Regarder la mer comme un espace politique et social implique de dépasser les frontières et les disciplines. L’exercice est passionnant mais nécessite de rebattre les cartes. Cette thèse a ainsi comme ambitieux objectif de comprendre comment les humains observent et gèrent l’environnement marin, et comment ils parviennent, ou non, à échanger autour des représentations ainsi obtenues. Le célèbre exemple d’Antoine de Saint-Exupéry devrait suffire à donner une idée du défi à relever. Là où certains voient un chapeau d’autres imaginent un serpent boa qui digère un éléphant ; à nous, alors, de chercher à dessiner au travers de ce travail une description à la fois simple et précise des points de vue des humains sur ce qui les entoure ; des scientifiques, des décideurs et des pêcheurs sur les interactions entre pêcheries et petits cétacés dans le golfe de Gascogne puisque c’est le sujet qui nous intéresse. Nous nous sommes donc demandé comment observer les positionnements stratégiques des acteurs sur les captures accidentelles de petits cétacés dans le Golfe de Gascogne pour rétablir des relations de confiance et de dialogue entre les acteurs ? Pour répondre à cette problématique, nous avons mis en place un processus participatif d’accompagnement des acteurs pour construire une vision partagée de l’environnement marin. A l’aide de cette méthode, nous avons montré que l’environnement marin est un construit scientifique et qu’il est nécessaire de le construire politiquement et socialement pour y intégrer la complexité nécessaire à une gestion réellement durable des interactions entre activités humaines et écosystème marin. A ce titre, les instruments d’observation et de gestion de l’environnement jouent un rôle central comme nous l’expliquerons dans le cadre de cette thèse. / Looking at the sea as political and social space involves reaching across borders and disciplines. The task is thrilling but requires reshuffling the cards. Thus, this thesis ambitious objective is to understand how humans observe and manage the marine environment, and how they achieve, or not, to exchange around the obtained representations. The famous example of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry should give us an idea of the challenges to overcome. Where some see a hat, others imagine a boa snake digesting an elephant. So, in this study, our job is to draw a simple but precise description of humans’ points of view on their surroundings. More precisely, we focus on scientists, decision-makers and fishermen’s points of view on interactions between fisheries and small cetaceans in the Bay of Biscay (France). Therefore, we wondered how to observe stakeholders’ strategic positions on small cetacean bycatch in the Bay of Biscay to restore trust-based relationships and re-establish constructive dialogue among stakeholders. To answer this question, we set up a participatory process to support stakeholders in building a shared vision of the marine environment. By implementing this method, we showed that the marine environment is scientifically constructed. It also needs to be politically and socially constructed to incorporate the necessary complexity to sustainably manage interactions between human activities and marine ecosystems. As such, observation and management instruments of the marine environment play a central role as we will explain in this thesis.

Parkinson' Disease (PD) is a motor disorder characterized by rigidity, tremor, and hypokinesia with secondary manifestations like defective posture and gait, mask like face and dementia. Over the years it may lead to inability to move, breath and ultimately patient may succumb to chest infection and embolism. Prevalence studies show that more than six million people around the world suffer from PD. At present, there is no cure for PD but there are effective treatments that can slow the progression of the disease and regulate its affects. PD results from a deficiency of dopamine so most drugs that produce a salutary effect in PD either potentiate dopamine or work as dopamine agonists. Hence, to keep the symptoms of PD to a minimum it is very important that the medications be consumed regularly, so that the dopamine level is maintained in the body of the subject. Electronic pillbox logger is a device that has been designed to ensure this very much required medication adherence in PD subjects, which can also be used to measure the response to oral medication. This work describes the design and implementation of an electronic pillbox logger for use by people suffering from Parkinson's disease (PD). The pillbox logger is designed to track medication adherence and prompt the user to take medication on time. It is pocket-sized, portable, and compartmented. It has a variety of alarm systems to remind the user to take the correct dose of their medication at the correct time. Most importantly, it keeps an electronic log of the time of dosage consumption by detecting the presence/absence of pills in the pillbox. This overcomes major limitations of other pillboxes with a logging function that are often too large to carry, contain a single compartment, or only record the time the container was opened rather than the presence or absence of pills. The proposed pillbox logger complements a wearable device under development for people with Parkinson's disease that continuously monitors impaired movement. The combination of the pillbox logger with the wearable sensor will permit clinicians to determine the response to oral therapies, which can be used to optimize therapy. People with PD consume similar pills throughout the day hence the pillbox logger has been designed to detect the presence/absence of pills in general in the pillbox rather than which specific pills are absent or present in the pillbox logger. This feature of the current design that the device records knowledge about pills in general in the pillbox logger and not about any specific pills is a major reason why the current design is specific to PD subjects only. However, though the current design of the pillbox logger is designed for people with Parkinson's Disease, the pillbox is suitable for other maladies in which the timing of the medication is critical. The described pillbox logger was built and the design was validated after running a number of tests. The battery powered pillbox logger is able to accurately store the information about the actual presence/absence of pills in each compartment of the pillbox. It is capable of sending out reminder alarms at the right time of the day and can be connected to a host computer using a USB cable to read the stored information from it. The proper functional working of the pillbox logger after thorough testing proves that the design of pillbox logger was successful.

Ergonomic assessments to determine risks of work-related musculoskeletal disorders as well as to compare designs of work-tasks and workstations, are imperative for high sustainability and productivity in any given industry. Hence, assessment tools that can objectively and reliably capture postures, joint angles and muscle activities play very important role in properly determining risks relating to work and various tasks. The introduction of direct measurement instruments/tools has been helping and continue to help improve upon observational assessment methods to attain objectivity and reliability. This project aimed at contributing to future improvements of industrial risk assessment measures in ergonomics by identifying and testing direct measurement instruments/tools that can enhance observational risk assessment methods and introduce a new way of signal processing, hence, reducing assessment time while increasing objectivity and reliability. Several candidate instruments were identified and out of the identified, ten were selected as potential candidates. Two out of the ten, Wergonic and ErgoHandMeter were then selected and tested on common observation risk assessment factors that could be measured and answers provided directly or by analyses. The Wergonic instrument was modified to enhance its measuring capability from one fully and partially two factors to six factors. New algorithms were also employed to analyse measurements of the ErgoHandMeter in order to answer questions regarding repetitive movements. The two instruments tested, are able to measure and provide results for six commonly and one rarely assessed biomechanical risk factors. By combining selected potential candidates, many of the commonly targeted biomechanical risk factors in observational instruments can be measured by the selected direct measurement instruments. However, some factors especially force measurement remain a challenge for measuring by direct wearable sensor instruments.

Les méthodes sismiques peuvent jouer un rôle clé dans notre adaptation aux changements climatiques en permettant d'évaluer les caractéristiques géotechniques des sols, de surveiller les contaminants ou de caractériser les aquifères en vue d'une utilisation durable de l'eau potable. En particulier, le profilage sismique vertical possède la capacité d'imager des volumes de matériau autour du trou de forage (3D-VSP) à une résolution et à une échelle qui ne peuvent être atteintes avec d'autres méthodes d'imagerie géophysique. Cependant, les outils actuellement disponibles sur le marché sont développés majoritairement pour les applications pétrolière et gazière. De plus, la complexité et la propriété intellectuelle reliées à ces outils font de ceux-ci des boîtes noires pour la plupart des utilisateurs. Cette situation freine l'utilisation du profilage sismique vertical dans des applications géotechnique, hydrogéologique et minière. Afin de remédier à ce problème, les travaux réalisés dans le cadre de ce mémoire visent l'introduction d'instruments sismiques multicomposants, abordables, modulaires et légers qui peuvent être déployés facilement par les chercheurs et les praticiens. Le petit diamètre de l'outil et son libre accès sont des éléments clés qui vont permettre son utilisation dans plusieurs applications à des coûts raisonnables. Le système d'acquisition sismique développé est basé sur des accéléromètres très sensibles et compacts. Celui-ci a été comparé avec un numériseur de référence lors de tests en laboratoire et sur le terrain. Il affiche des performances égales et même supérieures dans le cas de signaux haute fréquence. L'outil développé est modulaire et la flexibilité de ses composants permet de le modifier facilement pour l'adapter à de nombreux autres projets d'instrumentation géophysique. Nous croyons que le système développé sous le nom de Geophysical Open Seismic Hardware représente le premier d'une série d'outils en libre accès qui contribueront à démocratiser l'utilisation de la géophysique. / Seismic methods play a key role in our adaptation to climate change by allowing us to assess geotechnical characteristics of soils, monitor contaminants, or characterize aquifers for sustainable drinking water usage. In particular, vertical seismic profiling has the ability to image volumes of material around the borehole (3D-VSP) at a resolution and scale that cannot be achieved with other geophysical imaging methods. However, the tools currently available on the market are mainly developed for oil and gas applications. In addition, the complexity and intellectual property associated with these tools have made them black boxes for most users. This situation has hindered the use of vertical seismic profiling in geotechnical, hydrogeological and mining applications. To address this problem, the work in this thesis aims to introduce affordable, modular, and lightweight multi-component seismic instruments that can be easily deployed by researchers and practitioners. The small diameter of the tool and its open access are key elements that will allow its use in several applications at reasonable costs. The seismic acquisition system developed is based on highly sensitive and compact accelerometers. It has been compared with a reference digitizer in laboratory and field tests. The latter shows equal and even better performances in the case of high frequency signals. The tool developed is modular and the flexibility of its components allows it to be easily modified to accomodate many other geophysical instrumentation projects. We believe that the developed system (Geophysical Open Seismic Hardware) represents the first of a series of open source tools that will democratize the use of geophysics.

This is a study where I examine and compare the perceived emotional expression of brass instruments and reed instruments to investigate whether one group have an inherent tendency to better express a certain emotion than the other group. Based on scientifically proven methods, I have composed two musical pieces, where one of them represents the emotion of happiness and the other one represents the emotion of sadness. I have then written 5 arrangements per musical piece, where one of them consists of piano, two consists of solo instruments from each instrument group accompanied by piano, and two consists of a trio from each instrument group. This makes a total of 10 arrangements. These arrangements serve as audio examples in a web survey where I compare the two instrument groups based on how the audience perceive their emotional expression. A total of 36 people participated in the survey. Regarding the emotion of happiness, 71 % of the participants felt that trumpet and piano was the solo instrument version that best expressed happiness while 18 % chose oboe and piano. 44 % chose the brass trio as the happiest version while 36 % felt that the reed trio best expressed happiness. When it came to the emotion of sadness, 19 % of the participants chose trumpet and piano as the saddest solo instrument version, while 72 % felt that oboe and piano sounded the saddest. 25 % chose the brass trio as the saddest version while 67 % chose the reed trio.

Thesis (LL.M. (Import and Export Law))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Thesis (LL.M. (Import and Export Law))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Thesis (LL.M. (Import and Export Law))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

A limpeza de instrumentos odontológicos, médicos e cirúrgicos (IOMC) em máquina lavadora ultrassônica (MLUS) utiliza energia mecânica (vibrações sonoras - cavitação), química (soluções detergentes) e térmica (temperatura) associadas ao tempo de exposição. A eficácia deste processo é certificada por meio de testes de controle recomendados por normas internacionais. Neste estudo buscou-se avaliar o desempenho da MLUS quanto aos parâmetros mínimos aceitáveis nas condições práticas de uso através de testes descritos em normas e discutir os fatores de interferência durante o processo que podem comprometer a eficiência da limpeza dos IOMC. Uma pesquisa inicial analisou as condições operacionais da MLUS por meio de questionário auto-aplicado nos estabelecimentos assistenciais à saúde (EAS) de Curitiba mostrando amplo uso da MLUS, com procedimentos técnicos de preparo do processo de limpeza, relação de tempo/temperatura e perfil dos ciclos com a carga de acordo com recomendações da literatura. Entretanto, não houve consenso sobre testes e normas técnicas a serem aplicadas. Assim, foram realizados testes de tiras e folhas de alumínio, indicadores químicos Sono Check® e TOSI® Lum Check para instrumentais canulados baseados em normas internacionais. Os resultados mostraram que todas as folhas de alumínio testadas apresentaram padrão uniforme de perfurações (100%), indicando a eficiência da cavitação. Nas tiras de folhas de alumínio houve perfurações semelhantes na maioria delas (89%) e uma apresentou poucas alterações (11%) apontando falhas no teste e/ou no funcionamento do equipamento. Em 3 testes de indicadores químicos Sono Check® foi obtido resultado positivo (37,5%), em outros três houve demora na alteração da cor mas acabaram positivos (37,5%) e dois indicadores de 2 testes não alteraram a cor (25%). Os resultados positivos (75%) comprovaram a eficácia da atividade ultrassônica e os negativos indicaram pontos cegos no processo de cavitação, o que pode ser atribuído a fatores interferentes na limpeza como: uso da mesma solução de limpeza em vários ciclos, tipo e disposição da carga, nível de preenchimento da solução no tanque, temperatura e divergência das ondas ultrassônicas entre instrumentais e paredes do equipamento. Os resultados dos testes TOSI® Lum Check foram negativos pois apresentaram resíduos de fibrina na superfície das placas de aço que pode estar relacionado a um reduzido tempo de exposição, temperatura não adequada, qualidade da água, diluição incorreta da solução de limpeza, teste mal posicionado, sobrecarga e/ou carga incorreta de IOMC e ineficiência da solução limpante. Concluiu-se que os testes de controle comprovam a eficácia da atividade ultrassônica na limpeza e detectam falhas no desempenho da MLUS atribuídas a fatores interferentes citados e para tanto é recomendado a elaboração de uma norma técnica no Brasil com a implementação da monitoração da atividade ultrassônica para a garantia da qualidade do processo de limpeza ultrassônica. / The cleaning of dental, medical and surgical instruments (DMSI) with ultrasonic cleaning equipment (UCE) makes use of mechanical (sound vibrations – cavitation), chemical (detergent solutions) and thermal (temperature) energies associated with exposure time. To check the performance of the cleaning process it is necessary the use of tests recommended by international standards. In this study we have evaluated the performance of UCE concerning its minimal acceptable parameters by means of tests described on standards as well as discussing the interfering factors which could compromise the cleaning process of DMSI. Initially, a survey analyzed the operating conditions of UEC through a questionnaire answered by professionals of several health care establishments (HCE) of Curitiba city. The results showed wide use of UCE in the investigated HCE, technical procedures for preparation of the cleaning process, time/temperature relationship and load cycle profiles according to literature recommendations. However there was no agreement on the type test selection or adoption of technical standards. Considering those results, practical tests were carried out for aluminium foils and strips, Sono Check® chemical indicators and TOSI® Lum Check for cannulated instruments, based on international standards. Aluminium foils (100%) and strips (89%) have showed uniformity in the produced holes, indicating efficiency of the cavitation. Some strips presented few modifications (11%), indicating failures in the test and/or functioning of the equipment. Chemical indicators Sono Check®| presented positive results (75%) proving the effectiveness of ultrasonic activity, however some (25%) presented negative results indicating blind spots due to difficulties in the cavitation process, which can be attributed to interfering factors such as: use the same cleaning solution in several cycles, type and disposition of the load, level of the solution in the tank, temperature and divergence of ultrasonic waves between instrument and walls of the equipment. TOSI® Lum Check for cannulated instruments showed negative results which can be attributed to reduced exposure time, not adequate temperature, water quality, incorrect dilution of the cleaning solution, test bad positioned, overload and/or incorrect load of the instruments, and inefficiency of the cleaning solution. It was concluded that the control tests can prove the effectiveness of the ultrasound in the cleaning activity and detect performance failures for UCE assigned to the cited interfering factors. Therefore, it is recommended the development of a technical standard in Brazil which should include types of tests, procedures and operational control of the cycle parameters in order to ensure the quality control of the ultrasonic cleaning process.

A limpeza de instrumentos odontológicos, médicos e cirúrgicos (IOMC) em máquina lavadora ultrassônica (MLUS) utiliza energia mecânica (vibrações sonoras - cavitação), química (soluções detergentes) e térmica (temperatura) associadas ao tempo de exposição. A eficácia deste processo é certificada por meio de testes de controle recomendados por normas internacionais. Neste estudo buscou-se avaliar o desempenho da MLUS quanto aos parâmetros mínimos aceitáveis nas condições práticas de uso através de testes descritos em normas e discutir os fatores de interferência durante o processo que podem comprometer a eficiência da limpeza dos IOMC. Uma pesquisa inicial analisou as condições operacionais da MLUS por meio de questionário auto-aplicado nos estabelecimentos assistenciais à saúde (EAS) de Curitiba mostrando amplo uso da MLUS, com procedimentos técnicos de preparo do processo de limpeza, relação de tempo/temperatura e perfil dos ciclos com a carga de acordo com recomendações da literatura. Entretanto, não houve consenso sobre testes e normas técnicas a serem aplicadas. Assim, foram realizados testes de tiras e folhas de alumínio, indicadores químicos Sono Check® e TOSI® Lum Check para instrumentais canulados baseados em normas internacionais. Os resultados mostraram que todas as folhas de alumínio testadas apresentaram padrão uniforme de perfurações (100%), indicando a eficiência da cavitação. Nas tiras de folhas de alumínio houve perfurações semelhantes na maioria delas (89%) e uma apresentou poucas alterações (11%) apontando falhas no teste e/ou no funcionamento do equipamento. Em 3 testes de indicadores químicos Sono Check® foi obtido resultado positivo (37,5%), em outros três houve demora na alteração da cor mas acabaram positivos (37,5%) e dois indicadores de 2 testes não alteraram a cor (25%). Os resultados positivos (75%) comprovaram a eficácia da atividade ultrassônica e os negativos indicaram pontos cegos no processo de cavitação, o que pode ser atribuído a fatores interferentes na limpeza como: uso da mesma solução de limpeza em vários ciclos, tipo e disposição da carga, nível de preenchimento da solução no tanque, temperatura e divergência das ondas ultrassônicas entre instrumentais e paredes do equipamento. Os resultados dos testes TOSI® Lum Check foram negativos pois apresentaram resíduos de fibrina na superfície das placas de aço que pode estar relacionado a um reduzido tempo de exposição, temperatura não adequada, qualidade da água, diluição incorreta da solução de limpeza, teste mal posicionado, sobrecarga e/ou carga incorreta de IOMC e ineficiência da solução limpante. Concluiu-se que os testes de controle comprovam a eficácia da atividade ultrassônica na limpeza e detectam falhas no desempenho da MLUS atribuídas a fatores interferentes citados e para tanto é recomendado a elaboração de uma norma técnica no Brasil com a implementação da monitoração da atividade ultrassônica para a garantia da qualidade do processo de limpeza ultrassônica. / The cleaning of dental, medical and surgical instruments (DMSI) with ultrasonic cleaning equipment (UCE) makes use of mechanical (sound vibrations – cavitation), chemical (detergent solutions) and thermal (temperature) energies associated with exposure time. To check the performance of the cleaning process it is necessary the use of tests recommended by international standards. In this study we have evaluated the performance of UCE concerning its minimal acceptable parameters by means of tests described on standards as well as discussing the interfering factors which could compromise the cleaning process of DMSI. Initially, a survey analyzed the operating conditions of UEC through a questionnaire answered by professionals of several health care establishments (HCE) of Curitiba city. The results showed wide use of UCE in the investigated HCE, technical procedures for preparation of the cleaning process, time/temperature relationship and load cycle profiles according to literature recommendations. However there was no agreement on the type test selection or adoption of technical standards. Considering those results, practical tests were carried out for aluminium foils and strips, Sono Check® chemical indicators and TOSI® Lum Check for cannulated instruments, based on international standards. Aluminium foils (100%) and strips (89%) have showed uniformity in the produced holes, indicating efficiency of the cavitation. Some strips presented few modifications (11%), indicating failures in the test and/or functioning of the equipment. Chemical indicators Sono Check®| presented positive results (75%) proving the effectiveness of ultrasonic activity, however some (25%) presented negative results indicating blind spots due to difficulties in the cavitation process, which can be attributed to interfering factors such as: use the same cleaning solution in several cycles, type and disposition of the load, level of the solution in the tank, temperature and divergence of ultrasonic waves between instrument and walls of the equipment. TOSI® Lum Check for cannulated instruments showed negative results which can be attributed to reduced exposure time, not adequate temperature, water quality, incorrect dilution of the cleaning solution, test bad positioned, overload and/or incorrect load of the instruments, and inefficiency of the cleaning solution. It was concluded that the control tests can prove the effectiveness of the ultrasound in the cleaning activity and detect performance failures for UCE assigned to the cited interfering factors. Therefore, it is recommended the development of a technical standard in Brazil which should include types of tests, procedures and operational control of the cycle parameters in order to ensure the quality control of the ultrasonic cleaning process.