology). Therefore, the investigation began with bibliographic and documentary research, which allowed conducting dialogues with authors who discuss the following topics: public policy, digital inclusion, digital divide, information society, among others. After, work began mapping the existing programs for digital inclusion in Brazil, focusing on the Coast of Paraná. The mapping was carried out through the Map of Digital Inclusion (MID) of the Brazilian Institute for Information in Science and Technology (IBICT), the Secretary of the State of Paraná Strategic Affairs and the municipal governments of Paraná coast, enabling 33 recovery Digital Inclusion Points addresses (PIDs). Then it was undertaken field research. Documents were requested and analyzed regarding the PIDs and conducted participant observation and interviews with the local agents who work directly with digital inclusion programs. The survey revealed that digital inclusion programs in the Coast of Paraná are inclined greater attention to the technical dimension, not fully considering the economic and cognitive dimensions. It showed that the focus of policy in general is facing a specific type of equipment, the desktop computer, not thought on digital inclusion from other perspectives of ICT. Also revealed the existence of the shadow of a policy on the other, and they have been implemented in general in all locations, not making a study of the local specificities and needs.It was concluded that, in practice, the digital inclusion in Paraná coast is more focused on universalization of technology than the critical appropriation of it because most of the programs has fostered actions that only provide access to computers and the internet.

O tema Políticas Públicas de Inclusão Digital no Brasil tem chamado bastante à atenção, posto que a inserção das novas Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TICs) é uma realidade nas sociedades modernas. Atualmente, está sob a responsabilidade do Governo Federal cerca de 17 programas voltados para a inclusão digital. Entretanto, 42% da população do país nunca acessaram a internet. Assim, a importância desta pesquisa está na possibilidade de produzir reflexões sobre a realidade das políticas públicas em âmbitos regionais e locais. Desta forma, a pesquisa teve como objetivo analisar a implementação das políticas públicas de inclusão digital existentes no Litoral do Paraná, examinando se elas contemplam três dimensões: técnica (disponibilização de acesso à computadores, internet e noções básicas de informática), econômica (acesso à equipamentos e internet a preços subsidiados) e cognitiva (acesso aos cursos avançados por meio da apropriação crítica da tecnologia). Para tanto, a investigação se iniciou com a pesquisa bibliográfica e documental, o que possibilitou a realização de diálogos com autores que discutem as seguintes temáticas: políticas públicas, inclusão digital, exclusão digital, sociedade da informação, dentre outras. Após, deu-se início o mapeamento dos programas de inclusão digital existentes no Brasil, focando no Litoral do Paraná. O mapeamento foi realizado por meio do Mapa da Inclusão Digital (MID) do Instituto Brasileiro de Informação em Ciência e Tecnologia (IBICT), pela Secretária de Assuntos Estratégicos do Estado do Paraná e pelas prefeituras dos municípios do litoral paranaense, possibilitando a recuperação de 33 endereços de Pontos de Inclusão Digital (PIDs). Em seguida foi empreendida a pesquisa de campo. Foram solicitados e analisados documentos referentes aos PIDs e realizadas observações participantes nos locais e entrevistas com os agentes que atuam diretamente com programas de inclusão digital. A pesquisa revelou que os programas de inclusão digital no Litoral do Paraná propendem maior atendimento à dimensão técnica, não contemplando plenamente as dimensões econômica e cognitiva. Demonstrou que o foco das políticas, em geral, está voltado para um tipo específico de equipamento, o computador de mesa, não pensado na inclusão digital a partir de outras perspectivas de TICs. Revelou ainda a existência do sombreamento de uma política sobre a outra e que elas vêm sendo implementadas de forma geral em todas as localidades, não se fazendo um estudo das especificidades e necessidades locais. Concluiu-se que, na prática, a inclusão digital no litoral do Paraná é deficitária e está mais centrada na universalização da tecnologia do que na apropriação crítica dela, pois a maioria dos programas tem fomentado ações que apenas disponibilizam o acesso aos computadores e à internet. / The issue of Public Policies for Digital Inclusion in Brazil has drawn considerable attention, since the inclusion of the new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is a reality in modern societies. It is currently under the responsibility of the Federal Government about 17 programs for digital inclusion. However, 42% of the population never accessed the Internet. Thus, the importance of this research lies in the possibility of producing reflections on the reality of public policies at regional and local levels. In this way, the survey aimed to analyze the implementation of public policies for existing digital inclusion in the Coast of Paraná, examining whether they include three dimensions: technical (providing access to computers, internet and computer basics), economic (access equipment and internet at subsidized prices) and cognitive (access to advanced courses through critical appropriation of technology). Therefore, the investigation began with bibliographic and documentary research, which allowed conducting dialogues with authors who discuss the following topics: public policy, digital inclusion, digital divide, information society, among others. After, work began mapping the existing programs for digital inclusion in Brazil, focusing on the Coast of Paraná. The mapping was carried out through the Map of Digital Inclusion (MID) of the Brazilian Institute for Information in Science and Technology (IBICT), the Secretary of the State of Paraná Strategic Affairs and the municipal governments of Paraná coast, enabling 33 recovery Digital Inclusion Points addresses (PIDs). Then it was undertaken field research. Documents were requested and analyzed regarding the PIDs and conducted participant observation and interviews with the local agents who work directly with digital inclusion programs. The survey revealed that digital inclusion programs in the Coast of Paraná are inclined greater attention to the technical dimension, not fully considering the economic and cognitive dimensions. It showed that the focus of policy in general is facing a specific type of equipment, the desktop computer, not thought on digital inclusion from other perspectives of ICT. Also revealed the existence of the shadow of a policy on the other, and they have been implemented in general in all locations, not making a study of the local specificities and needs.It was concluded that, in practice, the digital inclusion in Paraná coast is more focused on universalization of technology than the critical appropriation of it because most of the programs has fostered actions that only provide access to computers and the internet.

Waste resulting from healthcare activities is hazardous due to its potential risk of infection to healthcare workers, waste workers and the public. Many tools and approaches have been applied in waste management in developed countries, but are not suitable for application in developing countries due to their complexity and extensive data and resource requirements. WasteOpt was therefore developed and applied as an appropriate decision-making tool in the developing country context. WasteOpt comprises of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), costing and Life cycle management (LCM). The purpose of this study was to identify environmentally sound technologies (ESTs) that minimise the risk of infection by healthcare waste (HCW) in rural clinics. Rural clinics were selected because apart from financial constraints, they are challenged by the lack of procedure, infrastructure and technologies to develop reasonable waste management plans that can be implemented within a practicable time frame. WasteOpt was applied to aid in identifying ESTs in relation to the infection risks and costs of the technologies. Experts in waste management in Lesotho were involved in a workshop for the ranking of technologies. The overall weighting values of the rankings were converted to risk factors for individual options and for alternatives (combination of options). Risk factors were classified as low, medium and high risk. The technologies within a single class were differentiated by analysing the cost of acquiring and running the technology to qualify as ESTs. The ESTs identified for Lesotho are Engineered containers, Refrigerated engineered facility, engineered wheeled transport, detailed procedures, multi chamber incinerator, engineered pit and landfill. Ten (10) clinics in Lesotho were also assessed as case studies using the WHO RAT. The RAT was first modified to include questions on financial management at the clinics. The calculated risk factors were applied to the case studies to assess the risk under which healthcare workers operate in those clinics. The additive minimum risk for the overall life cycle of waste was 4.0 (excluding central treatment and disposal). The clinic workers were found to be at a risk of between 1.1 x 10-4 and 7.8 x 10-5, which proves that rural clinics in Lesotho are still using inappropriate technologies. In terms of financing for waste management, public clinics were found to have little decision-making powers over funds and had less accountability measures. CHAL clinics which are managed by churches in Lesotho had more control of funds and exhibit more accountability. All clinics had no targets for saving funds from waste management activities. WasteOpt can be applied as a decision-making tool for HCW in Lesotho since it overcomes the barriers that inhibit environmentally sound management of HCW in developing countries. In conclusion: WasteOpt can be applied as a decision-making tool for different types of waste by replacing HCW options with respective ones and designing a relevant questionnaire for qualitative data capture. WasteOpt can then be applied in a developing country to aid sustainable waste management decision-making. Informed decision-making helps resource poor managers to select cost-effective but low-risk options, which will be sustainable in the future. / Dissertation (MSc (Environmental Technology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Chemical Engineering / unrestricted

There is a noticeable lack of production of indigenously engineered and manufactured products in Less Developed Countries (LDC's). Few products developed in these LDC's could be viable in competitive markets or even sold as components and supplies to other manufacturers of competitive goods. Assumintg that these less developed countries do not innovate and manufacture because they cannot, the next logical question to ask is why can they not? This thesis looks at the problems of manufacture and design in LDC's from the standpoint of Product Development. It begins by looking at development theories, namely top down and bottom up and assessing the difficulties encountered with either approach. It then looks at literature on product development, covering four areas: appropriate technolotgy, Product Development Cycle, QFD, and finally Design for X. These areas are analyzed for their usefulness in solving the development problem. The environment is considered and a linkage is developed between the Product Development Cycle and the environment. This is found to happen by way of Enterprise Needs which are needs that a product must fulfill to make it a viable option for manufacture. Finally, a process is outlined and demonstrated to form Enterprise Needs and take them into account within a traditional concept selection process. Environment was found to play a part in the Product Development Cycle. By clarifying Enterprise Needs as well as Customer Needs or Functional Needs, a more balanced approach can be taken to the concept selection process choosing the best concept, not only for the customer, but for the company as well.

No description available.