Essa dissertação descreve ferramentas e mecanismos do processo de projeto da FDE (Fundação Pelo Desenvolvimento da Educação), órgão responsável pela execução de projetos e obras de escolas públicas no Estado de São Paulo. Dentre outros aspectos, foram identificadas e examinadas a sistematização e a padronização realizadas pela Fundação, além da caracterização de projetos contratados. Foram também estudadas metodologias ainda pouco utilizadas no processo de projeto do setor público, tais como a certificação de escolas pela AQUA-HQE (Alta Qualidade Ambiental- Haute Qualité Environmentale). Os elementos analisados nesta dissertação sugerem que as ferramentas e procedimentos adotados pela FDE possam ser adaptados e utilizados por outras instituições, servindo como uma referência tanto para entidades quanto para agentes e prestadores de serviços envolvidos no processo de projetos de obras públicas. Este trabalho visa trazer contribuições para a melhoria da qualidade do processo de projeto de arquitetura no setor público. / This study describes tools and mechanisms of design process applied in FDE (Foundation For Education Development), which is the company responsible for project and construction of public schools in São Paulo. The systematization and standardization processes carried out by the Foundation have been identified and examined in this paper, as well as the characterization of these projects. They were also studied methodologies not so used in the public sector regarding to the design process, such as certification of schools by AQUA-HQE (High Quality environmentally- Haute Qualité Environmentale). The elements analyzed in this paper suggest that the tools and procedures adopted by the FDE can be adapted by other institutions, serving as a reference for both entities and for service providers involved in the process of public construction projects. This study aims to bring contributions to improving the quality of the architectural design process in the public sector.

Essa dissertação descreve ferramentas e mecanismos do processo de projeto da FDE (Fundação Pelo Desenvolvimento da Educação), órgão responsável pela execução de projetos e obras de escolas públicas no Estado de São Paulo. Dentre outros aspectos, foram identificadas e examinadas a sistematização e a padronização realizadas pela Fundação, além da caracterização de projetos contratados. Foram também estudadas metodologias ainda pouco utilizadas no processo de projeto do setor público, tais como a certificação de escolas pela AQUA-HQE (Alta Qualidade Ambiental- Haute Qualité Environmentale). Os elementos analisados nesta dissertação sugerem que as ferramentas e procedimentos adotados pela FDE possam ser adaptados e utilizados por outras instituições, servindo como uma referência tanto para entidades quanto para agentes e prestadores de serviços envolvidos no processo de projetos de obras públicas. Este trabalho visa trazer contribuições para a melhoria da qualidade do processo de projeto de arquitetura no setor público. / This study describes tools and mechanisms of design process applied in FDE (Foundation For Education Development), which is the company responsible for project and construction of public schools in São Paulo. The systematization and standardization processes carried out by the Foundation have been identified and examined in this paper, as well as the characterization of these projects. They were also studied methodologies not so used in the public sector regarding to the design process, such as certification of schools by AQUA-HQE (High Quality environmentally- Haute Qualité Environmentale). The elements analyzed in this paper suggest that the tools and procedures adopted by the FDE can be adapted by other institutions, serving as a reference for both entities and for service providers involved in the process of public construction projects. This study aims to bring contributions to improving the quality of the architectural design process in the public sector.

Photosynthesis is the most important process for nearly all life on earth. Photosynthetic organisms capture and transfer light energy from the sun into chemical energy which in turn provides a resource base for heterotrophic organisms. Natural light regimes are irregular and vary over magnitudes. At a certain light intensity, metabolic processes cannot keep up with the electron flow produced by the primary photoreactions, and thus reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced. ROS are highly reactive and can damage the photosynthesis apparatus and hence plants have evolved several photoprotection mechanisms to avoid the formation of ROS. The aim of this thesis was to examine the ecological effects of variations in photoprotection in plants. In particular I wanted to study the effect on fitness and the interaction with herbivorous insects of plants with different ability in photoprotection. To study this I used wild-type and transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants and grew them under natural conditions in field experiments in our botanical garden in Umeå, northern Sweden. For the investigation of the plant-insect interaction, a specialist on Brassicaceae (Plutella xylostella – diamondback moth) and a generalist herbivore (Spodoptera littoralis - Egyptian cotton worm) were used. Plants that are genetically deficient in one of the photoprotection mechanisms showed reduced fitness under natural conditions. I could thus show that feedback de-excitation (FDE) is the most important photoprotection mechanism, because a lack of FDE showed the highest reduction in fitness. The comparison of field grown wild-type with FDE mutant plants, using molecular biology methods, revealed large changes in gene transcription and metabolic composition. In particular, the jasmonate pathway was upregulated in light stressed plants, especially in plants lacking FDE. Jasmonate in turn is known to be a chemical compound which induces herbivore resistance genes and other stress responses. Specialist and generalist insect herbivores responded differently in feeding (dual-choice and no-choice) and oviposition experiments with field grown plants that differed in FDE. Female diamondback moths were attracted by induced defense compounds whereas the larvae avoided these plants in feeding experiments. Generalist larvae preferred, and showed a higher survival rate, on less light-stressed plants compared to more light-stressed plants. Combining molecular biology with ecological experiments is a challenging task. To summarize my experiences, I have produced a guide for experiments on transgenic plants in common gardens. In future investigations it is important to examine natural variations in photoprotection to elucidate selection pressures on specific genes.

Continuous phase modulation~(CPM) is a non-linear, constant-envelope modulation scheme with memory, known for its bandwidth and power efficiency. Multi-h CPM uses multiple modulation indices in successive symbol intervals to improve the error performance as compared to single-h CPM~(basic CPM that utilizes only a single modulation index). One of the major applications of multi-h CPM is in aeronautical telemetry systems. Modern aeronautical devices host an increasing number of sensors, which can transmit flight testing data to the ground station. However, this excess data transfer increases the intersymbol interference, and thus channel equalization is required at the receiver. The objective of our research is to propose low-complexity frqeuency-domain equalization~(FDE) techniques for multi-h CPM waveforms. For a modulation scheme with memory, such as CPM, the cyclic constraint on the FDE block necessitates the use of an extra segment of symbols, called intrafix or tail segment. We have used very simple geometric arguments to derive upper and lower bounds on the length of the intrafix in terms of the parameters of the modulation scheme and the Frobenius number. It is concluded that the length of the intrafix for multi-h CPM schemes is typically shorter than those required for single-h modulation schemes. We propose two receiver architectures; one uses a matched filter front end, while the other utilizes a fractional sampling front end. Various simplifications are proposed for each architecture, and the trade-off between receiver complexity and performance is analyzed and verified through detailed simulation studies.

O objetivo central desta pesquisa foi identificar como se combinam elementos tradicionais, oriundos da herança patrimonialista, historicamente relacionada à condução dos negócios públicos do Estado brasileiro, e elementos modernizantes introduzidos por ações e programas de racionalização administrativa na busca de maior eficiência da ação do Estado, na configuração burocrática da Secretaria da Educação do estado de São Paulo (Seesp), no período de 1995 a 2010. Objetivo secundário foi investigar por que a relação desta combinação dinâmica com o contexto de ampliação e expansão das ações do Estado na área da educação, concomitante ao desenvolvimento de ferramentas e sistemas informatizados como suporte às ações implantadas, resultou no recrudescimento da centralização na gestão e condução da educação pública no estado de São Paulo. Teoricamente, esta pesquisa se utiliza dos conceitos dos três tipos ideais de dominação definidos por Weber racional-legal, tradicional e carismático , centrando-se no conceito de burocracia como expressão na estrutura do tipo de dominação racional legal. Com base no conceito de hibridismo, desenvolvido por João Barroso e Licínio Lima, confronta-se a burocracia estruturada na Seesp com elementos conservadores e tradicionais da cultura organizacional do Estado brasileiro, centrandose no patrimonialismo e seus componentes. Este instrumental foi utilizado para investigar a forma como a Secretaria da Educação se estruturou no período de 1995 a 2010 e compôs suas equipes, órgãos e instâncias, ora formalmente, ora sem registro oficial. No âmbito de sua estrutura, mereceu destaque a história da Fundação para o Desenvolvimento da Educação (FDE), órgão vinculado com importante papel na execução das políticas e diretrizes educacionais do período. O capítulo seguinte trata dos recursos humanos da Seesp, descrevendo quem e quantos são, como se organizam suas carreiras, como são alocados na estrutura da Secretaria, como evoluem profissionalmente e a forma como são admitidos. É descrita também a política salarial destes anos, com a concessão de gratificações, bonificação por resultados e valorização por merecimento. Por último, é descrita a atuação da Seesp nestes anos, divididos em três períodos correspondentes a gestões diferentes que assumiram a pasta e o governo do estado. Estão aqui arroladas a proposta inicial de cada gestão comparada com os programas e ações implantados, destacando-se aqueles que permaneceram nas gestões seguintes. Este capítulo é finalizado com a recuperação histórica e a análise do Sistema de Avaliação do Rendimento Escolar, implantado na primeira gestão e mantido nas seguintes, com transformações que modificaram substancialmente seus objetivos iniciais. A investigação empreendida demonstrou que as iniciativas racionalizantes implantadas pela primeira gestão do período não foram suficientes para sobrepujar a cultura organizacional tradicional da Seesp; ao contrário, da forma como foi mantido nos anos posteriores, este processo promoveu o recrudescimento da centralização no estado, exacerbando sua herança patrimonialista e nutrindo o esgarçamento do já débil sentido público da ação estatal. / The central objective of this research was to identify how the traditional elements derived from the patrimonial heritage were related historically to the conduct of public affairs of the Brazilian State and modernizing elements. The modernizing elements were introduced by actions and administrative rationalization programs in the search for a greater state efficiency, in the bureaucratic setup of Seesp, from 1995 to 2010. The secondary objective was to investigate the relationship of this dynamic combination with the enlargement context and expansion of government actions in education, concomitant development tools and information systems to support the actions implemented resulted in resurgence of centralization in the management and conduct of public education in the state of São Paulo. Theoretically, this research uses the concepts of the three ideal types of domination defined by Weber: rational-legal, traditional and charismatic focusing on the concept of bureaucracy as an expression in the structure of the type of legal rational domination. Based on the concept of hybridity, developed by João Barroso and Licinio Lima, it confronted the structured bureaucracy in Seesp with conservative and traditional elements of the organizational culture of the Brazilian state, focusing on patrimonialism and its components. This instrument investigated how the Department of Education was structured from 1995 to 2010 and composed their teams, agencies and bodies, sometimes formally, sometimes without official registration. Within its structure, was highlighted the history of the Fundação para o Desenvolvimento da Educação (FDE), an agency with an important role in the implementation of educational policies and guidelines of the period. The next chapter deals with the human resources of Seesp, describing who and how many, how they organize their careers, how they are allocated to the Secretariat structure, how they evolve professionally and are admitted. It also described the wage policy of these years, with the granting of bonuses, bonuses for results and appreciation by merit. Finally, the performance of Seesp is described in these years, divided into three periods corresponding to different administrations that took the folder and the state government. Here they are enrolled in the initial proposal of each management compared with deployed programs and actions, highlighting those who remained for the following administration. This chapter ends with the historical recovery and analysis of Student Performance Evaluation System, implemented in the first term and maintained in the following, with changes that substantially modified its initial goals. The undertaken research has shown that rationalizing initiatives implemented by the first term of the period were not enough to overcome the traditional organizational culture of Seesp; rather, this process, the way it was maintained in later years, has promoted the intensification of centralization in the state, exacerbating its patrimonial heritage and nurturing the fraying of the already weak public sense of state action.

O objetivo central desta pesquisa foi identificar como se combinam elementos tradicionais, oriundos da herança patrimonialista, historicamente relacionada à condução dos negócios públicos do Estado brasileiro, e elementos modernizantes introduzidos por ações e programas de racionalização administrativa na busca de maior eficiência da ação do Estado, na configuração burocrática da Secretaria da Educação do estado de São Paulo (Seesp), no período de 1995 a 2010. Objetivo secundário foi investigar por que a relação desta combinação dinâmica com o contexto de ampliação e expansão das ações do Estado na área da educação, concomitante ao desenvolvimento de ferramentas e sistemas informatizados como suporte às ações implantadas, resultou no recrudescimento da centralização na gestão e condução da educação pública no estado de São Paulo. Teoricamente, esta pesquisa se utiliza dos conceitos dos três tipos ideais de dominação definidos por Weber racional-legal, tradicional e carismático , centrando-se no conceito de burocracia como expressão na estrutura do tipo de dominação racional legal. Com base no conceito de hibridismo, desenvolvido por João Barroso e Licínio Lima, confronta-se a burocracia estruturada na Seesp com elementos conservadores e tradicionais da cultura organizacional do Estado brasileiro, centrandose no patrimonialismo e seus componentes. Este instrumental foi utilizado para investigar a forma como a Secretaria da Educação se estruturou no período de 1995 a 2010 e compôs suas equipes, órgãos e instâncias, ora formalmente, ora sem registro oficial. No âmbito de sua estrutura, mereceu destaque a história da Fundação para o Desenvolvimento da Educação (FDE), órgão vinculado com importante papel na execução das políticas e diretrizes educacionais do período. O capítulo seguinte trata dos recursos humanos da Seesp, descrevendo quem e quantos são, como se organizam suas carreiras, como são alocados na estrutura da Secretaria, como evoluem profissionalmente e a forma como são admitidos. É descrita também a política salarial destes anos, com a concessão de gratificações, bonificação por resultados e valorização por merecimento. Por último, é descrita a atuação da Seesp nestes anos, divididos em três períodos correspondentes a gestões diferentes que assumiram a pasta e o governo do estado. Estão aqui arroladas a proposta inicial de cada gestão comparada com os programas e ações implantados, destacando-se aqueles que permaneceram nas gestões seguintes. Este capítulo é finalizado com a recuperação histórica e a análise do Sistema de Avaliação do Rendimento Escolar, implantado na primeira gestão e mantido nas seguintes, com transformações que modificaram substancialmente seus objetivos iniciais. A investigação empreendida demonstrou que as iniciativas racionalizantes implantadas pela primeira gestão do período não foram suficientes para sobrepujar a cultura organizacional tradicional da Seesp; ao contrário, da forma como foi mantido nos anos posteriores, este processo promoveu o recrudescimento da centralização no estado, exacerbando sua herança patrimonialista e nutrindo o esgarçamento do já débil sentido público da ação estatal. / The central objective of this research was to identify how the traditional elements derived from the patrimonial heritage were related historically to the conduct of public affairs of the Brazilian State and modernizing elements. The modernizing elements were introduced by actions and administrative rationalization programs in the search for a greater state efficiency, in the bureaucratic setup of Seesp, from 1995 to 2010. The secondary objective was to investigate the relationship of this dynamic combination with the enlargement context and expansion of government actions in education, concomitant development tools and information systems to support the actions implemented resulted in resurgence of centralization in the management and conduct of public education in the state of São Paulo. Theoretically, this research uses the concepts of the three ideal types of domination defined by Weber: rational-legal, traditional and charismatic focusing on the concept of bureaucracy as an expression in the structure of the type of legal rational domination. Based on the concept of hybridity, developed by João Barroso and Licinio Lima, it confronted the structured bureaucracy in Seesp with conservative and traditional elements of the organizational culture of the Brazilian state, focusing on patrimonialism and its components. This instrument investigated how the Department of Education was structured from 1995 to 2010 and composed their teams, agencies and bodies, sometimes formally, sometimes without official registration. Within its structure, was highlighted the history of the Fundação para o Desenvolvimento da Educação (FDE), an agency with an important role in the implementation of educational policies and guidelines of the period. The next chapter deals with the human resources of Seesp, describing who and how many, how they organize their careers, how they are allocated to the Secretariat structure, how they evolve professionally and are admitted. It also described the wage policy of these years, with the granting of bonuses, bonuses for results and appreciation by merit. Finally, the performance of Seesp is described in these years, divided into three periods corresponding to different administrations that took the folder and the state government. Here they are enrolled in the initial proposal of each management compared with deployed programs and actions, highlighting those who remained for the following administration. This chapter ends with the historical recovery and analysis of Student Performance Evaluation System, implemented in the first term and maintained in the following, with changes that substantially modified its initial goals. The undertaken research has shown that rationalizing initiatives implemented by the first term of the period were not enough to overcome the traditional organizational culture of Seesp; rather, this process, the way it was maintained in later years, has promoted the intensification of centralization in the state, exacerbating its patrimonial heritage and nurturing the fraying of the already weak public sense of state action.

O objetivo deste trabalho é investigar propriedades qualitativas das equações diferenciais funcionais neutras (EDFNs) e introduzir uma classe geral de equações chamadas EDFNs em medida. Obtemos resultados sobre o comportamento assintótico para uma classe de EDFNs com coeficientes periódicos, onde o período e o retardamento estão racionalmente relacionados. Também, conseguimos mostrar que a dicotomia exponencial do operador solução das equações diferenciais funcionais com retardamento (EDFRs) não autônomas implica na existência de soluções limitadas para EDFRs não homogêneas associadas. Finalmente, através da teoria das equações diferenciais ordinárias generalizas (EDOs generalizadas), obtemos resultados de existência e unicidade, dependência contnua em relação aos dados inicias, das soluções das EDFNs em medida. Os resultados novos apresentados neste trabalho estão contidos nos artigos [31, 43] / The aim of this work is to investigate qualitative properties of neutral functional differential equations (NFDEs) and introduce a general class of equations called measure NFDE . We obtain results on the asymptotic behavior for a class of NFDEs with periodic coefficients, where the period and delay are rationally related. Moreover, we show that the exponential dichotomy of the solution operator of non autonomous retarded functional differential equations (RFDEs) implies the existence of bounded solutions to the associated non homogeneous RFDEs. Finally, using the theory of generalized ordinary differential equations (generalized ODEs), we obtain results of existence and uniqueness, continuous dependence on parameters of the solutions of measure NFDEs. The new results presented in this work are contained in the articles [31,43]

Τα σύνθετα υλικά αποτελούνται από δυο ή περισσότερα υλικά συνδεδεμένα μακροσκοπικά, έτσι ώστε να προκύπτει ένα πολυφασικό σύστημα με φυσικές ιδιότητες διαφορετικές από αυτές των αρχικών υλικών. Τα επιμέρους υλικά δεν είναι διαλυτά το ένα στο άλλο και μπορούν να αναμιχθούν μεταξύ τους με ελεγχόμενο τρόπο και με καθορισμένες αναλογίες, ενώ είναι και μηχανικά διαχωρίσιμα. Τα σύνθετα υλικά αποτελούνται από δυο φάσεις, τη μητρική και τη φάση ενίσχυσης. Η μήτρα περικλείει τα εγκλείσματα και αποτελεί τη φάση του συστήματος, η οποία δίνει στο σύνθετο την εξωτερική του μορφή. Ο ρόλος της είναι να μεταφέρει τις μηχανικές τάσεις μέσα στο σύνθετο υλικό, να τις κατανέμει ομοιόμορφα ανάμεσα στα εγκλείσματα αλλά και να τα προστατεύει από τις περιβαλλοντικές συνθήκες. Τα διάφορα εγκλείσματα αποτελούν την ενισχυτική φάση του σύνθετου συστήματος και ποικίλουν σε μέγεθος, γεωμετρία και σύσταση. Στην παρούσα εργασία ως ενισχυτική φάση χρησιμοποιήθηκε το ZnO. Το ZnO είναι ένας ημιαγωγός ευρέως χάσματος με μια μη κεντρική συμμετρική δομή κρυστάλλου Βουρτσίτη (Wurtzite) εξαγωνικού πλέγματος Bravais. Ως προπολυμερές για την παρασκευή των δοκιμίων, χρησιμοποιήθηκε εποξειδική ρητίνη. Η συγκεκριμένη ρητίνη είναι ένα τυπικό μονωτικό πολυμερές χαμηλού ιξώδους και η διηλεκτρική της σταθερά καθώς και η αγωγιμότητα της δεν διαφέρουν σημαντικά από τις αντίστοιχες τιμές του ZnO. Στην παρούσα εργασία παρουσιάζεται ο ηλεκτρικός χαρακτηρισμός υλικών καθαρής ρητίνης και σύνθετων συστημάτων ρητίνης-κεραμικού ZnO σε διάφορες συγκεντρώσεις, από 10phr έως 70phr. Για τον ηλεκτρικό χαρακτηρισμό των σύνθετων αυτών, εφαρμόστηκε η τεχνική της διηλεκτρικής φασματοσκοπίας ευρέως φάσματος (BDS-Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy) στην περιοχή συχνοτήτων από 0.1 Hz έως 1 ΜHz, με χρήση της γέφυρας εναλλασσόμενου Alpha-N της εταιρίας Novocontrol. Η κυψελίδα μετρήσεων που χρησιμοποιήθηκε ήταν η BDS 1200 της ίδιας εταιρίας. Τα δείγματα μελετήθηκαν σε θερμοκρασίες από –100 ºC έως 150 ºC. Τα φαινόμενα διηλεκτρικής χαλάρωσης που καταγράφονται στην παρούσα εργασία περιλαμβάνουν συνεισφορές τόσο από την πολυμερική μήτρα όσο και από την ενισχυτική φάση. Για την παρουσίαση των πειραματικών αποτελεσμάτων διακρίνονται δυο περιοχές θερμοκρασιών. Στην περιοχή των χαμηλών θερμοκρασιών, από –100 ºC έως 20 ºC, καταγράφονται σε όλα τα δείγματα οι διεργασίες β-, γ-χαλάρωσης. Οι διεργασίες αυτές αποδίδονται σε περιορισμένες τοπικές κινήσεις τμημάτων της πολυμερικής αλυσίδας (γ-χαλάρωση) και σε επαναπροσανατολισμό πλευρικών τμημάτων της πολυμερικής αλυσίδας (β-χαλάρωση). Στα σύνθετα δείγματα, σε θερμοκρασία πάνω από τους –30 ºC, εμφανίζεται και η διεργασία χαλάρωσης FDE η οποία αποδίδεται στην ύπαρξη του πληρωτικού μέσου. Στην περιοχή των υψηλών θερμοκρασιών, από +20 ºC έως +150 ºC, εμφανίζεται σε όλα τα δείγματα, στην περιοχή των ενδιάμεσων συχνοτήτων, η α-χαλάρωση. Στην περιοχή των χαμηλών συχνοτήτων, και μόνο στα σύνθετα δείγματα, καταγράφεται το φαινόμενο MWS το οποίο είναι ασθενές λόγω της χαμηλής ηλεκτρικής ετερογένειας μεταξύ των φάσεων του συστήματος. Στην περιοχή των υψηλών συχνοτήτων παρουσιάζεται η διεργασία χαλάρωσης FDE η οποία γίνεται εντονότερη καθώς αυξάνεται η συγκέντρωση του πληρωτικού μέσου. Για όλες τις συγκεντρώσεις, παρατηρείται ότι η εξάρτηση της διεργασίας της α-χαλάρωσης από τη θερμοκρασία περιγράφεται από την εξίσωση Vogel-Fulcher-Tamann (VTF) ενώ η διεργασία χαλάρωσης FDE, παρουσιάζει εξάρτηση από τη θερμοκρασία, η οποία ακολουθεί την εξίσωση Arrhenius. Για τις διεργασίες της α-χαλάρωσης και του FDE στις υψηλές θερμοκρασίες, υπολογίζονται οι ενέργειες ενεργοποίησης. Στην εξάρτηση του πραγματικού μέρους της ηλεκτρικής αγωγιμότητας εναλλασσόμενου , από τη συχνότητα, διακρίνονται τρεις περιοχές. Στην περιοχή των υψηλών συχνοτήτων η ηλεκτρική αγωγιμότητα αυξάνεται σχεδόν γραμμικά συναρτήσει της συχνότητας ακολουθώντας τον νόμο της παγκόσμιας διηλεκτρικής απόκρισης ( ). Στην ενδιάμεση περιοχή συχνοτήτων παρατηρούνται μεταβολές στην τιμή της ηλεκτρικής αγωγιμότητας οι οποίες αποδίδονται στην ύπαρξη διάφορων διεργασιών χαλάρωσης. Στην περιοχή των χαμηλών συχνοτήτων, η ηλεκτρική αγωγιμότητα τείνει προς μια σταθερή τιμή. Αυτή αντιστοιχεί στην αγωγιμότητα συνεχούς ( ) και αυξάνεται συναρτήσει της θερμοκρασίας ακολουθώντας την εξίσωση Vogel-Tamman-Fulcher (VTF). / Polymer matrix – ZnO composites were prepared, in different filler concentrations. Polymer matrix samples were also prepared and investigated as reference. The dielectric response of all samples was studied by means of Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy (BDS), over a wide temperature range from -100 ºC to 150 ºC and in the frequency range from 10-1 Hz to 1MHz. The results are discussed using the common formalism of ε΄(f), ε΄΄(f) and M΄(f), M΄΄(f). The recorded dielectric processes include contributions from both the polymeric matrix and the presence of the reinforcing phase. The dielectric spectrum exhibits distinct relaxation modes which are attributed (i) to the glass-rubber transition, associated with motions of main chain segments of the polymeric matrix, namely -relaxation, (ii) faster processes related to the local motion of polar side groups, namely -relaxations, (iii) interfacial polarization phenomena known as Maxwell – Wagner – Sillars effect and (iv) possible polarization related to the ferroelectric nature of ZnO. In order to investigate the influence of the reinforcing phase in the dielectric response of the composite materials, all dielectric processes as well as the electrical conductivity are analyzed and discussed as a function of filler concentration.

O objetivo deste trabalho é investigar propriedades qualitativas das equações diferenciais funcionais neutras (EDFNs) e introduzir uma classe geral de equações chamadas EDFNs em medida. Obtemos resultados sobre o comportamento assintótico para uma classe de EDFNs com coeficientes periódicos, onde o período e o retardamento estão racionalmente relacionados. Também, conseguimos mostrar que a dicotomia exponencial do operador solução das equações diferenciais funcionais com retardamento (EDFRs) não autônomas implica na existência de soluções limitadas para EDFRs não homogêneas associadas. Finalmente, através da teoria das equações diferenciais ordinárias generalizas (EDOs generalizadas), obtemos resultados de existência e unicidade, dependência contnua em relação aos dados inicias, das soluções das EDFNs em medida. Os resultados novos apresentados neste trabalho estão contidos nos artigos [31, 43] / The aim of this work is to investigate qualitative properties of neutral functional differential equations (NFDEs) and introduce a general class of equations called measure NFDE . We obtain results on the asymptotic behavior for a class of NFDEs with periodic coefficients, where the period and delay are rationally related. Moreover, we show that the exponential dichotomy of the solution operator of non autonomous retarded functional differential equations (RFDEs) implies the existence of bounded solutions to the associated non homogeneous RFDEs. Finally, using the theory of generalized ordinary differential equations (generalized ODEs), we obtain results of existence and uniqueness, continuous dependence on parameters of the solutions of measure NFDEs. The new results presented in this work are contained in the articles [31,43]

MSc thesis - Faculty of Engineering / Service creation in the Next Generation Network (NGN) is focused around software creation and borrows heavily from the Software Engineering community. In the NGN, telecommunication companies demand simple, rapid and economical service creation. The key to this type of service creation is software re-use. Software re-use is a conundrum where limited, dedicated solutions exists. These solutions include amongst others Enterprise JavaBeansTM (EJBs), design patterns and object-oriented programming. The Telecommunications Information Networking Architecture- Conformance And Testing (TINA-CAT) workgroup has done work on a functionality centric concept called RP-facets. This report proposes a redefinition of RP-facets, as Facets, for software re-use across the design and code level. We redefine Facets as functionality centric reusable components. A Facet is independent of the implementation language and the execution platform. Facets allow containment in a structured manner via a user defined Facet Hierarchy. Facets are resource, context and data agnostic. They also introduce a structured way to allow source code to be changed based on design level decisions. Also, possessing the ability to allow the simultaneous use of other reuse solutions and programming paradigms. Abstraction of detail from developers and platform migration can be achieved by using Facets. Facets are composed of a Generic definition and any number of Implementation definitions. The definitions are supported by an underlying informational model called meta-¼. Meta- ¼ is a model at the M3 meta-level that focuses on describing entities. Most of the Facet’s capabilities are enabled by the meta-¼ model. An environment for developing Facets is created, called the Facet Development Environment (FDE). The Facet Developer (FD) role is introduced to develop and maintain Facets. The FD verifies programmes from programmers to be included into the catalogue of Facets via the FDE. The FD interacts with service creation teams to determine which Facets can be used in the service they wish to develop. Facets prove their capability in targeted areas, yet lack in other categories. It is recommended that the underlying informational model should be revised to form a more robust and flexible entity describing model. In addition, a cataloging capability to easily find Facets with particular functionality should be appended to the capabilities of the facet. It is proposed, for future work, that a development environment be created that encompasses a process for using Facets to create services.