O foco desta pesquisa é o estudo da cadeia produtiva do bambu como material construtivo, investigando atores, atividades e processos. A arquitetura do futuro necessita de novos modelos e materiais construtivos para possibilitar o desenvolvimento sustentável do planeta. A atual demanda habitacional, no Brasil e no mundo, exige do setor da construção civil maior consumo de matériasprimas e, por conseguinte, implicando na elevação da emissão de CO2 e do consumo de energia. Novos materiais que demandam uma quantidade menor de energia em sua produção e uma menor geração de resíduos estão começando a ocupar posição de destaque na cadeia produtiva da construção civil. Neste contexto, o bambu no formato roliço, entre os materiais construtivos do futuro, por suas qualidades físico-mecânicas, além das ambientais, econômicas e sociais, poderia contribuir de maneira positiva. Arquitetos e construtores, no Brasil e em outras partes do mundo, tem de forma significativa ampliado os usos do bambu, aplicando-o em residências, pavilhões, e até em grandes estruturas. Porém, ainda existe um desconhecimento bastante generalizado sobre seu uso na construção civil. Esta lacuna é ainda maior quando se procura entender a sua cadeia produtiva. A compreensão dos atores, processos e da utilização dos materiais não convencionais, como o bambu, para a concepção projetual, é fundamental para o desenvolvimento do estudante e do profissional, seja ele engenheiro ou arquiteto. O trabalho de campo, juntamente ao referencial teórico estudado, permitiu a compreensão de que a cadeia produtiva do bambu como material construtivo além de não seguir o padrão estabelecido na literatura, principalmente com relação aos atores e processos envolvidos diretamente na transformação da matéria-prima, se apresenta de forma desorganizada e frágil, com a concentração de processos em poucos atores, resultando pouca eficiência e dificultando o seu desenvolvimento. / The focus of this research is the study of the bamboo productive chain as constructive material, investigating agents, activities and its processes. The architecture of the future needs new models and constructive materials to enable the sustainable development of the planet. The actual housing demand in Brazil and in the world, require from the civil construction sector a larger consumption of raw material and therefore producing a larger emission of CO2 and energy consumption. New materials that demand a smaller amount of energy and its production and a smaller residual generator are beginning to occupy a prominent position in the productive chain of the civil construction. In this context, the bamboo in natura shape is included in the construction materials of the future, because its physical-mechanical component, also environmental, economic and social component that could contribute in a positive manner. Architects and constructors, in Brazil and in other parts of the world, have considerably increased the use of bamboo; using it in residences, warehouses and even in large structures, although there is a widespread ignorance about its use in the civil construction. This gap is even larger when one seeks to understand its productive chain. The comprehension of its agents, processes and the use of non-conventional materials, such as bamboo, for a project conception is fundamental for the student and the professional development, whether an engineer or architect. The fieldwork, along with the theoretical referential studied, allowed the comprehension of the bamboo productive chain as a constructive material, besides to not follow the established standard in the literature, mainly with the relationship between agents and its processes involved directly in the transformation of the raw material, it presents in a unorganized and frail form, with a concentration of processes within few agents, resulting in little efficiency and hindering its development.

Esta pesquisa busca investigar a presença da água como material e poética na arte contemporânea. São consideradas as representações históricas e as conotações da água na arte e na cultura, porém o que se destaca são as inovações trazidas pelo emprego da água enquanto matéria, e as conseqüências fenomenológicas que esta utilização traz. O trabalho abrange tanto o estudo de obras de diversos artistas contemporâneos, brasileiros e internacionais, bem como a análise e comentários oriundos da criação de obras por mim mesmo, enquanto artista. Desta forma, busca-se uma interação entre o pensar e o fazer artístico, afirmando a autonomia da criação em arte. Foram identificados núcleos de análise que englobam os artistas e as obras, mas que constituem categorias fluidas e interdependentes. Foi realizado um estudo original sobre as relações entre os fenômenos físicoquímicos da água e suas conotações simbólicas nas obras de arte contemporânea. Os conflitos entre a natureza e a cultura permearam todo o trabalho, revelando-se uma questão de grande importância em minha própria poética como artista. Pude identificar interesses pessoais e afinidades por alguns artistas, bem como localizar pontos fundamentais discutidos em meu trabalho artístico. / This research investigates the presence of water as material and poetics in the contemporary art. The historic representation and the connotation of water in the art and in the culture are considered, but the emphasis is on the innovations produced by the use of water as matter and the phenomenological consequences of this utilization. This thesis includes both the study of works from several contemporary artists, Brazilian and international, and the analysis and comments originated on the creation of works by myself, as artist. In forward it is aimed an interaction between the artistic thinking and making, affirming the autonomy of creation in art. Nucleus of analysis including artists and works were identified , but they constitute flowed and interrelated categories. An original study about the relations between the physical-chemical phenomena of water and its symbolical connotations on the contemporary artworks was developed. The conflict between nature and culture permeates the whole work, revealing itself as an important subject of my own artistic poetics. I could identify personal interests and affinities for some artists, and locate fundamental points discussed by my artistic work.

O nióbio possui potencial para ser um metal de grande aplicabilidade, tanto na engenharia como na área médica; porém a literatura médica a respeito deste material é escassa. Para que o nióbio de pureza 97,47% possa ser utilizado como material de implante e permita a osteointegração se faz necessário avaliá-lo quanto a sua biocompatibilidade e potencial de mineralização. Para tanto é importante compreender os eventos celulares e moleculares que ocorrem na interface nióbio-célula. Neste estudo foram utilizadas as técnicas laboratoriais de Alamar Blue, coloração de Alizarin Red, assim como a expressão de genes, importantes na ocorrência de mineralização e manutenção das células osteoblásticas, utilizando a técnica de qPCR. As células em contato direto com o nióbio obtiveram atividade celular indiferente em relação ao material controle. O nióbio possibilita a aposição de depósitos de cálcio e a adesão celular em sua superfície, comprovando a osteoindução, osteocondução e osteogênese. A análise do qPCR comprovou estatisticamente pelo método Livak que o nióbio é um material com potencial de osteointegração. O entendimento dos resultados obtidos nos testes de biocompatibilidade, mineralização e expressão gênica comprovaram que o metal nióbio é biocompatível e possui propriedades osteointegrativas, pode ser indicado como um material para implante e que permite a osteointegração. / Niobium has the potential to be a metal with wide applicability in engineering and in the medical field; but the medical literature regarding the behavior of this material is scarce. It is required to evaluate the biocompatibility and mineralization of the niobium (94,47% purity) if it would be used as an implant material and osteointegrate material. Therefore, it is important to understand the cellular and molecular events that occur in the material-cell interface. In this study we used laboratory techniques of Alamar Blue, Alizarin Red staining, as well as gene expression of important genes in the mineralization and maintenance of osteoblastic cells by qPCR technique. The cells in direct contact with the niobium obtained indifferent cellular activity compared to the control material. Niobium allowed affixing calcium deposits and cell adhesion on its surface, proving its osteoinductive, osteoconductive and osteogenesis properties. The qPCR analysis proved statistically by Livak method that niobium is a material with osseointegration potential. An understanding of the biocompatibility, mineralization and gene expression led us to conclusion that the niobium metal is biocompatible and with osteointegrative properties which can be indicated as an implant material that allows osteointegration.

Thesis (M. Sc. (Physics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2016 / Titania is a cheap and nontoxic polymorphic material of current interest for a variety of technological applications like in gas sensing and photovoltaic cells. Generally, TiO2, with a band gap of 3.2 eV, can only be excited by a small UV fraction of solar light, which accounts for only 3-5% of the solar energy. Various strategies have been pursued including doping with metallic elements (e.g. Fe) or nonmetallic elements (e.g. N) with the aim of shifting the absorption into the visible range. Since the properties and performance of devices, particularly for high-temperature applications, may be affected by the transformation from one phase to another, it is of significant interest to understand the conditions that affect phase transitions. In the present work TiO2 was doped with platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), silver (Ag) and gold (Au) at doping levels of 5% weight, following the standard sol-gel methods. Structural characterization was carried out using scanning electron microscopy, Raman Spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Optical properties were studied using the Diffused reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS). Doping with Pt and Pd resulted in a lower anatase to rutile phase transformation temperature while doping with Au and Ag did not affect the transformation temperature. SEM micrographs show that the surface contains irregular shaped particles which are the aggregation of tiny crystals at lower temperature range, whereas at higher temperatures (900 °C), spheroids are observe.The reflectance spectra of the metal loaded TiO2 reveal substantial strong spectral cut-off starting from roughly 400 nm to the entire visible region (i.e. they show enhanced absorption).

Geóloga / La isla Robinson Crusoe es una isla oceánica de origen volcánico perteneciente al Archipiélago de Juan Fernández que se ubica en el océano Pacífico en latitud del puerto de Valparaíso. Entre los años 2011 y 2012, pescadores de la zona han encontrado material pumíceo flotante en sus costas, del cual se desconoce su origen. La presente investigación plantea que este material es exótico debido a que presenta una composición química diferente al resto de las rocas de la isla y que se transporta a través de las corrientes marinas hasta llegar al territorio insular. Es por esto que se establece como objetivo establecer el origen de este material piroclástico pumíceo y luego inferir un mecanismo de transporte y trayectoria hasta la isla Robinson Crusoe. Para la realización de esto objetivos, en primer lugar y con el fin de caracterizar la muestra, se realizó un análisis químico mediante la utilización de ICP-OES y ICP-MS y de Microscopio Electrónico de Barrido (SEM). Según estos análisis se identifica que la muestra corresponde a una fonolita. En segundo lugar, se determinó la fuente del material en términos de sus características geoquímicas mediante la construcción de una base de datos de información publicada respecto de piedras pómez de composición fonolítica analizadas en otras regiones del mundo. Se identificaron dos erupciones que pudieron haber originado este material que corresponden a la del volcán McDonald en el año 2005 y al monte Erebus que presenta actividad continuamente todos los años hasta la actualidad. En tercer lugar, a través del estudio de las dinámicas de corrientes en el Pacífico Sur, se describió la trayectoria que sigue el material piroclástico pumíceo en dirección a la isla Robinson Crusoe. Al caer el material en el océano, este habría sido transportado hacia el este por la corriente Circumpolar Antártica, que luego se integra a la corriente de Humboldt transportándose hacia el norte y llegando finalmente a la isla Robinson Crusoe. Este material puede haber recorrido una distancia de 7.000 a 15.000 km con una velocidad de deriva de 13 a17 km/día aproximadamente, por lo tanto llega a la isla entre 1,3 a 2,4 años. Existe la posibilidad de que el material se haya desviado en varias ocasiones antes de llegar a la costa de Robinson Crusoe y que al fragmentarse pueda ser depositado en las playas cercanas y luego regresar al mar en una siguiente gran marea. La dispersión de objetos flotantes en el mar es un fenómeno que cada vez más preocupa a la comunidad científica, ya que además del material pumíceo, desechos y productos de plástico se transportan a través de estas corrientes, generando grandes depósitos de basura en medio de los océanos. El estudio de la dispersión del material pumíceo flotante es útil para entender la dinámica de su desplazamiento una vez ocurrida la erupción, y a la vez importante para un futuro análisis del impacto y peligros que podría acarrear, en especial la presencia de grandes concentraciones conocidas como balsas de pómez . También puede ser útil para la predicción de la propagación de organismos marinos, icebergs o desechos antropogénicos (basura y plástico), entre otros.

I mitt examensarbete vill jag undersöka och utveckla en mer hållbar lösning till dagens förpackningar i plast som numera används och produceras. 1 280 000 ton plastråvara sattes på den svenska marknaden under 2019 och av denna mängd uppgick total plastmängd av plastprodukter till 660 000 ton (Naturvårdsverket, 2022). En betydande andel av denna plast används i förpackingsindustrin (Upphandlingsmyndigheten) där dessegenskaper oftast betraktas som nödvändiga. Emellertid, genom att använda andra material som är mer hållbara, kan det vara möjligt att hitta andra alternativ. För att minska användningen av plastförpackningar har jag designat en kollektion av förpackningar i ett biologiskt nedbrytbartmaterial för oljebaserad hudvård och kosmetika, så som hudolja,fettade krämer och ögonskugga. Genom att tillämpa användningen av ett biologiskt nedbrytbart material kan förbrukningen minska av plastprodukter som tillverkats från fossila bränslen. Detta är särskilt relevant eftersom de flesta förpackningar i dagens samhälle går till förbränning snarare än återvinning (SCB, 2022). För att uppnå detta mål utforskades olika komponenter i form av ett material som kan användas som ett alternativ till traditionella förpackningar i plastmaterial. Mitt designförslag resulterade i förpackningar tillverkade av en grund från alger och äggskal till ett biobaserat och biologiskt nedbrytbart material. Jag hade som utgångspunkt att återskapa äggets material i form av styrka och tålighet som till största del består av kalciumkarbonat. Äggskal är även en restprodukt i Sverige som vi har en tillgång av då svensken i genomsnitt äter ett halvt ägg om dagen, cirka 207 ägg per år. Under påskveckan ökar vår konsumtion av ägg med det dubbla, då konsumerar vi totalt 2000 ton ägg (Från Sverige, 2021). Denna mängd av äggskal resulterar i en resurskälla som jag ser att äggskalen kommer till användning av i form av ett nytt material. För att stärka materialet lades det till ytterligare en komponent som är brunalg. Brunalg är likaså här ett material från naturen som är biologiskt nedbrytbart och har en mer positiv inverkan på miljön. För mig är det viktigt att arbeta med material som produceras i Sverige för att knyta an hela cirkeln av hållbarhet. Alger är även ett klimatsmart och hållbart vattenbruk som förbättrar havsmiljön i och med att alger odlas i havet behöver man varken vattna eller gödsla skörden, utan den sköter sig själv tills det är dags att skörda (GU, 2021).

DISAB Vacuum Technology AB (DISAB) tillverkar vakuumsystem för att skapa en spill- och dammfri industriell arbetsmiljö. I Eslöv, där det huvudsakligen tillverkas mobila systemen i form av vakuumlastare, står DISAB inför utmaningar vad kommer till produktionen av vakuumlastare. Produkterna innefattar mycket kundanpassning och kunderna kan välja mellan många optioner. Detta i kombination med att produktionen utsätts för olika typer av störningar som att material saknas, bristande kvalitet på ingående material och felmonteringar gör att ledtiderna varierar mellan olika projekt. Företaget vill undersöka hur delar av Lean kan användas i syfte att minska ledtidsvariationerna och därmed öka förutsägbarheten i produktionen. Idag arbetar företaget inte processorienterat och av denna anledning inleddes arbetet med att kartlägga produktionens delprocesser för att skapa en helhetsbild. Vidare valdes delprocessen Förmontage drivdel ut på begäran av företaget och då montaget inte är lika optionsstyrt som andra delprocesser. Tre olika drivdelsmodeller följdes i produktionen. Data samlades in gällande störningar, vilken tid respektive processteg tog att utföra och vilken tid det borde ha tagit om störningarna inte uppkommit. Störningarna som samlades in klassificerades som materialjustering, materialbrist, processfel eller övrigt. Störningar kopplade till material var mest förekommande där materialjustering var den största kategorin följt av materialbrist. Materialjustering innefattade störningar som krävde någon typ av korrigering av materialet. Dessa justeringar krävs då leverantören inte levererar enligt specifikation samt att DISAB ibland beställer material på felaktiga underlag. Materialbrist innefattade störningar då materialet inte fanns tillgängligt. Ofta orsakades detta av att materialet inte var plockat korrekt på plockvagnarna, vilket berodde på utformningen av plocklistorna men även att materialet inte fanns i lager.   Vidare togs ett antal lösningsförslag fram i syfte att åtgärda identifierade problem och öka förutsägbarheten i produktionen. DISAB rekommenderas att fortsätta arbetet med processorienteringen för att bestämma vilka processteg som ska utföras i vilken delprocess och i vilken ordning dessa ska genomföras. Detta utgör en grundförutsättning för vidare åtgärder som handlar om att göra plocklistorna produktionsorienterade samt säkerställa att rätt material tillförs till rätt delprocess. Slutligen rekommenderas införandet av en ankomstkontroll för kritiska komponenter, som kan orsaka kostsamma problem om dessa är felaktiga. Rutinerna för ritningsändringar bör även ses över och förenklas, i syfte att minska problem med att material beställs på felaktiga underlag. / DISAB Vacuum Technology AB (DISAB) manufactures vacuum systems to create a waste and dust free industrial working environment. In Eslöv, where the mobile systems are produced, DISAB stands before some challenges regarding the production of the vacuum loaders. The products involve a lot of adaptation to customer requirements and the customers can choose between a wide variety of options. This, combined with the disturbances that the production is exposed to like missing material, bad quality of components and incorrect assembly leads to varying lead times for the different projects. The company wants to examine how parts of Lean can be used to decrease the variety in lead times and increase the predictability of the production.  In the current situation the company doesn’t work process-oriented and for this reason the study began with mapping the production’s sub-processes to produce an overall picture. Furthermore, the sub-process Pre-assembly drive part was selected on request by the company and because the assembly is not effected as much by the options as other processes. Three different drive part models were studied in the production. Data were collected regarding disturbances, the time a process step took to perform and what time it would have taken if the disturbances had not occurred. Disturbances were classified as material adjustment, lack of material, process error or other. Disturbances linked to materials were most common where material adjustment was the largest category followed by lack of material. Material adjustment included the disturbances that required some type of correction of the material. These adjustments are required when the supplier doesn’t deliver according to specification or when DISAB sometimes orders materials on an incorrect basis. The lack of material includes disturbances when the material was not available. This was often due to the material not being picked correctly on the picking trolleys because of the picking lists design, but also material not being in stock.   Further on, several proposals were created to address the problems that have been identified to increase the predictability of the production. DISAB is recommended to continue the work with the process-orientation to settle which process steps belong to which sub-process and the order in which these steps should be carried out. This gives the foundation to some further actions regarding the picking lists, making them production-orientated and securing that they contain the correct items. Lastly, the process of receiving control is recommended for critical components that can cause costly problems if they are faulty. Also, the routine for updating blueprints should be checked and simplified to reduce the problems of ordering material on an incorrect basis.

The aim of this thesis is to explore the incentives of Chinese enterprises. First, we review research on incentives of enterprises both from Western countries and China. We classify incentives into two specific types - material incentives and non-material incentives. Each category is divided into several sub-categories. Second, we use a qualitative approach, specifically the case analysis method, to describe the incentives used by a sample of eight Chinese enterprises. These eight cases include TISCO, CNNC, Haier, Huawei, Xiaomi, CRCC, Fosun Pharma and BLUESTAR. Third, we analyze and account for the unique aspects on incentives of Chinese enterprises and suggest some topics for future research on the topic.

In the midst of debate over the treatment of culture in foreign language education and the increased exposure to culture in the global economy, the knowledge of other cultures is more significant than ever. In order to improve teaching culture, materials have been examined and revised. The purpose of this exploratory study is to describe how culture is addressed in the fourteen high school EFL reading textbooks in Japan, that were approved by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) at the time of this study. In previous studies on EFL textbooks in Japan by Kitao (1979, 1988) and Iwata, Ogawa, Wen, Sakamoto, Takarada, Horio, Muto, and Mogi (2001) among others, the findings included the cultural elements categorized by various criteria, defining topics and types of reading texts and illustrations, classifying the student activities regarding culture, the descriptions of societies represented, the unnatural use of the English language that are edited for grammatical correctness, and the lack of elements that are usually present in the natural course of conversations or in the authentic passages. This study of the reading passages and pre- and post-reading activities was guided by several theories and studies: First, the authentic use of a language reflects the writer's culture (Brown, 1987; Byrnes, 1990; Gilmore, 2004; Honeyfield, 1977; Kramsch, 1993; Lamie, 1998; McKay, 1982; Shrum & Glisan, 2005; Swaffar, 1985), and the culture is reflected in the vocabulary (Sapir, 1949). Second, the readers' own cultural knowledge (C1) should be activated in understanding the culture of others (C2), comparing and contrasting C1 and C2 so that the differences and similarities will be more evident (Byrnes, 1990; Kolb, 1984; Kramsch, 1993; National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project [NSFLEP], 2005). The results show 1) that the reading passages were edited mostly by deleting and altering portions of the originals, and thus the culture was not present as in the original passages, and 2) pre-reading and post-reading activities/questions were literal and not designed to foster cultural understanding. / Ed. D.

Exploring a space with our body is a strong experience; it is not like looking at a pic- ture of a space or listening to a detailed description of it. Being somewhere physically is a fundamental element involved in our unique and personal perception of a room. However, I often feel constrained by social and cultural rules in my bodily explora- tion of spaces. My aim throughout the project is to engage people into sharing their feelings and experiences about space, in order to better understand the relationship between the human body and the architecture in western societies. Through an experimental process I am articulating and reflecting upon a design meth- od to dialogue and engage with a large range of people. By using some tools from the field of interior architecture, I am building physical artefacts used as a means to challenge the bodily engagement of the users. The analysis of the interaction between the user and the artefacts, constituted the basis for me to elaborate on the two design proposals. The process also gives me the opportunity to reflect on my influence and responsibility as an interior architect into promoting, challenging and inviting people to more bodily engagement in space. / <p>The full thesis contains copyrighted material which has been removed in the published version</p>