A exploração de bacias petrolíferas do pré-sal, principalmente campos gigantes como o campo de Libra, na bacia de Santos, traz consigo demandas por sistemas capazes de operar com poços de alta capacidade de produção e em grandes profundidades. Nesse cenário, linhas de produção ou injeção (risers) rígidas em catenária livre apresentam a forma mais simples de solução para essas demandas. A utilização de risers rígidos em catenária livre, como já sabido, permite uma maior produtividade por linha devido a possibilidade de utilização de dutos de maiores diâmetros, ao mesmo tempo em que resistem a maiores pressões, possibilitando a exploração de forma mais eficiente de poços em grandes profundidades. No entanto, este tipo de solução, devido a sua natureza de maior rigidez quando comparado com dutos flexíveis, é submetida a esforços dinâmicos elevados impostos no topo do riser pela grande movimentação da embarcação, principalmente em operações em águas profundas, inviabilizando sua aplicação em unidades do tipo FPSOs convencionais, construídos a partir da conversão de um navio petroleiro. Este problema dinâmico é agravado pelas condições ambientais da região, que são mais severas do que as observadas na Bacia de Campos, tornando difícil a aplicação das tecnologias existentes. A alta produtividade dos poços do pré-sal da Bacia de Santos também estimula a utilização de plantas de processo de alta capacidade de processamento de óleo, maiores do que as utilizadas até hoje no offshore brasileiro. Estimativas iniciais mostram que estas plantas gigantes demandam uma área de convés muito maior do que as plataformas convencionais, e, mais do que isso, de uma maior largura (boca) da embarcação. Para atender requisitos tão conflitantes, foi desenvolvido o conceito ULFPSO (Unidade Flutuante de Produção, Armazenamento e Alívio Ultra-Larga), que se caracteriza por sua proa e popa circulares e pela presença do moonpool, de forma a viabilizar a conexão dos risers mais próximos ao centro de gravidade da plataforma, reduzindo assim o esforço dinâmico. Adicionalmente a forma do casco é otimizada para redução do nível de movimentos verticais, reduzindo os esforços dinâmicos nos risers. Nesta dissertação de mestrado serão apresentados os estudos relativos à comprovação de viabilidade do conceito, dividido em três etapas: A primeira com foco no entendimento do problema e dimensionamento preliminar da unidade; A segunda focada na avaliação experimental do conceito; E finalmente, a terceira, com objetivo de avaliar o modelo de síntese para otimização do projeto do casco, com base nos resultados obtidos nas fases anteriores. / The offshore exploitation of oil fields in the pre-salt, especially giant fields such as Libra, in the Santos basin, brings with it demands for systems capable of operating with high capacity production wells and at ultra-deep waters. In this scenario production or injection steel catenary risers present the simplest solution for these demands. As known in industry, the use of steel catenary risers in free-hanging configuration allows greater productivity per line due to the possibility of using pipes of larger diameters, at the same time withstand higher pressures, allowing for more efficient wells operation at great depths. However, due to its nature more rigid compared to flexible pipe, this kind of solution is subjected to high dynamic forces imposed on the top of the riser by the large movement of the vessel, especially in deepwater operations, impeding their application in FPSO conventional units, constructed from the conversion of an oil tanker. This dynamic problem is compounded by environmental conditions of the region, which are harsher than those observed in the Campos Basin, making it difficult to apply other extant technologies. The high productivity of the pre-salt of Santos Basin wells stimulate the use of plants to high-capacity oil processing process, larger than those used today in the Brazilian offshore. Initial estimates show that these plants require a much larger deck area than conventional platforms and, more than that, a greatest width (breadth) of the vessel. To satisfy such conflicting requirements, the ULFPSO (Ultra Large Floating Production, Storage and Offloading) concept was developed, which is characterized by its circular bow and stern and the presence of the moonpool, to enable the connection of the risers closest to the platform\'s center of gravity, thereby reducing the dynamic tension. Additionally, the hull shape is optimized to reduce vertical movements, reducing dynamic stresses on the riser. In this master\'s thesis will be presented studies on the proof of concept viability, divided into three stages: The first focused on understanding the problem and preliminary sizing of the unit; The second focused on the experimental evaluation of the concept; And finally, the third, to evaluate the synthesis model for optimizing hull design, based on the results obtained in the previous phases.

No description available.

Large investments in sparsely populated areas have the reputation to increase the attractiveness of these areas. This is said to lead to more investments, followed by growths in population, unemployment rates and tax revenues. Usually, city officials in Sweden trust in this formula and have the tendency to provide financial and other incentives for companies to start large investment projects in their towns (Hrelja, Isaksson, and Richardson, 2012). This thesis investigates the actual impact of such projects by the example of the large retail chain IKEA in Sweden. The development of three medium-sized cities in sparsely populated areas in Sweden which recently opened IKEA stores are compared to close-by cities and benchmark cities of a comparable size with respect to their unemployment rates, income, population, retail sales and trade indexes. The results will be used to predict the impact of the new IKEA store planned in Umeå.

Victims of child maltreatment are often subjected to both repeat interviews and physical exams over the course of an investigation. There are specialized centers across the country that serve this highly at-risk population with the goal of minimizing further traumatization of victims by repeat interviews and exams. These centers must maintain a high standard of practice and undergo outside scrutiny and evaluation, in order to best serve their clients and recognize possible shortcomings. An evaluative, pilot study was conducted at a Southern California Children’s Assessment Center (SCCAC). The purpose of this pilot study was to gain more knowledge about caregivers’ overall experiences at the center and the population’s willingness to participate in future studies. Twelve participants were identified through convenience sampling and completed a qualitative interview. Demographic information was input into SPSS and analyzed through descriptive statistics. In addition, interview response content was analyzed by the use of triangulation. Overall findings support existing literature which states that clients are generally satisfied with their experiences at the SCCAC. The significance of this study for social work will enhance the understanding of the need for additional policies to ensure proper training. This study will also benefit the field of child welfare by providing a small amount of insight into how different components of service factors may affect diverse individual’s experiences during a difficult time. This study will allow child welfare professionals to further customize their engagement approach and provide services that are considerate and effective for each individual.

Requirement verification and validation is a critical component of building and delivering space vehicles with testing as the preferred method. This Master’s Project presents the space vehicle test process from planning through test design and execution. It starts with an overview of the requirements, validation, and verification. The four different verification methods are explained including examples as to what can go wrong if the verification is done incorrectly. Since the focus of this project is on test, test verification is emphasized. The philosophy behind testing, including the “why” and the methods, is presented. The different levels of testing, the test objectives, and the typical tests are discussed in detail. Descriptions of the different types of tests are provided including configurations and test challenges. While most individuals focus on hardware only, software is an integral part of any space product. As such, software testing, including mistakes and examples, is also presented. Since testing is often not performed flawlessly the first time, sections on anomalies, including determining root cause, corrective action, and retest is included. A brief discussion of defect detection in test is presented. The project is actually presented in total in the Appendix as a Power Point document.

This report discusses one application of a flight software design for a spacecraft in which the software executes from a database that can be managed by systems engineering. This report gives an overview of how such a software design can be developed and implemented. It also discusses why this approach is beneficial to the systems engineering program.

There are many craniofacial anomalies that exist in the oral mucosa, gingiva, lips, tongue, maxilla, mandible, floor of the mouth, palate, and teeth. These anomalies cause secondary issues such as airway obstruction, respiratory problems, feeding problems, ear disease, distal systemic issues, and speech and communication problems. Children that experience craniofacial anomalies and subsequent problems are often at a disadvantage with medical and dental related consequences, and especially speech, communication, and often present with psychosocial concerns. This paper explores such anomalies, consequential problems, and emphasizes the importance of having a multidisciplinary team when treating patients with craniofacial anomalies. Multidisciplinary teams consist of otolaryngologists, plastic surgeons, general dentists, prosthodontists, orthodontists, oral surgeons, pediatricians, neurologists, geneticists, social workers, psychologists, audiologists, and speech therapists. Based on past studies and data, multidisciplinary treatment has shown not only to provide the best options to correct an anomaly, but also to optimize the overall health and well-being of an individual as well. Multidisciplinary treatment of craniofacial anomalies outlines a coherent, inclusive, and revolutionized way on how to holistically treat a patient. This approach is present in the healthcare realm, but often underrated and not adopted by all healthcare professionals; this paper will demonstrate how such an approach will advance healthcare. Surgery removes, corrects, or improves a condition that exists in the oral cavity or oropharynx. Nevertheless, surgery often causes subsequent conditions and may even not be successful. Among the many disciplines exercised in treating patients with craniofacial anomalies and conditions, this paper highlights the importance of speech and language pathologists, psychologists, dentists, orthodontists, and geneticists to be included in the treatment plan. Studies demonstrated that each discipline’s responsibility, when implemented in a coordinated and timely fashion, can improve the outcomes, possibly prevent ensuing conditions, and therefore, optimize an individual’s health and quality of life.

This thesis will examine the works of artists-turned-architects, Arakawa and Gins in light of current research in the arts and sciences on affect and self-organisation. The aim of their project is to arrive at a 'daily research' in which a person may: 1. observe and learn about the operations of his or her own perception and action; 2. interact (dismantle and re-assemble) the identity boundaries reinforced by the habitual implementation of concept and category. This thesis takes account of multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to embodiment and engages Arakawa and Gins from a practising artist's point of view. Given this practical orientation of the study, the aim is to makes a series of critical reflections on the work of Arakawa and Gins and demonstrate how such an approach brings theory and practice together. Exploration of the central aspects of their processes will prepare a person (researcher or practitioner) to begin a practice that is designed to combine studies of embodiment with the co-evolving relationship of organisms and their surroundings, to form the basis of a practice of embodied cognition. The thesis sets out this investigation into three chapters. In Chapter 1, I propose that the context for Arakawa and Gins' work be understood as the result of multidisciplinary interarticulations and multi-modal approaches to embodied activity. The position they occupy in relation to disciplinary endeavours such as art, architecture, psychology, bio-topology and theoretical physics is a process of constant problematisation, convergence and repositioning. A survey of key writings on Arakawa and Gins demonstrates the complexity of their work and the difficulties authors encounter situating them within a context that adequately addresses the scope of their project. In Chapter 2, I map a series of activities that accrue to form embodied configurations made perceptible by Arakawa and Gins' procedural architecture. These tactics apply to the observational-heuristic stance they take towards the perceptions and actions that constitute a person's identity boundaries as well as the transformational approach they take towards perceptions and actions that construct the material surrounds. I propose that the movements initiated by their architectural procedures become the practice of embodied cognition. That is, the ability to increase awareness and construct the shape of awareness is, at the same time, the ability to observe and learn about the anatomical, physiological basis of cognition. Through Æffective readings and embodied engagements I explore how Arakawa and Gins propose that the distribution of awareness may reconfigure the relationships among the organism-person-surround. The practice that repositions a person in relation to him- or herself, to others, to constructions of knowledge and modes of acquiring knowledge, questions the autonomy of any construct, especially constructs that are historically entrenched such as the organism, art, science or agency in general. In Chapter 3, I argue that by investigating the connection between and across the organism, person and surround, a person must reconsider activities, such as judgment and Reason, as ongoing embodied processes. The implication of such a shift impacts upon everyday practices as well as vocational and professional practices aligned with research and development. Throughout this thesis I argue that tactics of Arakawa and Gins' procedural architecture and the ethics of their reversible destiny project are the most productive way to approach the practical and theoretical inquiry into the contributions that humans can make towards co-constructing the world. The complex and intricate processes that emerge from their work will enhance the quality of life by allowing persons to apply the benefits of research in art and science to everyday actions. By devising procedures for re-entering perception and action, the transition from self-awareness to a practice of embodied cognition acquires a renewed urgency for daily life. Further, I have suggested that Arakawa and Gins' works demonstrates how deliberate recursive action may become a practice of embodied cognition. This occurs in three ways. Firstly, any form of deliberate assessment and coordination of top-down conceptual-analytical processing and bottom-up perceptual processing will open the activities of reasoning, selecting, deciding, and judging to new embodied modes of knowledge acquisition and therefore to unprecedented configurations of value. Secondly, the reconfiguration of what counts as knowledge, from an ontological perspective, impacts upon research processes and the way in which research cultures are situated in relation to communities. Lastly, the practice of embodied cognition sets a new agenda for convergent 'daily research' especially the interaction between art and the 'outside of art' and between third-person science and the science of our own fiction. These practical actions will counteract our commitment to closure on many fronts, both personal and historical, from the education of the senses to the construction of social justice.

No description available.

Nurses and physicians in General Internal Medicine (GIM) work in a complex environment where patients present with complex (co)morbidities; management of such patients requires input from a full range of medical disciplines. In addition, there is regular resident physician changeover every 8-9 weeks in this teaching environment, and patient “flow” problems caused by overcrowding and placement issues. This complexity causes difficulties in the information exchange between nurses and physicians necessary to manage patient care. Multidisciplinary team meetings have been suggested as helpful to interprofessional communication, and in General Internal Medicine these take place in the form of daily “Bullet Rounds”. More recently the use of process engineering approaches has been suggested as a way to increase efficiency in healthcare; this dissertation evaluates its impact on communication between nurses and physicians. The initial observational field study showed that information exchange was the main focus of dialogue in Bullet Rounds, and identified information gaps between nurses and physicians. Script Theory (Schank and Abelson 1977) was used to propose that information gaps in Bullet Rounds are caused by different knowledge and goals, which result in inconsistent scripts. A process engineering intervention took place in General Internal Medicine. Process engineering methods have been proposed as being helpful in process design and improvement in healthcare but have not been systematically evaluated. The researcher conducted a pre and post intervention study of Bullet Rounds in order to identify and analyse the impacts of a process engineering intervention on information exchange between nurses and physicians. The results showed that information loss decreased after the intervention but that resident physicians were not satisfied with the nurses-physician information exchange. The staff and resident physicians appeared to have distinct and different information needs and perspectives, while the nurses felt that the Bullet Rounds process had improved, but that it needed revisiting, and were not aligned with staff physicians on respective roles and responsibilities. The overall results suggest that even after the process engineering intervention, there was still misalignment of goals and scripts between the two groups of physicians and between the physicians and nurses, and strategies for addressing these gaps are proposed.