In this study, we propose a bi-objective facility location model that considers both partial coverage and service to uncovered demands. In this model, it is assumed that the demand nodes within the predefined distance of opened facilities are fully covered and after that distance the coverage level linearly decreases. The objectives are the maximization of the sum of full and partial coverage the minimization of the maximum distance between uncovered demand nodes and their closest opened facilities. We apply two existing Multi Objective Genetic Algorithms (MOGAs), NSGA-II and SPEA-II to the problem. We determine the drawbacks of these MOGAs and develop a new MOGA called modified SPEA-II (mSPEA-II) to avoid the drawbacks. In this method, the fitness function of SPEA-II is modified and the crowding distance calculation of NSGA-II is used. The performance of mSPEA-II is tested on randomly generated problems of different sizes. The results are compared with the solutions resulting from NSGA-II and SPEA-II. Our experiments show that mSPEA-II outperforms both NSGA-II and SPEA-II.

In this study, a metaheuristic procedure, particularly a variable neighborhood search procedure, is proposed to solve the combined location and selective traveling salesman problem in glass recycling. The collection of used glass is done by a collecting vehicle that visits a number of predefined collection centers, like restaurants and hospitals that are going to be referred to as compulsory points. Meanwhile, it is desired to locate a predetermined number of bottle banks to residential areas. The aim is to determine the location of these bottle banks and the route of the collecting vehicle so that all compulsory points and all bottle banks are visited and the maximum profit is obtained. Population zones are defined in residential areas and it is assumed that the people in a particular population zone will recycle their used glass to the closest bottle bank that fully or partially covers their zone. A Variable Neighborhood Search algorithm and its variant have been utilized for the solution of the problem. Computational experiments have been made on small and medium scale test problems, randomly generated and adapted from the literature.

Violence against women is considered a global issue and it denies women their most basic human right, their health. The news media have been identified as an important factor in how violence against women is interpreted and perceived by society. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate how journalists and editors in Guyana, South America, work with the coverage of violence against women. Furthermore, this thesis examines what policies and views on news value that are prominent on the newspapers and what possibilities journalists and editors experience, to make an impact on society, through their reporting. Eight qualitative in-depth interviews were carried out with editors and reporters on the three most widely spread daily newspapers in Guyana. Also a quantitative content analysis, covering January-April 2014, was performed on the same newspapers. In total 159 articles that reported on cases of violence against women were found and coded. The result indicates that the reporting in Guyana conforms to previous research. The conclusion is that when it comes to context, language and sources used, the newspapers generally fail to work with violence against women adequately. The reporting preserves and reproduces patriarchal power structures by using victim blaming or perpetrator excusing language, not covering it as a social issue and overusing official sources. Furthermore, the result indicates that there are unwritten policies on the newspapers. However, these guidelines are not always followed. The study indicates that the reporting is not given enough resources in terms of time and money, which might be a result of that reporters and editors do not experience that readers are interested enough for the topic to get sufficient resources.

The minimum set cover problem is, without question, among the most ubiquitous and well-studied problems in computer science. Its theoretical hardness has been fully characterized--logarithmic approximability has been established, and no sublogarithmic approximation exists unless P=NP. However, the gap between real-world instances and the theoretical worst case is often immense--many covering problems of practical relevance admit much better approximations, or even solvability in polynomial time. Simple combinatorial or geometric structure can often be exploited to obtain improved algorithms on a problem-by-problem basis, but there is no general method of determining the extent to which this is possible. In this thesis, we aim to shed light on the relationship between the structure and the hardness of covering problems. We discuss several measures of structural complexity of set cover instances and prove new algorithmic and hardness results linking the approximability of a set cover problem to its underlying structure. In particular, we provide: - An APX-hardness proof for a wide family of problems that encode a simple covering problem known as Special-3SC. - A class of polynomial dynamic programming algorithms for a group of weighted geometric set cover problems having simple structure. - A simplified quasi-uniform sampling algorithm that yields improved approximations for weighted covering problems having low cell complexity or geometric union complexity. - Applications of the above to various capacitated covering problems via linear programming strengthening and rounding. In total, we obtain new results for dozens of covering problems exhibiting geometric or combinatorial structure. We tabulate these problems and classify them according to their approximability.

The research presented in this study has been conducted in an effort to aid in the creation of a biomimetic shell that may be employed in full-scale field experiments to determine the efficacy of mitigation options to limit loggerhead mortality in boat strike incidents. The objectives of this research include the development of experimental testing procedures for the material characterization of the loggerhead carapace, and the design, fabrication, and evaluation of an artificial prototype carapace. A photographic database of wounded sea turtles in Georgia was evaluated in order to determine the primary sources of loggerhead collision injuries and the most common regions of the carapace damaged in boat strike incidents. Skeg impact was found to be the most common source of injury, with a frequency of 44%. In addition, 74% of the sea turtles reviewed sustained injuries to the center third of their carapace length, indicating this region as the most probable impact location. Material testing procedures were developed for evaluating the material properties of the loggerhead carapace. This was followed by the material testing of three loggerhead shells for the purpose of determining localized mechanical properties. Samples were harvested from the shells in a manner designed to identify potential variations in properties due the location and orientation of the coupons within the carapace. Each coupon was subjected to axial tension or three-point bending. Specialized tabs were designed for tension testing in order to accommodate the coupon's irregular geometry and minimize curvature-induced moments. The tensile test results indicated that the longitudinal and transverse properties of the loggerhead carapace were similar. The tensile strength, elongation at failure, and modulus of elasticity were determined to have percent variations of 12.2%, 10.7%, and 10.1% respectively. In contrast, the three-point bending test results indicated that the modulus of rupture and flexural modulus for the transverse samples were approximately four times greater than those of the longitudinal samples. This variation may be attributed to regions of weak tissue running transversely through the carapace. The results of the material testing were utilized in the design of two prototype composite shells. The prototypes were successful in simulating the strain at failure and force per unit width to within 10% of the loggerhead carapace. The resulting procedure may be used to create artificial shells suitable for prototype scale tests in natural environments. In addition, the material testing methods developed for this investigation may offer insight into procedures for evaluating alternate forms of rigid or curved biological specimens.

Membranas do Mundo: Agenciamentos, Operações e Formas de Ativação do Espaço trata-se de uma pesquisa prático teórica decorrente das operações e dos movimentos desencadeados pela minha produção em Artes Visuais. São abordadas quatro experiências realizadas durante o período desta pesquisa e que ampliaram o conceito de índice e membrana, presentes em trabalhos anteriores. Observam-se as operações de revestimentos, encobrimentos e obliterações na problemática do esconder e do revelar, bem como nas formas e modos de apresentação das mesmas. O grupo de trabalhos evidencia as relações de latência, de ativação, do plano ao volume e nos espaços de apresentação, transitando entre diversos meios, incluindo a fotografia. Busca deter-se nas circunstâncias constitutivas desse processo e nos modos de apresentação, ao proporcionar diálogos com outras produções e artistas, em exemplos que discutem as relações de ativação ocorridas. Dos índices encontrados e deslocados, reorientados no contexto de cada lugar pela forma e estrutura da apresentação, encaminha os desdobramentos do processo para os meios da publicação. / World Membranes: Agency, Operations and Space Activation Modes is a practical-theoretical research derived from operations and movements activated by my Visual Art production. The paper shows four experiences accomplished during the research period and which have amplified the concept of index and membrane presented in previous works. The paper observes the covering and coating operations and the obliterations in the problem of hiding and revealing, as well as the ways of their presentations. The set of works highlights the relation of latency of activation, from flat to volume and in spaces of presentation, moving among many supports, including photography. The paper intends to dwell on the constitutive circumstances of the process and on the presentation modes when promoting dialogues with other artists and productions, with examples that discuss the relations of activation that have occurred. From the index found and moved, reguided in the context of each place by its mode and structure of presentation, the paper guides the unfoldments of the process to the means of publication.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:31:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2006-06-02Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:22:26Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 mahl_d_dr_botfca.pdf: 815471 bytes, checksum: be15fff752262a6a07097824be496849 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) / The success of no tillage system is directly related to the selection and efficiency of the seeders components as well as of the suitability of the forward speed and soil and vegetable covering characteristics. This research was carried out in a corn (Zea mays L.) field aiming to evaluate the operational and energetic performance of a no-tillage seeder in two soil types with different vegetable covering and with different forward speeds, furrow opener and cut elements. The performance were evaluated through parameters of seeds longitudinal uniformity distribution, seeding depth, soil mobilized area, tractor and seeder tractive wheel slips, draw bar pull and power requirements, fuel consumption, plantules emergency, culture growing and productivity. The experiments were carried out in two different farms. One at Lageado Experimental Farm, which the soil is classified as Nitossolo Vermelho distroférrico covered with 7 t.ha-1 of dry matter of corn, lupine and weed residues. The other experiment was carried out at São Manuel Experimental Farm, wich soil is classified as Latossolo Vermelho covered with 20 t.ha-1 of dry matter of Brachiaria spp and corn residues. Both experiments designs were 2x3x3 factorial in randomized blocks with four replications. The factors examined were: two furrow opener mechanisms (doubledisk and chisel opener); three tractor-seeder forward speeds (5.5; 7.9 and 10.1 km.h-1); and three covering cut mechanisms (smoothly, fluted and notched cut disks). The soil type and vegetable coverage interfered in the global seeder 4 performance and their cut and furrow opener components. Comparing with the experiment carried in Botucatu, the experiment carried in São Manuel provided larger values of: seeding depth, tractor wheel slip, percentage of soil covering, draw bar pull and power requirements, hourly... (Complete abstract, click electronic access below)

Membranas do Mundo: Agenciamentos, Operações e Formas de Ativação do Espaço trata-se de uma pesquisa prático teórica decorrente das operações e dos movimentos desencadeados pela minha produção em Artes Visuais. São abordadas quatro experiências realizadas durante o período desta pesquisa e que ampliaram o conceito de índice e membrana, presentes em trabalhos anteriores. Observam-se as operações de revestimentos, encobrimentos e obliterações na problemática do esconder e do revelar, bem como nas formas e modos de apresentação das mesmas. O grupo de trabalhos evidencia as relações de latência, de ativação, do plano ao volume e nos espaços de apresentação, transitando entre diversos meios, incluindo a fotografia. Busca deter-se nas circunstâncias constitutivas desse processo e nos modos de apresentação, ao proporcionar diálogos com outras produções e artistas, em exemplos que discutem as relações de ativação ocorridas. Dos índices encontrados e deslocados, reorientados no contexto de cada lugar pela forma e estrutura da apresentação, encaminha os desdobramentos do processo para os meios da publicação. / World Membranes: Agency, Operations and Space Activation Modes is a practical-theoretical research derived from operations and movements activated by my Visual Art production. The paper shows four experiences accomplished during the research period and which have amplified the concept of index and membrane presented in previous works. The paper observes the covering and coating operations and the obliterations in the problem of hiding and revealing, as well as the ways of their presentations. The set of works highlights the relation of latency of activation, from flat to volume and in spaces of presentation, moving among many supports, including photography. The paper intends to dwell on the constitutive circumstances of the process and on the presentation modes when promoting dialogues with other artists and productions, with examples that discuss the relations of activation that have occurred. From the index found and moved, reguided in the context of each place by its mode and structure of presentation, the paper guides the unfoldments of the process to the means of publication.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:29:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-02-12Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:19:54Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 chioderoli_ca_me_ilha.pdf: 2032442 bytes, checksum: 3e8fd3720d7272c35d926ab25f080222 (MD5) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / As elevadas taxas de decomposição do material orgânico em regiões tropicais tem sido um dos problemas para a manutenção e sustentabilidade do sistema plantio direto, devido à necessidade de produção de grandes quantidades de palha. Nessa condição a semeadura simultânea de forrageiras tropicais com culturas produtoras de grãos constitui uma alternativa para suprir o aporte anual de palha. Com o objetivo de identificar, no sistema de integração agricultura-pecuária, a melhor modalidade de consorciação de milho outonal com braquiária foi conduzido o presente trabalho na FEPE-UNESP de Ilha Solteira – SP. Foi utilizado o delineamento em blocos ao acaso, no esquema fatorial (3x3), com quatro repetições. Os tratamentos foram constituídos por três espécies de braquiárias (Brachiaria decumbens, Brachiaria brizantha e Brachiaria ruzizienses) e três modalidades de consórcio das braquiárias com o milho (MBL- Milho com Braquiária na Linha de semeadura do milho, misturada com o adubo de base e depositada a 0,10 m de profundidade; MBE- Milho com Braquiária semeada na Entrelinha no mesmo dia da semeadura do milho, com a presença de uma linha de semeadura intermediária; MBC- Braquiária na Entrelinha do milho semeada junto com o adubo de cobertura. Os resultados permitiram concluir que quando o objetivo principal da consorciação for produção de grãos de milho outonal e de soja como cultura de verão é recomendada à utilização da Brachiaria ruzizienses e a melhor modalidade de semeadura é na época de adubação de cobertura do milho. A consorciação e seqüência de culturas praticada proporcionaram aumento na macroporosidade do solo e a quantidade de palha produzida foi suficiente para manutenção da estabilidade do sistema plantio direto / The high rates of decomposition of organic matter in tropical regions has been one of the problems for the maintenance and no tillage system sustainability, due the necessity of producing large quantities of straw. In this condition the simultaneous sowing of tropical forages with producing cultures of grains constitutes an alternative to provide it dock annually of straw demanded. With the objective to identify, in the pasture-agriculture integration system, the best intercrop modality of fall maize with braquiária was driven the present work in the FEPE-UNESP of Ilha Solteira – SP. The delineation was used in blocks at random, in the scheme fatorial (3x3), with four repetitions. The treatments were constituted by three sorts of braquiárias (Brachiaria decumbens, Brachiaria brizantha and Brachiaria ruzizienses) and three kinds of partnership of the braquiárias with the maize. (MBL - maize with Braquiária in the line of sowing of the maize, mingled with the basic manure and deposited to 0,10 m of depth; MBE - maize with Braquiária sowed in the line space in the same day of the sowing of the maize, with the presence of a line of intermediary sowing; MBC - Braquiária in the line space of the corn sowed together with the manure of covering. They allowed the results to conclude what when the principal objective of the intercropping is a production of grains of autumnal corn and of soy like summer culture it is recommended to the use of the Brachiaria ruzizienses and the best kind of sowing is in the time of fertilizing of covering of the maize. The intercropping and sequence of cultures practiced provided increase in the macroporosity of the ground and that the quantity of produced straw was sufficient for maintenance of the no tillage system sustainability

This study is an exploration of familial bilingualism in which I examined the reported experiences of a small group of bilingual family members who live in the South of England and whose heritage languages are French or Spanish. The study, located in applied linguistics and sociolinguistics, draws upon the main fields of bilingualism, second language acquisition, language ideologies, family language policies, as well as bilingualism and emotions. It offers evidence of the difficulties to transmit heritage languages and implement familial bilingualism because of a mixture of intertwined ideological and practical factors. Having experienced familial bilingualism, I was interested in understanding the meaning that familial bilingualism had for other families and how familial bilingualism subjectively affected family members in their everyday lives and in their interactions at home and in society. To conduct the study, I adopted an interpretative approach in which I tried to derive context-situated interpretations from the narratives of my participants. Thus, my data enabled me to examine the complexity of maintaining and transmitting heritage languages within families. The data highlighted the strong link between familial bilingualism and society as the heritage languages of the participants could be construed as social capital that the parents had to transmit in order to be 'good parents'. The data also highlighted the complex relationships between bilingualism and emotions not only at societal level but also at individual and familial levels. The salient emotions revealed in the data comprise feelings of responsibility about maintaining and transmitting heritage languages as well as feelings of insecurity and isolation generated by migrating and belonging to bilingual families. A greater understanding of familial bilingualism and how families view their languages as lenses through which they negotiate family and societal relations, as well as emotions and education, is not simply an academic exercise but is arguably of importance to all of us, given the world in which we live, with diversity and migration featuring as major political and ideological issues.