Submitted by BRUNA DE LIMA ALCANTARA KITAMURA null (brunakitamura@yahoo.com.br) on 2017-10-30T20:10:34Z No. of bitstreams: 1 TESE-FINAL-BRUNA-G-LIMA.pdf: 4015697 bytes, checksum: cb6eb178262689807dbc777ab5d4d4dd (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by LUIZA DE MENEZES ROMANETTO (luizamenezes@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2017-11-09T18:45:51Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 lima_bg_dr_ilha.pdf: 4015697 bytes, checksum: cb6eb178262689807dbc777ab5d4d4dd (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-11-09T18:45:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 lima_bg_dr_ilha.pdf: 4015697 bytes, checksum: cb6eb178262689807dbc777ab5d4d4dd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-09-06 / Neste trabalho apresenta-se uma nova meta-heurística, o Algoritmo Genético Evolucionário Especializado (AGE-E) para resolver uma das categorias dos Problemas de Carregamento de Contêiners, objeto de estudo que pertence à otimização, na Pesquisa Operacional. Considera-se a existência de múltiplos contêiners de iguais dimensões que permitem o carregamento completo da carga disponível em um contexto de transporte industrial. Esta carga é composta por caixas de sortimento fortemente hete-rogêneo e que permite a rotação em qualquer dasseis possibilidades, tornando o problema ainda mais complexo, e, porisso,menos estudado na literatura. Uma revisão bibliográfica é também apresentada, contendo uma visão geral das classificações do problema e, em particular, um estudo aprofundado sobre algoritmos genéticos. A implementação do AGE-E foi realizada, e os resultados computacionais foram comparados com as melhores soluções já apresentadas na literatura, demonstrando o potencial do AGE-E para estudosfuturos. / This work presents a new meta-heuristic, the Specialized Evolutionary Genetic Algorithm (AGE-E), which solves one of the categories of Container Loading Problems, object of study that belongs to Optimization, within the Operational Research. It’s considered the existence of multiple containers ofthe equal dimensionsthat promote the full loading of the availablecargoinindustrial transportation context. Thisload is composed ofstrongly heterogeneous assortment to the boxes, and allows rotation in any of the six possibilities, making the problem even more complex, and therefore less studied in the literature. A bibliographic review is also presented, containing an overview of the classifications of the problem and, in particular, an deepened study on genetic algorithms. The implementation of AGE-E was performed, and the computational results were compared with the best solutions already determined by the bibliography, demonstrating the potentialofAGE-E for future studies.

We consume more and more which also have led to an increase in the waste we most handle. In public environment, common solution have been to increase the size of the waste bin, but that’s not always an option. To big and it may interfere with the environment it placed in. Another approach is to compress the disposed waste and so increase the waste bins capacity without increasing the volume of the wastebin itself. BigBelly is one product which have embraced this apprach. It is a solar driven compressing waste bin commonly seen in big cities around the world. The problem is that some miner municipalities and private companies still are in need of a solution but don’t have the resources to obtain BigBellys or other similar solutions. One way to approach this market is to develop a waste bin without the electric usually expensive components and develop a less expensive compressible waste bin that’s still an effective choice. To understand the needs, both of those who dispose of waste publicly but also those who manage the waste bins, have interviews, observations, questionaries and focus groups been used to gather valuable data. This data have then been remade in terms of user needs and ranked according to importance by the users themselves and the project manager. Some highly ranked needs are: the waste bin is steady and robust, the waste bin can only be opened by those who handle/empty the waste bins, a manual compression can be performed by those who throw the waste, and a manual compression can be performed without any major effort.  By the method Design by analogies and a workshop held at Luleå University of Technology was ideas created. The three concepts with the highest potential were selected via Pugh’s selection matrix and tested according to efficiency and effectivity. The concept with the highest result was developed in Simens NX a CAD-program and then used as a template for the construction of a functional prototype. By testing and analyzing the prototype a product specification could be created. The final result, which is based on the prototype and the specification, consist of two rendered waste bins, developed towards compression in public environment. The compactor is based on a scissor-lift design modified to expand and so compress waste by gravity and contract by the energy of the users. Both models are estimated to enhance the capacity of 170-200% compared with a waste bin none-compressing waste bin of the same size. Model 1 requires a force of 196N from the user during use while model 2 requires force of 123N.

Denna rapport behandlar kandidatprojektet Optily som utförts av 8 studenter på Tekniska högskolan vid Linköpings universitet. Hela processen från planering och utveckling till resultatet av den slutgiltiga produkten presenteras och diskuteras. Även erfarenheter som fångats upp av projektgruppen under denna process behandlas. Företaget Ionbond Sweden AB, som är kund i projektet, arbetar med ytbeläggning av rundskaftade föremål. För att underlätta planeringen av hur deras beläggningskammare ska packas har ett datorprogram kallat Optily utvecklats av projektgruppen. Detta har med framgång ökat effektiviteten i packningen av maskinerna vilket leder till ökad omsättning eftersom fler föremål kan köras tillsammans. Utöver ökad omsättning bidrar detta också till att hjälpa Ionbond Sweden AB att nå sina uppsatta miljömål. Programmet har även lyckats förbättra arbetssituationen för de anställda genom att på förhand visa hur maskinerna ska packas och vilka ordrar som då kommer få plats. Genom att integrera systemet med Ionbond Sweden AB:s nuvarande produktdatabas hanteras alla olika produkter som kan behöva ytbeläggas. Packningens utformning tas sedan fram genom att placera objekten med hjälp av en optimeringsalgoritm vilken når ett resultat som konsekvent är bättre än vad planeringsansvarig tidigare lyckats med. Resultatet av optimeringen visualiseras sedan med hjälp av en schematisk bild på hur objekten ska placeras i beläggningskammaren för att på bästa sätt utnyttja den tillgängliga volymen.

MA thesis project Klára Schneiderová PREDICATE ANALYSIS AND ANALYSIS OF METAPHORS USED IN MESSAGES ATTRIBUTED TO OSAMA BIN LADEN REGARDING THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICAAND THEIR EUROPEAN ALLIES FOLLOWING THE 2003 INVASION OF IRAQ INTRODUCTION - War on terror = war on Islam? (analysis of fundamentalist logic and stream of thought) For this Master thesis project, I chose to analyze the terrorist discourse of Osama bin Laden, the leader of the global Jihadist network, al-Qaeda, particularly his messages regarding the United States of America and its European allies following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, as they were gathered in various relevant sources of record up to the near present.1 I chose this topic due to my long-term interest in the Middle East, particularly the relationship and links between religious ideology and politics in the region. The methodology chosen for this work is closely related to media image analysis which I became familiar with during my previous studies and which I applied in my Bachelor's thesis. In the world today, I believe it has become increasingly important to reflect, observe and closely examine the roots and foundations of fundamentalist argumentation and logic, which in this case serve as the key motors of the global Jihadist movement. Following the 9-11-01 terrorist attacks...

On a scorching summer day in 2015, a campus maintenance worker was observed emptying a trash bin. Upon closer observation, it was noted that the bin was not full; in fact, it was less than one third full. There were other bins that were full and needed to be emptied urgently. It was confusing and problematic to see that bins that needed more attention were not prioritized. After extended research, it was found that maintenance operates on daily routes to pick up trash at designated times, regardless of the level of trash in the bins. Therefore, to tackle this issue, the author decided to use the Internet of Things (IoT) to develop a prototype that will optimize trash collection and reduce costs of waste management and pollution; this device is named the Eco-Smart Can.

<p dir="ltr">This dissertation presents the findings and research conducted during my Ph.D. study, which focuses on developing grasp policies for modular end-effectors on mobile manipulation platforms operating in cluttered environments. The primary objective of this research is to enhance the performance and accuracy of robotic manipulation systems in complex, real-world scenarios. The work has potential implications for various domains, including the rapidly growing Industry 4.0 and the advancement of autonomous systems in space habitats.</p><p dir="ltr">The dissertation offers a comprehensive literature review, emphasizing the challenges faced by mobile manipulation platforms in cluttered environments and the state-of-the-art techniques for grasping and manipulation. It showcases the development and evaluation of a Modular End-Effector System (MEES) for mobile manipulation platforms, which includes the investigation of object 6D pose estimation techniques, the generation of a deep learning-based grasping dataset for MEES, the development of a suction cup gripper grasping policy (Sim-Suction), the development of a two-finger grasping policy (Sim-Grasp), and the integration of Modular End-Effector System grasping policy (Sim-MEES). The proposed methodology integrates hardware designs, control algorithms, data-driven methods, and large language models to facilitate adaptive grasping strategies that consider the unique constraints and requirements of cluttered environments.</p><p dir="ltr">Furthermore, the dissertation discusses future research directions, such as further investigating the Modular End-Effector System grasping policy. This Ph.D. study aims to contribute to the advancement of robotic manipulation technology, ultimately enabling more versatile and robust mobile manipulation platforms capable of effectively interacting with complex environments.</p>

In early 2001, as I began exploring the role of religion in conflict, I came across a declaration by a then little-known leader, Osama bin Laden, and his fellows. That declaration was of the World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders. Many analysts now see it as one of the founding documents of al Qaeda, the amorphous terrorist umbrella group. The purpose of the declaration was to issue a fatwa that, because United States troops were stationed in the holy Arabian peninsula and threatened Muslims, particularly in Iraq, it was every Muslim's duty 'to kill the Americans and their allies - civilians and military - ... in any country in which it is possible to do it'. Of course, the first thing that struck me, as an American, was that here was a group that wished to kill me solely because of my birthplace. They did not seem to care that I might not support specific actions of my government, even if I supported that government generally. Nor was there any discussion of whether methods other than violence might be more useful in persuading my fellow citizens as to the justice of their cause. I wondered, as a student of peace studies, what I could do in the face of such seemingly implacable hatred. The second thing that struck me about the declaration was its language. I noticed, in particular, a certain flourish that one does not often find in political analysis. The image that 'nations are attacking Muslims like people fighting over a plate of food' has always stayed in my mind because the simple image has such rhetorical power. I also noticed, in accordance with my research interests, the use of religious teachings as a justification for violence. Yet poetic rhetoric and religious dogma were not the only contents of that declaration. Bin Laden and his fellows made coherent political points. They cited as examples of the harm caused by the United States: the post-Gulf War presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia, 'dictating to its rulers [and] humiliating its people;' the continued bombing of Iraq 'even though all [Saudi] rulers are against their territories being used to that end;' and, finally, the way that these actions contributed to the security of Israel by weakening Arab nations. Thus, beneath its religious expression the declaration contained political points with which I could engage. Now, as I categorically oppose the use of violence, I unreservedly reject the conclusion of the fatwa. Moreover, I do not assume that a single statement is evidence of this group's true intent. It may very well be the case, as analysts more versed in their politics than I have argued, that al Qaeda's real goal is the establishment of an Islamic caliphate. Its affiliation with Afghanistan's Taliban certainly supports this argument. In spite of these things, though, their use of political arguments meant they were trying to reach an audience that cared about such things. I could address that audience as well, and try to propose different courses of action that would address the same concerns. Thus, I could step outside of my original framework, in which I envisioned implacable hatred, and argue for nonviolent ways of addressing the issues. Yet the religious idiom of the declaration was also an important factor. Given that the declaration addressed Muslims as Muslims, by only trying to argue political points with them I might alienate people for whom the religious language meant a great deal. Already in my research I had come to the conclusion, drawing on R. Scott Appleby's The Ambivalence of the Sacred, that the people best placed to show the peaceful potential of a religion are believers in that religion. I am not, however, religious. Thus, this conclusion left me with no recourse in the face of the religious aspects of conflict. I began to wonder what role a nonreligious - or, as I came to think of myself, a secular - person could play in peacemaking when religion is an element of a conflict. Moreover, I saw that different seculars would have different reactions to bin Laden's arguments. Some would reject the message because of the religious medium. Some, like I first did, would perceive the sociopolitical elements but continue to ignore the religious language. Others, as I also briefly did, might consider the religious element but leave out the issue of their own secular nature. Yet no perspective provided a good model for what I, as a secular, might do. Thus, the goal of my thesis became to analyze the various models of secularity, find the most beneficial principles, and construct from these a model for secular best practice. That Osama bin Laden's words should catalyze this thesis brings me to two important points. First, this is not a thesis about Islam. If a disproportionate number of the examples that I use throughout the thesis focus on Islam, this should not indicate that Islam deserves special attention concerning conflict and violence. Rather, the focus here is always on secularity and secular responses to religion in situations of conflict. However, particularly after September 11th, the largely secular policy and scholarly establishments of Europe and North America have produced a great deal of material concerning Islam. Thus, while I sought out more diverse sources dealing with secularity, I often used the religion most commented on by secular sources as an exemplar. That leads to the second point, which is that this is not a thesis about terrorism. Given its scope and the place of religion in it, most obvious case study to use in this thesis is the 'war on terror' - which I call such for ease of use, as that is what the Western media generally call it, not because I think it is an adequate designation. I will cover this topic in the final chapter, but because the thesis is about peace and violence in conflict, and not about specific forms of violence, it will not figure elsewhere. Because this thesis is concerned with violence and, specifically, with the promotion of peace, it has an overt prescriptive element. This stems in large part from my Peace Studies background. Peace Studies entails a normative commitment to pursue peaceful situations through nonviolent means. Thus, at several points I actively enjoin readers to take or not take certain types of action because, by my analysis, that is the best way to promote peaceful relationships. More generally, by the title of this thesis, I ask readers to 'rethink secular and sacred' - both what these terms mean, and more importantly how they relate to one another. In particular, this goal leads me to avoid discussing the concept of tolerance. Tolerance is often held to be a virtue by those who seek to promote nonconfrontational religious interaction. However, as many other writers have pointed out, the word 'tolerance' itself stems from physiological and biological studies, where it means the ability to withstand negative factors, such as poisons or drugs. Thus I find that its social meaning is essentially negative, denoting forbearance of what one finds repugnant. While in a very limited sense I feel that tolerance is necessary, it is only as a first step to actively engaging with what one might at first find off-putting.

Pollinating insects are important for many plants and for the human population. To be able to monitor pollinators and assess improvements made for them, it is important to get information about pollinator population changes. Therefore, it is essential that the methods used to collect data are accurate (i.e. that they represent the pollinator fauna). One commonly used method is pan-traps, but this method is suggested to be affected by the abundance of surrounding flowers. The results in the present study showed that catches in pan-traps can be affected by flower cover and the colour of the flowers, depending on which colours are preferred by the insects. The effects differed when looking at a larger scale (2-6 ha) and a smaller scale (25 m2) around the pan-traps. When comparing cover of flowers with catches in pan-traps in the small scale there were some results that showed linear positive correlations (expected), but also, negative linear and quadratic correlations. In contrast, in the large scale there were no significant positive linear correlations. When comparing catches in hand-net and pan-traps, only in one out of six taxonomical groups there were a correlation. The results in this study show that catches in pan-traps can be misleading if catches are done to survey pollinator population fauna and the cover of flowers is not considered.

Various types of transportation issues are a common practice. The issue may be approached mainly as the distribution of products from suppliers to consumers while minimising distribution costs. The difference of real transportation issues predominantly relates to the considered restrictions, such as capacities of vehicles and orders, time windows and other special distribution restrictions. Transportation issues were already defined by F.L. Hitchcock in 1941 and since then, a wide range of stochastic and non- determinist methods providing solutions to transportation issues have been developed. Nevertheless, introducing distribution restrictions in resolving real-life problems makes it difficult for such methods to be applied. This thesis provides a compilation of the well-known determinist methods that may be used to resolve transportation issues. The methods that are appropriate for resolving real issues are discussed in more detail. The solution procedure of the selected method is demonstrated using simple examples and the results are compared with the results of other methods. An analysis of the above methods is used to design and implement new methods to resolve real transportation issues, their results being compared with the methods provided by the commercial software product.

This internship academic report is the result of a 480--‐hour internship at New Orleans Auction Galleries completed from February--‐September 2015. New Orleans Auction Galleries is a for--‐profit arts organization located in the Arts District of New Orleans, Louisiana. During my internship, I worked closely with the Art Department and Office Administration, as well as preview receptions andauctions. This experience provided me with a valuable education of the inner workings of New Orleans Auction Galleries from its day--‐to--‐day operations to its vision as an organization. His report begins with the history and goals of New Orleans Auction Galleries and moves forward with discussing the structure of the organization as it stands today, a SWOT analysis, best practices, recommendations, and concludes with my final thoughts.