This project explores the potential of bamboo as an alternative building material for low cost housing units suitable for urban Ethiopia. The rational for the application of bamboo comes from its abundance throughout the country, and its proven physical properties that equate it to other building material like timber, steel and concrete. The proposed bamboo based design solution concentrates on simplification of construction methods, prefabrication of structural components and vertical densification of housing units, addressing the lack of skilled labor, cost of construction time and urban land respectively. An understanding of the design solution was established by constructing a full-scale section prototype and performing laboratory tests on key structural components.

In South African Townships, socio economic activities of the second economy such as informal trading typically manifest themselves in low quality, left over open spaces along roadsides and transport interchanges. These left over spaces are characteristic of townships and especially low cost housing and Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) communities, due to the emphasis placed on the dwelling units with little regard for the quality of open space. These environments are, over-scaled and not suited to human scale and although used for informal trading, they are not conducive to human or environmental well-being. An entrance precinct with such left over spaces in Olievenhoubosch Township, Centurion, is selected to test the hypothesis of an informal market as a catalyst for quality open space that considers human scale and enables the socio-economic functions of the community. The research starts off by establishing guidelines firstly for quality open space; secondly for human scale and thirdly for socio economic functions. These guidelines are applied at framework level looking at the entire precinct, including an informal market, stream corridor and taxi rank. At masterplan level, the focus is on the informal market. To avoid a merely functional response, the market approach is divided into two aspects, the market development and the spatial or experiential development aspect. These are informed by the established theoretical guidelines, case studies and existing activities and uses onsite. An overarching concept “Indawo Yami” meaning “my place”, ties the two aspects together while expressing the unique character of the community. The concept is born out of the vision of the market as a multifunctional community space that expresses the unique character of the community. The sketchplan proposal suggests that human and environmental well-being could be prime objectives of open spaces in townships all over South Africa. / Dissertation (ML(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2014. / Architecture / ML(Prof) / Unrestricted

As climate change is progressing, it is important to find mitigation strategies to reach the Paris Agreement’s long-term temperature goal. The objective is to keep the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels. One approach to climate change mitigation is to decrease people’s carbon footprint. This complex problem can be approached with top-down programs and bottom-up methods. One such a bottom-up approach is the app Deedster. This app is designed to educate its users about sustainable behavior choices and encourage the users to try out these new behaviors in so-called deeds to reduce their personal carbon footprint. In this research, an exploratory qualitative approach was taken to gather insights into the suitability of the Deedster app as a tool to change individual behavior towards a more sustainable lifestyle as well as investigating obstacles to acting sustainably. App users were interviewed in the beginning and at the end of a four-week Deedster challenge. The findings suggest that the Deedster app is a suitable tool to encourage behavior change and to educate its users about sustainability topics. Based on the results, the app may be stronger in changing low-cost (less difficult) behavior changes than effortful behavior changes. However, in some cases, also effortful behavior changes were reported.  In addition, the users reported more knowledge about sustainable lifestyle alternatives and opened conversations about the app and their behavior changes with others. This study makes valuable contributions to the field of sustainable behavior changes and proposes the Deedster app as a useful method to engage more people in sustainable lifestyles.

Introduction The established methods for the production of 99Mo, based on fission in nuclear reactors, continue to present problems as a result of the plant’s aging and the significant investments needed for maintenance or for their renewal. Much research work is thus in progress on the study of alternative methods for the production of 99mTc in quantities and with the degree of purity required for the clinical use. Between them, the cyclotron production of 99mTc via the 100Mo(p,2n)99mTc reaction has turned out as the most attractive alternative. One critical aspect regarding the production of 99mTc with cyclotron is the need for a robust and reliable target production process. Several techniques have been indicated as extremely promising such has plasma spray and laser cladding; however these methods require specialized instrumentation and complex operations to be performed handling activated materials in order to recover irradiated Mo. In this work we report the development of the work done at the University of Bologna, as a part of a wider INFN project, as regards the methods of preparation of solid targets suitable for the production of 99mTc irradiating a target of 100Mo, employing a cyclotron for biomedical use, normally operated for the production of PET radionuclides. Material and Methods Irradiations were performed with a 16.5 MeV GE PETtrace cyclotron equipped with a solid target station previously developed by our group (1). In initial tests, a stack of 1–3 metallic foils, 100 μm thick, of natMo were irradiated with protons in the 15.9→9.8 MeV energy range. Foils were then dissolved in a HNO3-HCl solution and samples were analyzed with high resolution gamma-ray spectrometry (Canberra, including a HPGe detector with a 30% relative efficiency and a resolution of 1.8 keV at 1332 keV) using Genie2000 software; the measurement campaign lasted several weeks to take into account the different half-lives of the produced radionuclides. Results were extrapolated to a highly enriched 100Mo target and compared to Monte Carlo simulations previously performed with FLUKA and TALYS codes (2). In order to investigate a method of preparation of the target that would make easier the recovery of the enriched material and recycling for the preparation of a new target, it was subsequently studied the preparation of pellets of Molybdenum trioxide. MoO3 powder (Sigma Aldrich, 99.9% trace metals basis, particle size < 150 μm) was used to prepare pellets using a 10 ton press. Pellets obtained in this way were then sintered on a Platinum support using a CARBOLITE furnace under a controlled atmosphere; the temperature was ramped according to a controlled and reproducible temperature cycle. Sintered pellets were subjected to visual inspection, mechanical tests of resistance to loading and downloading in the cyclotron target station, thermal tests and then irradiated at increasing current. The irradiated targets were again visually inspected then weighed, dissolved and subjected to gamma-ray spectrometry analysis. Results and Conclusion The experimental saturation yield for 99mTc calculated on the basis of the gamma-ray analysis of irradiated metal foils, gave an extrapolated yield of 1.115 ± 0.015 GBq/μA for a 100 μm thick 100Mo enriched target, in accordance with the value of 1.107 ± 0.002 GBq/μA obtained in Monte Carlo simulations. On these bases, an irradiation of 3 h at 50 μA is expected to produce 16.3 ± 0.2 GBq of 99mTc; considering the use of an efficient purification system, a radionuclidic purity > 99.9 % 2 h after the EndOfBombardment and a specific activity comparable with the actual standards are expected as achievable. Experiments on sintering pellets are still on going at the time of writing this report; initial results showed that addition of proper aggregating materials allows for suitable pellets preparation. The sintering process allows to obtain pellets having sufficient mechanical strength to withstand loading and downloading operations. Initial irradiation tests with beam current up to 25 μA were performed successfully with no changes in mass and mechanical properties of the pellet. These encouraging results suggest that sintered pellets may be a relatively inexpensive and easy solution to prepare 100Mo targets for the cyclotron production of 99mTc. Further experimental tests at higher beam current will be performed in order to assess the maximum current achievable with no damage of the target. At the same time, a prototype automated module based on standard industrial components is in testing phase as regards performance in the separation and purification processes.

The topic of this thesis is Hand Gesture Recognition and Hand Tracking for user interface applications. 3 systems were produced, as well as datasets for recognition and tracking, along with UI applications to prove the concept of the technology. These represent significant contributions to resolving the hand recognition and tracking problems for 2d systems. The systems were designed to work in video only contexts, be computationally light, provide recognition and tracking of the user's hand, and operate without user driven fine tuning and calibration. Existing systems require user calibration, use depth sensors and do not work in video only contexts, or are computationally heavy requiring GPU to run in live situations. A 2-step static hand gesture recognition system was created which can recognize 3 different gestures in real-time. A detection step detects hand gestures using machine learning models. A validation step rejects false positives. The gesture recognition system was combined with hand tracking. It recognizes and then tracks a user's hand in video in an unconstrained setting. The tracking uses 2 collaborative strategies. A contour tracking strategy guides a minimization based template tracking strategy and makes it real-time, robust, and recoverable, while the template tracking provides stable input for UI applications. Lastly, an improved static gesture recognition system addresses the drawbacks due to stratified colour sampling of the detection boxes in the detection step. It uses the entire presented colour range and clusters it into constituent colour modes which are then used for segmentation, which improves the overall gesture recognition rates. One dataset was produced for static hand gesture recognition which allowed for the comparison of multiple different machine learning strategies, including deep learning. Another dataset was produced for hand tracking which provides a challenging series of user scenarios to test the gesture recognition and hand tracking system. Both datasets are significantly larger than other available datasets. The hand tracking algorithm was used to create a mouse cursor control application, a paint application for Android mobile devices, and a FPS video game controller. The latter in particular demonstrates how the collaborating hand tracking can fulfill the demanding nature of responsive aiming and movement controls.

Orientador: André Luiz Andreoli / Resumo: Os transformadores são equipamentos de suma importância no sistema elétrico de potência. Qualquer falha destes equipamentos, pode acarretar prejuízos e consequências graves tanto para as concessionárias de energia, quanto aos seus consumidores. A ocorrência de descargas parciais em transformadores de potência está diretamente relacionada às condições de seu sistema de isolamento. Elas podem se desenvolver ao longo do tempo e culminar na perda total do sistema de isolamento. Desta forma, o monitoramento das descargas parciais torna-se essencial para o planejamento de uma manutenção e a garantia do funcionamento adequado destes equipamentos. Neste contexto, o objetivo desta pesquisa é apresentar um método de localização e identificação de descargas parciais em transformador de potência operando com carregamento nominal, através de sensores piezelétricos de baixo custo e ferramentas como a transformada wavelet e os sistemas de inferência neuro-difuso adaptativos. / Mestre

Batch equilibrium and dynamic column studies were undertaken to compare the metal-removal capabilities of two natural, low-cost materials (dried, crushed brown seaweed and shrimp shells) with a commercially available strong acid cation exchange resin (CER). All media maintained structural and hydraulic integrity over the duration of the column experiments. The batch tests showed that the low-cost materials demonstrated high adsorption capacities and affinities to Pb, Cu, Cd and Zn, but were slightly outperformed by the CER. Metal removal by each media was far superior to that reported for other types of low cost materials. Fixed beds of each media reduced concentrations of the target metals in a synthetic drainage water solution to levels below reference values measured at a case study site. This result suggests that any of the materials tested have the potential to completely remove impacts of a point source of metal contamination on the local water regime at the site. The CER column sustained the longest service time without large-scale breakthrough of any metal.

En la actualidad, el sector construcción ha sido muy relevante en el crecimiento del PBI del Perú. El crecimiento ha sido generado por la cantidad de obras que se están realizando en todo el país; debido a este crecimiento, las micro y pequeñas empresas constructoras han tomado mayor relevancia entre los últimos años por su contribución en proyectos de edificaciones multifamiliares. Se puede denotar la importancia que tienen las MYPEs debido a su aporte al PBI, pero, al no tener un control adecuado de gestión, han tenido problemas para gestionar sus proyectos por lo que su utilidad se ha visto afectada considerablemente. Estas pérdidas han generado que muchas MYPES detengan su participación en el mercado indefinidamente, afectando a la contribución del PBI del sector. Para solucionar la mala gestión de proyectos en las obras de edificaciones multifamiliares, se ha propuesto una guía para el desarrollo de una Project Management Office (PMO) Low Cost, para Micro y Pequeñas empresas que no tengan el capital necesario para invertir en una Project Management Office estándar. Esta guía pretende ser validada a través del método Delphi, recurriendo a los expertos del medio local que tengan experiencia en Gerencia de Proyectos. Los resultados esperados son los de una mejora en el nivel de madurez de las MYPEs tomando en cuenta la mejora en la gestión de proyectos. / Currently, the construction sector has been very relevant in the growth of Peru's GDP. The growth has been generated by the number of works being carried out throughout the country; Due to this growth, micro and small construction companies have become more relevant in recent years for their contribution in multi-family building projects. The importance of the MYPEs due to their contribution to the GDP can be denoted, but, as they did not have adequate management control, they have had problems managing their projects and their utility has been considerably affected. These losses have caused many MYPES to stop their participation in the market indefinitely, affecting the contribution of the sector's GDP. To solve the mismanagement of projects in the works of multi-family buildings, a guide has been proposed for the development of a Project Management Office (PMO) Low Cost, for Micro and Small companies that do not have the necessary capital to invest in a Project Management Standard Office. This guide is intended to be validated through the Delphi method, using experts from the local environment who have experience in Project Management. The expected results are those of an improvement in the maturity level of the MYPEs taking into account the improvement in project management. / Tesis

Passengers rank safety as a key factor in airline choice. Thus, safety performance impacts an airline's ability to attract customers. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship and difference between airline category low-cost carriers (LCCs) and full-service carriers (FSCs), geographical region, and safety performance measured by accident rates. The target population comprised all airlines in all countries that had an accident during the 14-year period 2004 to 2017. Data consisted of archival data of all global airline accidents and airline departure frequencies for the 14-year period. The theory of organizational accidents in complex sociotechnical systems explains the relationship between LCC and FSC safety performance, as well as between global geographical regions. The Swiss cheese model of organizational accidents theoretical framework remains a relevant model to examine airline accidents and improve airline safety. Data analysis consisted of the t test, ANOVA, correlation, and regression analysis. LCCs were found to be as safe as FSCs on a global level, and safer than FSCs in some regions. There were regional differences in safety, with North America being safer than Africa. The implications for positive social change include the potential for airline leaders to improve the safety image of their airline and provide passengers a better understanding of airline safety. Providing passengers with information on airline safety performance allows passengers to make informed choices on using different categories of airlines in different geographical regions. The research may result in new travel opportunities for travelers that were previously unrealized due to safety concerns, particularly around the increased use of LCCs.

In this thesis, the design fabrication and characterization of a 2 x 8 microstrip planar antenna array operating at the 60 GHz band for Wireless Gigabit Alliance (WiGig) applications are presented. The trade-offs among low production costs, performance, and ease of fabrication were considered. Full-wave electromagnetic (EM) analysis is implemented for the antenna design by using |ANSYS®High Frequency Structural Simulator (HFSS), a finite-element EM solver. The antenna structure consists of two layers, where each array element is a Conductor-Backed Coplanar Waveguide (CB-CPW) loop-fed patch antenna. The bottom layer houses the transmission line and feeding circuitry, while the patch antennas are built on the top layer. The transmission line is designed on microfabrication-compatible quartz substrate, and the patches on a Rogers RO3003 Printed Circuit board (PCB) substrate. The CPW network's right-angle bends are optimized with chamfered lines. Air bridges are used to suppress the parasitic coupled slot line mode of the CPW line divisions. Results of the EM analysis show that the array covers the United States (US) 60 GHz unlicensed band (57-64 GHz), and has a maximum realized gain of 18 dB at 61 GHz on the broadside direction. The antenna design is later fabricated combining microfabrication and standard PCB procedures.