Esta dissertação faz um estudo da aplicação da técnica estatística denominada Análise de Dados Funcionais (ADF) à geração de descritores usados em reconhecimento de padrões, mais especificamente, no reconhecimento de objetos de interesse em imagens. Estes objetos podem ser representados por vetores de características, também chamados de assinaturas, obtidos por uma técnica chamada de Dimensão Fractal Multiescala (DFM). Ocorre que estes vetores apresentam alta dimensionalidade (número de elementos), fazendo-se assim necessário o uso de uma abordagem que reduza este número de valores, sem que haja uma grande perda da informação transmitida pela assinatura. Neste contexto, diversas técnicas de extração de um reduzido conjunto de descritores da assinatura são apresentadas pela literatura. Entre estas, as mais populares são Fourier e \\emph, ambas relativamente simples de se apresentar e com resultados satisfatórios. A proposta aqui apresentada é de se utilizar ADF em combinação com DFM na geração de descritores de padrões. Os resultados obtidos com o uso desta abordagem na geração de descritores demostraram que a técnica possibilita bons resultados, mesmo em situações em que não é possível o uso de muitos descritores. Os experimentos demostraram que ADF apresenta um bom potencial para aplicação neste tipo de problema, permitindo que o método de classificação alcance bons resultados mesmo com poucos descritores. São sugeridos trabalhos futuros em que ADF possa ser usada, pesquisando-se por métodos ainda mais eficazes. / This work studies the application of a statistical technique named Functional Data Analysis (FDA) for the generation of descriptors. These descriptors can be used for pattern recognition, more specifically, for the recognition of relevant objects in an image. These objects can be represented by features vectors, also known as signatures, obtained by a technique named Multi-scale Fractal Dimension (MFD). These vectors present a high dimensionality (number of elements), causing to be necessary the use of an approach for the reduction of this number of values, but without a large loss of information carried by the signature. In this context, several techniques for the extraction of a reduced set of signature descriptors are studied in the literature. Among these techniques, the most classic are Fourier and wavelets, both with simple presentation and providing satisfactory results. The proposal presented here is the use of FDA combined with MFD for the generation of pattern descriptors. The results obtained by the use of this approach for the generation of descriptors showed that this technique allows the obtention of good results, even in situations in wich is not possible the use of many descriptors. FDA was also applied to the extraction of descriptors of MFD texture signatures. Also in this case, the results were interesting. The experiments showed the FDA presents a good potential for the application to this type of problem, allowing the obtention of good results even by using a few descriptors. It is suggested future works in which FDA can be used, researching for still more efficient methods.

[pt] Esta tese é uma análise crítica da Era do Rádio nas perspectivas da Música Popular Brasileira, em geral, e de Dorival Caymmi, compositor e cantor, em particular, a partir da sua obra, vida e testemunho pessoal, obtido principalmente através de entrevistas exclusivas concedidas para sua biografia. Apoiada em bibliografia referente, sobretudo, à Era do Rádio e à Música Popular Brasileira, além do acervo de Dorival Caymmi, esta investigação pretende discutir, no contexto cultural do período - através do estudo de caso do samba O Que é Que a Baiana Tem?, grande sucesso de estréia do compositor, em 1939 -, temas como rádio, mercado fonográfico, cinema, direito autoral, espetáculos musicais, entre outros, nos quais são reveladas as pressões e tensões sofridas pelo artista popular em seus embates no mercado de trabalho, na sociedade, na política e, por assim dizer, no meio artístico. / [en] This dissertation is a critical analysis of the Radio Days under Brazilian Popular Music` perspectives and those of compositor and singer Dorival Caymmi, which were collected from his work, life and personal testimony through exclusive interviews for biographical motives. Based on a bibliographical research covering the Radio Days and Brazilian Popular Music, not to mention Dorival Caymmi s archive, this investigation intends to discuss - through the case study of the compositor’s nineteen thirty-ninth first success O Que é Que a Baiana tem? - themes such as the radio, phonographic market, cinema, authorship rights, and musical shows, among others, in which the pressures and tensions suffered by the popular artist in his struggles in the labor market, society, politics and the artistic milieu are revealed. / [fr] Cette thèse est une analyse critique de l’ Ère de la Radio sous les perspectives de la Musique Populaire Brésilienne, en général, et de Dorival Caymmi, compositeur et chanteur, en particulier, à partir de son oeuvre, de sa vie et de son témoignage personnel, obtenu surtout à travers les interviews exclusives données pour sa biographie. Appuyée sur la bibliographie concernant, surtout à l’ Ère de la Radio et à la Musique Populaire Brésilienne, outre le patrimoine de Dorival Caymmi, cette enquête a l’intention de discuter, dans le contexte culturel de la période - à travers l’étude de cas de la samba O que é que a baiana tem?, grand succès du début du compositeur, em 1939 -, des sujets comme la radio, le marché phonographique, le cinéma, le droit d’auteur, des spectacles musicaux, entre autres, dans lesquels sont révélées les pressions et les tensions souffertes par l’artiste populaire au cours de ses heurts dans le marché du travail, dans la société, dans la politique, bref, dans le milieu artistique.

The goal of this thesis was to design an end effector for a small robot for testing of devices with a touchscreen. The effector has to communicate with the robot via serial interface and provide feedback about used downforce. Another requirement was possibility of automatic tool change. Measuring of downforce, signal processing, and communication with robot ensures custom electronics based on STM32 microprocessor and piezoresistive sensor. The mechanism of tool change was inspired by the system used with industrial robots but customized for this application. The result of this thesis is a functional prototype of a stylus for devices with a touchscreen which provides feedback about the downforce on display and possibility of automatic tool change. The main benefit of this solution is the possibility of changing the tool for the one with one or more styluses for testing gesture-based interface what is indispensable in these days.

Landslide susceptibility maps are useful for spatial decision-making to minimize the lossof lives and properties. There are many studies related to the development of landslidesusceptibility maps using various methods such as Analytic Hierarchy Process, Weight ofEvidence and Logistic Regression. Commonly, the geospatial data required for such analysis(such as land cover and soil type maps) are only locally available and pertinent to smallcase studies. Transferable and scalable approaches utilizing publicly available, large scaledatasets (ie., global or continental) are necessary to develop susceptibility maps in areaswhere local data is not available or when large-scale analysis is required. To develop suchapproaches, a systematic comparison between locally available, fine resolution, and largerscale, openly available but coarser resolution datasets is essential. The objective of this study isto investigate the efficiency of globally available public data for landslide susceptibility mappingby comparing it with the performance of the data provided from local institutions. For this purpose, the Göta river valley in Sweden and the country of Rwanda were selectedas study areas. Göta river valley was used for the comparison of local and open data.While Rwanda was used as a study area to ensure the efficiency of open data analysis andtransferability of the framework. The selected landslide impact factors for this study are;elevation, slope, soil type, land cover, precipitation, lithology, distance to roads, and distanceto drainage network. Landslide susceptibility maps were prepared by using the state-of-the-artFrequency Ratio method. The validation results using the prediction rate curve technique show92.9%, 90.2%, and 83.1% area under curve values for local and open data analyses of Göta rivervalley and open data analysis of Rwanda country, respectively. The results show that globallyavailable open data demonstrate strong potential for landslide susceptibility mapping whenhigh-resolution local data are not available.

No description available.

Syfte: Syftet för studien var att undersöka om isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP) tillsammans med (CMJ) kan anses som lämpliga testmetoder för att mäta prestation i hoppförmåga inom parkour/freerunning (PK/FR). Vi undersökte detta genom att mäta traceurers maximala styrka och explosiva styrka i de nedre extremiteterna, för att sedan jämföra resultaten med fysiskt aktiva idrottsstudenter på högskolenivå. Vi undersökte även om IMTP och CMJ korrelerar med varandra. Urval: 23 personer, 11 traceurer och 12 fysiskt aktiva idrottare rekryterades för denna studie. Metod: vi mätte maximal styrka: Peak force (PF) IMTP (N) på kraftplatta och maximal vertikal hopphöjd: CMJ (cm) på IR-matta. Statistisk analys: Shapiro Wilks användes för normalfördelningar, en oberoende tvåvägs Mann-Whitney U t-test användes för att undersöka skillnader mellan grupperna. Två Spearmans- och ett Pearsons korrelationskoefficienttest användes för att undersöka samband mellan IMTP och CMJ. Resultat: PK gruppen var normalfördelad i alla variabler IMTP (N) och CMJ (cm) men kontroll (KTRL) gruppen var ej normalfördelad i CMJ (cm) och gav utslag för IMTP (N). PK gruppen uppnådde ett IMTP (N) medianvärde på: 2269,9 ± 661.72N och CMJ medianvärde på 36.2 ± 7.48 cm. KTRL gruppen uppnådde ett IMTP (N) medianvärde på: 1626.9 ± 501.95N och ett CMJ medianvärde på: 31.8 ± 5.91cm. Ingen statistiskt signifikant skillnad hittades mellan grupperna, men traceurerna visar en trend för ett högre IMTP (N) värde. Ett statistiskt signifikant samband fanns mellan IMTP och CMJ för hela populationen. R-värde = 0.404. R² värde avrundades till 23%. P-värde = 0.031. Inget statistiskt signifikant samband fanns för PK eller KTRL grupperna individuellt. Slutsats: Traceurerna och de fysiskt aktiva högskolestudenterna visade snarlika resultat i maximal styrka och explosiv styrka i denna studie. Resultaten klassificerades som lågpresterande i förhållande till referensvärden från tidigare studier på traditionella idrotter för IMTP och på traceurer i CMJ. Den maximala styrkan från IMTP tycks förklara 23% av hoppförmågan i CMJ vilket kan vara en indikation av betydelse för traceurers prestation. Framtida forskare uppmuntras använda IMTP och CMJ på större populationer för att kartlägga traceurers force-velocity kurvor och/eller inrätta skadepreventiva program för PK/FR. Begrepp: Traceur (FRE) = tracer (ENG), spårare (SWE). Traceur = manlig Parkour utövare. Traceuse = kvinnlig Parkourutövare. PK/FR = Parkour/Freerunning. PK = Studiens Parkour grupp. KTRL = Studiens kontrollgrupp. Countermovement jump (CMJ), (N) = Newton. 1RM = en 100% maximal ansträngd repetition. / Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate if IMTP together with CMJ can be considered as suitable methods to measure performance in jumping ability in PK/FR. We investigated this by measuring maximal strength and explosive strength of the lower extremities of traceurs and comparing the results with physically active college student athletes. We investigated also if IMTP and CMJ correlate with each other. Recruitment: 23 people, 11 traceurs and 12 psychical active collegial sport athletes were recruited for this study. Method: We measured maximal strength: PF IMTP (N) on force plate and maximal vertical jump height: CMJ (cm) on IR mat. Statistical analysis: Shapiro Wilks was used for normal distribution; an independent two-way Mann-Whitney U t-test was used to examine differences between groups. Linear regression tests with two Spearman's and one Pearson's correlation coefficient tests were used to examine relationships between IMTP and CMJ. R² values were calculated. Results: The PK group was normally distributed in IMTP (N) and CMJ (cm). The KTRL group was not normally distributed in CMJ (cm) and flagged an indication for IMTP (N). The PK group achieved a IMTP (N) median of 2269.9N SD ± 661.72N. And CMJ median of 36.2cm SD ± 7.48cm. The KTRL group achieved a IMTP (N) median of 1626.9N SD ± 501.95N. And a CMJ median of 31.8cm SD ± 5.91cm. No statistically significant differences were found between the groups. But the traceurs showed a trend for a higher IMTP (N) value. A statistically significant relationship was found between IMTP and CMJ for the entire population. R value = 0.404. R² value was rounded to 23%. P-value = 0.031. No statistically significant relationships were found for the PK- or the KTRL groups individually. Conclusion: The traceurs and the physically active college students were similar in maximal- and explosive strength in this study. The results were classified as low performance in comparison to previous studies of traditional sports on IMTP and on traceurs on CMJ. The maximal strength from the IMTP appears to account for 23% of the jumping ability in CMJ which may be an indication of importance for traceurs performance. Future researchers are encouraged to use IMTP and CMJ on larger populations to map force-velocity curves and/or establish injury prevention programs for PK/FR. Concepts: Traceur (FRE) = tracer (ENG), tracker (SWE). Traceur = male Parkour practitioner. Traceuse = female Parkour practitioner. PK/FR = Parkour/Freerunning. PK = The study's Parkour group. KTRL = Study control group. Countermovement jump (CMJ), Isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP). 1 RM = a 100% maximum effort repetition. / <p>Ämneslärarprogrammet, Specialidrott</p>

No description available.

[pt] Esta tese tem por finalidade compreender o sentido do Pacto Nacional pela Alfabetização na Idade Certa (PNAIC) para o desenvolvimento profissional dos professores alfabetizadores em dois municípios de Minas Gerais de pequeno e grande porte: Matias Barbosa e Juiz de Fora. Ademais, procuramos entender que ações gestoras foram realizadas para que o PNAIC fosse implementado e chegasse até aos professores e às salas de aula de contextos tão diferentes. Nesse sentido, investigamos o PNAIC a partir das vozes não silenciadas dos professores alfabetizadores, procurando identificar as suas concepções e ações, no que tange à alfabetização, à formação continuada e à própria docência. O procedimento adotado foi a pesquisa qualitativa. Os instrumentos utilizados para a obtenção dos dados foram a aplicação de questionários com perguntas fechadas e abertas, assim como a realização de entrevistas semiestruturadas com diferentes atores (coordenadores locais, orientadores de ensino, professores-alfabetizadores, secretárias de educação e professores-formadores) que participaram do PNAIC em Matias Barbosa e Juiz de Fora, no período de 2013 a 2015. Além disso, recorremos aos documentos oficiais orientadores do PNAIC como fonte de dados sobre o desenho estrutural desse programa de formação. A análise dos dados da pesquisa mantém diálogo com pesquisadores dos campos da alfabetização (Mortatti, Carvalho, Soares); da formação e do desenvolvimento profissional (Tardif, Nóvoa, Gatti, André, Formosinho, García, Day). Os professores-alfabetizadores entrevistados apontam que a experiência com o PNAIC possibilitou o desenvolvimento profissional pelos fatores: troca de experiência, material rico para estudo e pesquisa, presença de atividades práticas e inovadoras. Pudemos constatar, através dos relatos, que a mudança da prática docente não afetou todos os professores que participaram da formação e que existem diferenças nos encaminhamentos das ações gestoras locais para que o PNAIC chegasse até ao professor e nas salas de aula. A diferença entre o processo de implantação do PNAIC nos dois municípios investigados foi percebida, principalmente, em relação à forma de adesão dos professores-alfabetizadores e orientadores de estudos e ao acompanhamento feito pelos orientadores de estudo e coordenadores pedagógicos das práticas alfabetizadoras no contexto escolar. Além disso, os professores apontam a relevância do acompanhamento das suas ações docentes, para o seu desenvolvimento profissional, pois permite a troca de experiência, o trabalho coletivo na busca da melhoria da prática docente e de soluções dos problemas da aprendizagem dos alunos. Através da pesquisa, ressaltamos a importância de programas de formação continuada construída na e com a escola, como o PNAIC, para a promoção do desenvolvimento profissional dos professores alfabetizadores. Conclui-se que o desenvolvimento profissional docente pode ser compreendido a partir da valorização profissional, da capacidade de aquisição e de veiculação de novos saberes e das competências para a prática alfabetizadora. Além disso, pode contribuir para o incentivo à inovação da prática, ao aperfeiçoamento, à troca de experiências, com vistas à melhoria do ensino e da escola em sua totalidade com reflexos na aprendizagem dos alunos. / [en] This thesis aims to understand the PNAIC, a program directed to the professional development of the literacy teachers and to the students’ education. To do so, there were analyzed two cities from Minas Gerais, a state in Brazil. Those are: Matias Barbosa e Juiz de Fora. Besides, this research tries to understand which management actions were made to implement PNAIC. So, the program was investigated through the non-silenced voices of the literacy teachers. This methodology was chosen, so that it could be possible to identify their conceptions and actions related to literacy, continuous formation and teaching itself. The adopted procedure was the qualitative research. The used instruments to collect data were: inquiries application with open and closed questions and semi structured interview with different actors, such as local coordinators; teaching advisors; literacy teachers; educational secretaries; and formation professors. All of them participated of PNAIC in Matias Barbosa and Juiz de Fora from 2013 to 2015. Besides, there were studied the official documents of the program and other sources of data. The data analysis was then crossed with researches from the field of literacy (Mortatti, Carvalo, Soares); and professional formation and development (Tardif, Nóvoa, Gatti, André, Formosinho, García, Day). The interviewed literacy teachers point out that the experience with PNAIC allowed the professional development. Through it, it was possible to exchange experience; have access to rich material for study and research; and to understand new activities and innovational practices. Those experiences show that teachers could change their teaching practice. Besides, the research also showed that there are differences on the local management practices related with PNAIC. Those dissimilarities of the program s implementation process on the two investigated cities were noticed mainly on the adhesion and follow up of the literacy professors and study advisors. Besides, the professors point out the relevancy of the follow up process to their teaching practices and professional development. Through it, is possible to improve educational methods, especially when finding new practices and solutions to the educational problems. The research shows the importance of continuous formation programs, as PNAIC, to the promotion of the professional development of literacy teachers. It is possible to conclude that the teaching professional development happen through the professional valuing and through the skills of acquiring new knowledges and competences to the literacy practice. Those kinds of programs also help to develop innovative practices, the experience exchange and its improvement. Besides, they also help to improve the educational practice as a whole. / [fr] Cette thèse a comme objectif comprendre le sens du Pacte National pour l Alphabétisation à l Âge Idéal (PNAIC, en portugais) pour le développement professionnel du professeur alphabétiseur et pour l enseignement des élèves dans deux municipalités de Minas Gerais, une petite et l autre grande: Matias Barbosa et Juiz de Fora. De plus, on cherche comprendre que des actions de gestion ont été réalisées pour que le PNAIC ait été mis en oeuvre et afin qu il soit arrivé jusqu aux professeures et aux salles de classe, qui existent dans des différents contextes. De cette manière, on vérifie le PNAIC à partir des voix expressives des professeurs alphabétiseurs, en cherchant identifier ses conceptions et ses actions en ce qui concerne l’alphabétisation, la formation continue et le propre enseignement. La procédure utilisée a été celle de la recherche qualitative. Les instruments employés, pour l acquisition des données, ont été l application de questionnaires avec des questions fermées et ouvertes, ainsi que la réalisation d interviews semi-structurés avec plusieurs subjects (coordinateurs locaux, conseillers pédagogiques, professeurs-alphabétiseurs, secrétaires d’éducation et professeurs-formateurs) qui ont participé du PNAIC à Juiz de Fora et à Matias Barbosa, pendant la période entre 2013 et 2015. En outre, nous avons recours aux documents d’orientation officiels du PNAIC comme source de données à propos de la conception structurale de ce programme de formation. L analyse des données de la recherche dialoguent avec les chercheurs du domaine de l’alphabétisation (Mortatti, Carvalho, Soares) et de la formation et du développement professionnel (Tardif, Nóvoa, Gatti, André, Formosinho, García, Day). Les professeurs alphabétiseurs interrogés indiquent que l’expérience avec le PNAIC a possibilité une évolution à cause des éléments suivants: échange de pratiques, riche matériel pour l’étude et la recherche, ainsi que la présence d activités pratiques et innovatrices. On a pu constater, parmi des rapports, que le changement de la pratique d’enseignement n’a pas affecté tous les professeurs qui ont participé de la formation et, aussi, qu il y a des différences, dans les manières employés par les actions de gestion locales, pour que le PNAIC soit arrivé jusqu’au professeur et aux salles de classe. La différence entre le processus d’implantation do PNAIC des deux municipalités recherchées a été aperçue, principalement, vis-à-vis la manière d adhésion des professeurs-alphabétiseurs et des conseillers d’orientation des études, et aussi par rapport à l accompagnement des pratiques d alphabétisation dans le cadre scolaire, réalisé par les conseillers d orientation et les coordinateurs pédagogiques. Par ailleurs, les professeurs indiquent la pertinence de l accompagnement de leurs enseignements pour leurs évolutions professionnelles, puisque cela permet l échange de pratiques et le travail collectif en quête de l amélioration de l enseignement et d’un dénouement des problèmes d apprentissage des élèves. Parmis l étude, nous soulignons l importance des programmes de formation continue construite à (et avec) l école, comme le PNAIC, pour l encouragement de l évolution professionnelle des professeurs alphabétiseurs. On y conclut que le développement professionnel d enseignement peut être compris à partir de la valorisation professionnelle, de la capacité d obtention et de propagation des nouveaux savoirs et des compétences pour la pratique d alphabétisation. En plus de cela, il peut contribuer pour l encouragement de l innovation de la pratique, au perfectionnement, à l échange d’expériences, à des fins d améliorer l enseignement et l école dans son intégralité, réfléchissant sur l apprentissage des élèves.

Winsor McCay drew delightful drawings about the dreams of a Welsh rarebit fiend, 'rare bits' inspired by an overindulgence in cheese. Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend was a Saturday cartoon that appeared in the New York Evening Telegram from 1904 to 1911, psychic twin to Little Nemo in Slumberland that appeared concurrently in the Sunday Funnies of the New York Herald from 1905-1911. 'Slumberland' was a Neo-classical fantasy that closely resembled the idealized White City of the Chicago World's Fair (1893), that inspired the architecture of Coney Island's Dreamland (1905-1911), which beckoned to McCay as he drew from his house just across Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn. The capricious side of this Architecture emerged in McCay's cartoons. A self-taught illustrator, McCay began his career in Detroit working in dime museums, worlds of wonder—filled with monsters—dioramas and sideshow performers whose livelihood depended on their ability to amaze an audience. Just this sort of rare and gifted fellow, McCay parlayed his entertaining lampoonery of Slumberland into some of the world's first animations on vaudeville. As with the Rarebit Fiend, Little Nemo's dreams were brought on by overindulgence, in his case of too many donuts or Huckleberry Pie. But, this was merely a pretense for McCay's fantastical 'dream' mode of thinking, a potentially useful body of knowledge that was simultaneously explored by Sigmund Freud, Henri Bergson and Marcel Proust, who linked the mechanisms employed by the unconscious in dreaming to those at play in wit. Architectural drawing—seen through McCay's cartoons and early animations—has a kind of 'gastronomical' alchemy that inadvertently became a treatise on the architectural imagination. Fiend and Little Nemo affected the psychic mood of early modern Architecture—its 'childhood' in the milieu of White Cities—that was both added to and commented on by Winsor McCay's pen. His cartoons portray the hidden 'flavors' of the buildings springing up a century ago. This 'other'—surreal—aspect of the White Cities, seasoned with whirling iron Ferris wheels and Flip-Flop rides, newly invented elevators and electric lights—and even fun house mirrors that made buildings suddenly seem very tall—were the ingredients that caused the fiend and Nemo to wake up, which ultimately became the culinary school of modern Architecture. McCay's 'fiendish' depictions show us that the right blend of humor and awe is a recipe for happiness. / Doctor of Philosophy / Winsor McCay made cartoons of the 'nightmares' of a Rarebit Fiend with a witty, unflinching eye for detail. Those illustrations became a psychic twin to the architectural fantasies of a little boy in the 'funnies' section of the New York newspapers from 1905-1911. Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend and Little Nemo in Slumberland continue to entertain and edify us, while inadvertently acting as a guide to how the imagination works. McCay's celebrity as a cartoonist also led him to become one of the world's first animators, amazing vaudeville audiences with depictions of Little Nemo that were suddenly larger than life, illuminated, and mobile. Dreams were rediscovered in the early twentieth century as useful bodies of knowledge for understanding the self, seen through the writings of Sigmund Freud, Henri Bergson and Marcel Proust, who linked the mechanisms employed by the unconscious 'dreamer' to those at play in wit. That thinking was surrounded by the atmosphere in McCay's comedic sequential images, which in turn inspired the iconic dreamlike silent movies of Buster Keaton. A look at the birth of these art forms a hundred years ago provides insight into the psychic mood of early modern Architecture, but also to the imagining of today's world (both material and virtual) using the digital tools that are just being invented. Although McCay's cartoons are fiendish, they sustain the balance between dreaming and humor that is essential to imagining a happy modern life.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering in Chemical Engineering, Durban University of Technology. Durban. South Africa, 2015. / Several areas in the world such as the United States of America, Sri Lanka, China, Argentina, Canada, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa and many others have a problem of high fluoride content in drinking water. Generally fluoride levels above 1.5 ppm in water may result in dental and skeletal fluorosis in humans depending on quantity consumed (Fan et al., 2003; Meenakshi, 2004). Remote rural areas where there are no water treatment facilities are more vulnerable to this problem. Adsorbents such as activated alumina and FR-10 resin seem to have a potential for successful application in rural areas. These methods however require pre-treatment if the feed has high turbidity. A membrane based system called woven fabric microfiltration gravity filter (WFMFGF) developed by Durban University of Technology proved to be suitable for turbidity removal. The main objective of this research was to develop a small water treatment system for fluoride removal. The small water treatment system developed in this study consists of WFMFGF for pre-treatment and an adsorption column. The WFMFGF is made up of a 40 L container packed with 15 immersed flat sheet membrane elements. The operation of the WFMFGF is in batch mode, driven by varying static head. The static head variation results in flow rate variation through the system. This in turn result in variation of contact time, velocity as well as pressure drop in the fluoride removal unit. Specific objectives of the study were: (1) to establish the maximum and minimum flow rates through the WFMFGF system, the total run time before cleaning is required and the best cleaning method for this particular membrane system. (2) to evaluate and compare the performance of activated alumina and FR-10 resin on varying contact time, velocity and pressure drop on the fluoride removal unit. The adsorbents were also compared on adsorption capacity, cost and ease of operation. The minimum and maximum flow rates through the WFMFGF were found to be 5 l/hr and 100 l/hr respectively. It was found that the system can be run for more than a month before requiring cleaning. The suitable cleaning method was found to be soaking the membranes in 0.0225 percent sodium hypochlorite solution overnight and brushing them using a plastic brush. The comparison of the performance of FR-10 resin to activated alumina found that the adsorbents gave equal performance based on the given criteria. FR-10 resin had higher adsorption capacity, gave good quality treated water even with shorter contact time and operated at wider velocity range. Activated alumina on the other hand had an advantage of lower costs, lower pressure drop and ease of use. According to Pontius (1990), the performance of activated alumina can be improved by intermittent operation. Point of use (POU) systems are generally operated intermittently. This improves the fluoride removal efficiency of activated alumina giving it more advantage over FR-10 resin. Based on this activated alumina was selected as the best adsorbent for the system. After the adsorbent was selected, the adsorption column was designed. The column operation regime was 3.5 minutes minimum contact time and 1.17 to 7.8 m/hr velocity range. The activated alumina adsorption capacity was 1.53mg/g. The column had an inside diameter of 70 mm. It was packed with activated alumina to a bed height of 400 mm. The column inlet and outlet pipes were made of PVC with a standard pipe size of 20 mm outside diameter. A valve at the column inlet pipe allowed water to flow through the system.