When developing web applications using traditional methods, developers need to partition the application logic between client side and server side, then implement these two parts separately (often using two different programming languages) and write the communication code to synchronize the application's state between the two parts. CloudBrowser is a server- centric web framework that eliminates this need for partitioning applications entirely. In CloudBrowser, the application code is executed in server side virtual browsers which preserve the application's presentation state. The client web browsers act like rendering devices, fetching and rendering the presentation state from the virtual browsers. The client-server communication and user interface rendering is implemented by the framework under the hood. CloudBrowser applications are developed in a way similar to regular web pages, using no more than HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Since the user interface state is preserved, the framework also provides a continuous experience for users who can disconnect from the application at any time and reconnect to pick up at where they left off. The original implementation of CloudBrowser was single-threaded and supported deployment on only one process. We implemented CloudBrowser 2.0, a multi-process implementation of CloudBrowser. CloudBrowser 2.0 can be deployed on a cluster of servers as well as a single multi-core server. It distributes the virtual browsers to multiple processes and dispatches client requests to the associated virtual browsers. CloudBrowser 2.0 also refines the CloudBrowser application deployment model to make the framework a PaaS platform. The developers can develop and deploy different types of applications and the platform will automatically scale them to multiple servers. / Master of Science

No / This paper aims to open a debate about the impact of reflective practice questioning whether reflective frameworks and models argued to facilitate the education of highly skilled reflective practitioners can be oppressive rather than emancipatory in outcome. Contemporary education focuses on evidence based and effective practice with reflection at its core leading to empowerment and ultimately emancipation of the profession as independent and equal to medics and other health care professionals. Models and frameworks have therefore been developed to facilitate the education of highly skilled reflective practitioners; able to recognise the need to draw on evidence based practice in order to challenge out-dated methods and engage in new ways of working. This paper however questions the current focus on reflective practice suggesting that reflection in itself can be oppressive and support the commodification of nursing as a ‘workforce’, the profession at the beck and call of current governmental policy and control.

This document is about a plan to develop physical education curriculum in Malawi. Despite its official recognition, the subject is often regarded as a low entity on the school curriculum. Several factors contribute to this status, chief among them is: lack of well-prepared teachers; equipment and materials; negative attitude by certain key individuals in the society. This document is the first attempt to develop a broad and balanced physical education curriculum in Malawi. In this document, two curriculum frameworks have been provided. One such curriculum frameworks is for the primary school (elementary) grades 1-8 and the other, the secondary (high) school 1-4. These frameworks are detailed with teaching and learning topics in physical education in such a way that every school child will have an opportunity to participate for enjoyment, knowledge and skill acquisition for personal and national benefit. This study is drawn upon the US and UK models where programs such as Saber-Tooth, Catch, Spark and Sport-England have been very successful. The assumption of this plan, comprehensive as it may be, is the essence of collective effort of the people of Malawi to implement the ideas it contains. / Ph. D.

Two studies of factors affecting the programming performance of first- and second year Computer Science students were conducted. In one study students used GIL, a simple application framework, for their programming assignments in a second-semester programming course. Improvements in student performance were realized. In the other study, students submitted detailed logs of how time was spent on projects, along with their programs. Software metrics were computed on the students' source code. Correlations between student performance and the log data and software metric data were sought. No significant indicators of performance were found, even with factors that are commonly expected to indicate performance. However, results from previous research concerning variations in individual programmer performance and relationships between software metrics were obtained. / Master of Science

Les Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) sont des adsorbants très prometteurs pour la séparation des gaz. Formés de centres métalliques reliés par des ligands organiques, ces matériaux présentent une structure organisée avec des pores de taille contrôlée ainsi que des surfaces et des volumes poreux très élevées. La possibilité de faire varier à la fois le centre métallique et le ligand organique donne aux MOFs une très grande diversité qu'on ne retrouve pas chez les zéolithes et les charbons actifs.L'objectif de cette étude a été d'évaluer le potentiel des MOFs en tant qu'adsorbants pour quatre procédés de séparation de gaz. En raison du grand nombre de MOFs disponibles, il a été nécessaire d'élaborer une stratégie pour identifier les matériaux les plus prometteurs dans chaque cas. Cette méthodologie comprend quatre étapes : une étape de criblage, une étape expérimentale, une étape de calcul et une étape d'évaluation.Pour l'étape de criblage, un nouvel appareil dit « à haut débit » a été développé pour mesurer des isothermes approximatives. Ensuite, un certain nombre de matériaux ont été retenus pour faire une étude plus approfondie de leurs propriétés d'adsorption. Des isothermes très précises ont été mesurées par gravimétrie tandis que les enthalpies d'adsorption ont été obtenues par microcalorimétrie. Dans l'étape de calcul, le modèle IAST a été utilisée pour prédire les sélectivités à partir des données en gaz pur. Enfin, les adsorbants ont été classés à l'aide d'un nouveau paramètre de sélection qui regroupe la sélectivité, la capacité efficace et l'enthalpie d'adsorption, où l'importance de chacun des paramètres peut être ajustée en fonction des besoins du procédé. / Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are seen to be one of the most promising classes of adsorbents for gas separations. Consisting of metal clusters connected by organic linkers to form a fully crystalline network, these materials have record breaking surface areas and pore volumes as well as a wide variety of pore structures and sizes. This, coupled with the possibility to use virtually any transition metal as well as functionalized linkers, gives MOFs the chemical and physical versatility often lacking in traditional adsorbents such as zeolites and activated carbons.The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential of MOFs as adsorbents for four gas separations of interest to the petrochemical industry. Because of the diversity and number of MOFs available, a methodology was needed to help identify the most promising materials in each case. The proposed methodology comprises four stages: a screening step, an experimental step, a computational step and finally an evaluation step. For the first stage, a high-throughput setup was developed to measure rough adsorption isotherms. A number of materials were then selected for a more thorough investigation of their adsorption properties. Highly accurate isotherms were measured gravimetrically while precise adsorption enthalpies were obtained by microcalorimetry. Step three involved predicting the co-adsorption behaviour from the pure gas isotherms using the Ideal Adsorbed Solution Theory. Finally, the adsorbents were ranked based on a new selection parameter regrouping selectivity, working capacity and adsorption enthalpy where the importance of each term can be adjusted depending on the requirements of the process.

[pt] O desenvolvimento de frameworks é caro, não só pela dificuldade intrínseca relacionada à captura do conhecimento do domínio, mas também por causa da falta de métodos e técnicas apropriados para dar suporte à sua evolução e desenvolvimento iterativo. Neste trabalho de tese é proposta a utilização de duas técnicas complementares para dar suporte a evolução de frameworks: regras de refactoring e regras de extensão. A técnica de refactoring foi desenvolvida para restruturar software de forma a tornar o código mais legível e fácil de ser reutilizado. Regras da extensão são propostas para modificar a estrutura de pontos de variação do framework, possibilitando a adição mais fácil de novas funcionalidades no design. Ambas as técnicas preservam o comportamento observável dos programas. Esta propriedade é verificada formalmente usando-se CCS e técnicas de verificação de modelo. A abordagem proposta é testada com o auxílio de uma ferramenta semiautomática, desenvolvida para dar suporte à aplicação das regras definidas. / [en] Framework development is expensive not only because of the intrinsic difficulty related to the elicitation of domain knowledge but also because of the lack of methods and techniques to support its evolution and interactive development. The present thesis proposes the use of two complementary techniques to support framework evolution: refactoring and extension rules. The refactoring technique has been developed to enable software re-structuring in a way to produce more readable and reusable code. Extension rules have been proposed to change the structure of the framework variation points by allowing the addition of new design functionalities. Both techniques preserve the observable behavior of programs. This property is formally verified in this work by using CCS approach to model checking. The proposed approach has been tested by means of a tool specially developed to support the application of the defined rules.

Frameworks são ferramentas importantes no contexto atual da tecnologia de desenvolvimento de software, fornecendo funcionalidades através de código previamente testado, o que leva a uma redução na quantidade de código necessário para se implementar soluções e no tempo de implementação. Porém, devido a complexidade dos frameworks atuais, seu uso se torna trabalhoso, requerendo um gasto de tempo elevado para se aprender um framework novo. Neste trabalho de pesquisa foi desenvolvido o Framer, um método de transformação de modelos capaz de selecionar componentes de um framework, a partir de seu modelo UML, que são necessários para implementar as funcionalidades providas pelo framework para uma aplicação em desenvolvimento. Este método de transformação utiliza uma versão modificada do algoritmo NONLIN de planejamento, para identificar não somente os componentes que serão utilizados, mas como e em qual ordem devem ser invocados pela aplicação. Uma vez identificados os componentes, são criados os Diagramas UML necessários para representar sua utilização. / Frameworks are important tools for current software development technology, providing functionalities through previously tested code, reducing the amount of code and time necessary to implement the solution. However, due to framework complexity, a developer needs a significant investment in time to learn it. This work presents the Framer, a model transformation method capable of selecting components, from a framework\'s UML model, that will be used to construct the functionalities of the target application. Once the components are identified, the UML Diagrams necessary to describe its use are created.

A Governança de TI (GTI) tem um papel fundamental na realização do alinhamento da TI com o negócio das organizações, potencializando os processos de TI juntamente com os objetivos do negócio. Alinhar a TI ao negócio da organização é fundamental, porém é necessário também garantir o alinhamento da GTI com a Governança de Dados (GD). A GD é responsável pelo controle e gestão dos dados da organização, possibilitando a transformação de dados em informações para a tomada de decisões estratégicas. Possuir uma GTI alinhada a GD propicia um melhor desempenho para as organizações, que precisam de informações corretas em tempo hábil para a tomada de decisões. Para colaborar com este alinhamento existem os frameworks de boas práticas de gestão, que auxiliam as organizações a implantar esta governança. Este trabalho teve como objetivo identificar os processos e frameworks de GD implantados em organizações brasileiras e comparar os benefícios obtidos na implantação com os propostos pela literatura. O trabalho exploratório e qualitativo proporcionou a realização de estudos de casos em três organizações brasileiras de grande porte que implantaram ou estão em processo de implantação dos processos de GD. Os estudos de casos foram realizados com duas visões diferentes: a consultoria que implantou a GD e a organização que contratou a consultoria. A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio de entrevistas e técnicas de análise de conteúdo foram aplicadas nos dados coletados. Como resultado identificou-se que para as organizações estudadas o nível de implantação dos processos de GD foi médio, entretanto o grau de obtenção dos benefícios foi alto. Isso ocorre devido à carência de GD que se encontram as organizações estudadas, bem como a grande melhoria e benefícios identificados pelos entrevistados, mesmo com uma implantação parcial da GD. / The IT Governance (ITG) has a key role in achieving the IT alignment with the business organization, empowering IT processes with business goals. Align IT with business organization is crucial, however it is also necessary to ensure the alignment of the GTI with Data Governance (DG) The DG is responsible for the control and management the organization\'s data, enabling the transformation of data into information for strategic decisions making. Have aligned DG with ITG is a better performance for organizations that need the right information in the right time for decision making. To collaborate with this alignment are the frameworks of good management practices that enable organizations implement this governance. This study aimed to identify the processes and frameworks of DG implemented in Brazilian organizations and compare the benefits achieved in the implementation with the proposed in the literature. The exploratory and qualitative study provided the realizations of case studies in three large Brazilian organizations that have implemented or are in the implementation DG process. The case studies were performed with two different views: a consultancy that implemented the DG and the organization that hired the consultancy. Data collection was conducted through interviews and content analysis techniques were applied in the data collected. As a result it was found that for organizations studied the implementation DG level was average, however the benefits degree was high. This is due to lack in DG in the organizations studied and the great improvement and benefits identified by interviewers even though with partial implementation DG.

[pt] Esta dissertação propõe um framework de sistemas multi- agentes para aplicações do domínio de Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). Esta tecnologia de identificação automática de objetos vem se desenvolvendo rapidamente e promete substituir brevemente a tecnologia atual de identificação de produtos: código de barras. Além de promover o desenvolvimento de hardware para etiquetas e leitoras RFID, novos padrões de identificação estão sendo propostos, desafiando os desenvolvedores de software a produzirem novas soluções para lidar com o novo e maior volume de dados e com a natureza distribuída das leitoras e leituras de objetos. Esta dissertação propõe um framework projetado utilizando-se a abordagem de sistemas multi-agentes (SMA) capaz de instanciar SMA distribuídos que: - Interagem com a infra-estrutura RFID existente (leitoras, etiquetas e middlewares); - Facilitam a geração de informações com semântica de negócios a partir de dados crus gerados por esta infra-estrutura, e; - Facilitam a implementação de novas funcionalidades decorrentes do leque de aplicações vislumbradas pelo surgimento de RFID. / [en] Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology along with the Electronic Product Code (EPC) created a new complex environment for warehouses systems and supply chain systems in general. The EPC specification created one more level of identification: the product instance. This new level of identification had blown the volume of data being managed by applications. That fact, along with the deployment of distributed RFID readers, causes the necessity of new applications capable of interacting with this infrastructure and capable of processing, filtering and interpreting these new data. This work proposes a framework for distributed multi-agent systems capable of interacting with a deployed RFID infrastructure.

A Governança de TI (GTI) tem um papel fundamental na realização do alinhamento da TI com o negócio das organizações, potencializando os processos de TI juntamente com os objetivos do negócio. Alinhar a TI ao negócio da organização é fundamental, porém é necessário também garantir o alinhamento da GTI com a Governança de Dados (GD). A GD é responsável pelo controle e gestão dos dados da organização, possibilitando a transformação de dados em informações para a tomada de decisões estratégicas. Possuir uma GTI alinhada a GD propicia um melhor desempenho para as organizações, que precisam de informações corretas em tempo hábil para a tomada de decisões. Para colaborar com este alinhamento existem os frameworks de boas práticas de gestão, que auxiliam as organizações a implantar esta governança. Este trabalho teve como objetivo identificar os processos e frameworks de GD implantados em organizações brasileiras e comparar os benefícios obtidos na implantação com os propostos pela literatura. O trabalho exploratório e qualitativo proporcionou a realização de estudos de casos em três organizações brasileiras de grande porte que implantaram ou estão em processo de implantação dos processos de GD. Os estudos de casos foram realizados com duas visões diferentes: a consultoria que implantou a GD e a organização que contratou a consultoria. A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio de entrevistas e técnicas de análise de conteúdo foram aplicadas nos dados coletados. Como resultado identificou-se que para as organizações estudadas o nível de implantação dos processos de GD foi médio, entretanto o grau de obtenção dos benefícios foi alto. Isso ocorre devido à carência de GD que se encontram as organizações estudadas, bem como a grande melhoria e benefícios identificados pelos entrevistados, mesmo com uma implantação parcial da GD. / The IT Governance (ITG) has a key role in achieving the IT alignment with the business organization, empowering IT processes with business goals. Align IT with business organization is crucial, however it is also necessary to ensure the alignment of the GTI with Data Governance (DG) The DG is responsible for the control and management the organization\'s data, enabling the transformation of data into information for strategic decisions making. Have aligned DG with ITG is a better performance for organizations that need the right information in the right time for decision making. To collaborate with this alignment are the frameworks of good management practices that enable organizations implement this governance. This study aimed to identify the processes and frameworks of DG implemented in Brazilian organizations and compare the benefits achieved in the implementation with the proposed in the literature. The exploratory and qualitative study provided the realizations of case studies in three large Brazilian organizations that have implemented or are in the implementation DG process. The case studies were performed with two different views: a consultancy that implemented the DG and the organization that hired the consultancy. Data collection was conducted through interviews and content analysis techniques were applied in the data collected. As a result it was found that for organizations studied the implementation DG level was average, however the benefits degree was high. This is due to lack in DG in the organizations studied and the great improvement and benefits identified by interviewers even though with partial implementation DG.