Esta tese realiza uma aproximação ao tema dos observatórios e ouvidorias da mídia, que, situados em campos complementares, como a comunicação e a política, cada vez têm mais força e visibilidade. A partir do Observatório de Imprensa do Brasil, a Veeduria Ciudadana de Comunicación Social e o Compromiso por una Televisión de calidad na Colômbia, como estratégias selecionadas, se buscou indagar o papel que desenvolvem estes espaços no processo de democratização da informação na América Latina. Para isso, o percurso inicia com sua descrição como experiências de media criticism, ou de revisão crítica das tarefas da mídia, com cada vez mais presença no continente. Estabelecidas suas características relacionadas com o segmento das tarefas desenvolvidas pela mídia, apresentamos cada uma das experiências consideradas como objeto de estudo. Em um segundo momento, nos aproximamos do cenário político para descrever as mudanças que se sucedem em seu interior. Entre elas, se destacam um processo de ampliação da democracia e a presença da cidadania, considerada como ator fundamental. Descrito um breve percurso sobre sua história, se destaca a fluidez e autonomia como recursos que fazem possível sua presença em cenários como a mídia. A conexão entre estes dois conceitos vai se dar através do tema dos direitos, de modo específico, tanto o direito à comunicação como à informação. A partir deste panorama, utilizando o Estudo de Caso como estratégia metodológica, se realiza uma relação e o aprofundamento entre estas três experiências selecionadas. Nele se descrevem seus antecedentes, estratégias midiáticas utilizadas e, de modo particular, a presença da cidadania no seu interior. A tese fecha com uma reflexão sobre a relação entre mídia e democracia a partir dos observatórios e ouvidorias. / In this thesis, the author makes an approach toward Observatories and Media Insight Groups, both situated in complementary fields of media studies and politics and both increasingly strong and visible. The communication strategies selected were: Observatório de Imprensa from Brazil; Veeduría de Comunicación Social from Peru; and the Colombian‟s Compromiso por una Televisión de Calidad. The main purpose was to examine the role that these action fields have in the democratization of information process in Latin America.The dissertation begins by defining them as case of study and giving a description of these experiences as media criticism–or critical review of functions of the Media that has a growing presence in the continent.The second section describes the movements and changes experienced by the political arena, pointing out the expanding democracy and the growing presence of citizenship, which plays a key role. This section provides a brief historic overview of the concept of citizenship, highlighting its fluidity and autonomy. These features make its presence possible in the Media field.The connection between citizenship and Media is made possible by placing them in the field of rights of communication and information. From this standpoint, and using a Case Study as a methodological strategy, the thesis proposes a relationship and a profound study between the three selected experiences, describing its background, the use of media strategies and, in particular, the presence of citizens and citizenship.The dissertation concludes with reflections about the relationship between Media and Democracy from the perspective of Observatories and Media Insight Groups.

A Avaliação Tecnológica em Saúde (ATS) é uma sistemática que avalia os impactos clínicos, sociais e econômicos das tecnologias em saúde e tem como finalidade auxiliar os gestores na tomada de decisão quanto ao desenvolvimento, incorporação e descontinuação destas tecnologias. Agências de ATS têm destacado a importância da existência de métodos que visem padronizar e implantar esta sistemática em diferentes contextos. Assim, o objetivo geral desta tese é propor procedimentos para apoiar a avaliação tecnológica de equipamentos médico-hospitalares, por meio de uma pesquisa construtiva (Constructive Research) aplicada à terapia de hemodiálise. Os procedimentos propostos compõem um modelo adaptado do EuroScan, modelo desenvolvido por agências Europeias e indicado como boa prática pelo Ministério da Saúde do Brasil. Também são procedimentos ajustados às necessidades de pesquisadores de centros regionais de avaliação de equipamentos médico-hospitalares. Inicialmente, foi desenvolvida uma coleta de dados sobre os problemas de desenvolvimento e incorporação das tecnologias da saúde por meio de duas fontes: uma revisão sistemática de literatura sobre oportunidades de melhorias do EuroScan no mundo e discussões com pesquisadores no país. A partir destas investigações foi proposto um modelo preliminar de ATS, aplicado para o domínio Operacional e de Inovação na hemodiálise. Finalmente a aplicação foi validada e examinada por especialistas para a geração de um modelo final. Os principais procedimentos resultantes foram: (i) validação da relevância das avaliações para novos desenvolvimentos e incorporações tecnológicas do ponto de vista de diferentes especialistas, integrando diferentes áreas do conhecimento na ATS; (ii) operação de Observatórios Tecnológicos, auxiliando na definição das tecnologias e domínios a serem avaliadas; (iii) definição de técnicas para análise dos domínios de ATS, como o uso de séries temporais e o Technology Roadmap (TRM) para previsões sobre o futuro das inovações e o uso das dimensões da usabilidade e de incidentes críticos de riscos para os aspectos operacionais; e (iv) integração das diretrizes de ATS no Brasil em um único modelo, amparando pesquisadores não relacionados a saúde na compreensão sobre ATS e no desenvolvimento ágil de novos estudos tanto para equipamentos emergentes como em uso. Já a avaliação dos domínios selecionados para a hemodiálise resultou: (i) na identificação de um crescimento médio anual de 7% dos indicadores da terapia; (ii) no diagnóstico de usabilidade de máquinas eficazes, porém com possibilidades de gerarem maior satisfação aos usuários quanto: ao espaço entre elas, a redução dos desperdícios de água e materiais, aos planos de manutenção para evitar temperaturas elevadas, a capacitação visando mais atenção e treinamento para tarefas de apoio e aos aspectos de display (realimentação de dados e visualização); e (iii) na consolidação entre profissionais sobre um futuro promissor, para os próximos 10 anos no Brasil, da assistência homecare com máquinas de hemodiálise portáteis, mais seguras e sustentáveis. / The Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is a systematic evaluation of clinical, social and economic impacts of health technologies aiming to assist managers in the decision making process related to the development, consolidation and discontinuation of these technologies. HTA agencies have been highlighting the importance of methods to standardize and apply this systematic evaluation in different contexts. Thus, the general objective of this thesis is to propose procedures to support the technology assessment of medical-hospital equipment through a constructive research applied to hemodialysis therapy. The proposed procedures compose a EuroScan adapted model, which was developed by European agencies and is recommended as a good practice by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, and also are procedures adjusted to the needs of researchers in regional centers of medical equipment assessment. Initially, a data collection on the problems of developing and incorporating health technologies was carried out using two sources: a systematic review of the literature on opportunities to improve the EuroScan around the world and discussions with Brazilian researchers. Based on these investigations, it was proposed a preliminary HTA model applied to the hemodialysis’ Operational and Innovation domain. The application of the model was reviewed and evaluated by experts to produce a final version. The main resulting procedures were: (i) to validate the importance of assessments for new technological developments and incorporations considering the point of view of different experts from diverse knowledge areas; (ii) to operate Technological Observatories, assisting to define the technologies and domains to be evaluated; (iii) to set techniques for the analysis of HTA domains such as the use of time series and the Technology Roadmap (TRM) to make predictions about the future of innovations and the use of usability dimensions and critical incidents of risks to the operational aspects; and (iv) to integrate HTA Brazilian guidelines in a single model, supporting researchers not related to health in the understanding of HTA and fast development of new studies for both emerging and in use equipment. The assessment of the domains selected for hemodialysis led to: (i) the identification of an annual growth in therapy indicators (7% in average); (ii) the usability diagnosis of efficient machines, however with the potential to generate greater user satisfaction considering: distance between machines, reduction in the waste of water and materials, maintenance plans to avoid high temperatures, training aiming more attention to supporting tasks as well as focus on display aspects (data feedback and visualization); and (iii) the consolidation among professionals of a future, for the next 10 years in Brazil, based on homecare with portable machines, safer and more sustainable.

Esta tese realiza uma aproximação ao tema dos observatórios e ouvidorias da mídia, que, situados em campos complementares, como a comunicação e a política, cada vez têm mais força e visibilidade. A partir do Observatório de Imprensa do Brasil, a Veeduria Ciudadana de Comunicación Social e o Compromiso por una Televisión de calidad na Colômbia, como estratégias selecionadas, se buscou indagar o papel que desenvolvem estes espaços no processo de democratização da informação na América Latina. Para isso, o percurso inicia com sua descrição como experiências de media criticism, ou de revisão crítica das tarefas da mídia, com cada vez mais presença no continente. Estabelecidas suas características relacionadas com o segmento das tarefas desenvolvidas pela mídia, apresentamos cada uma das experiências consideradas como objeto de estudo. Em um segundo momento, nos aproximamos do cenário político para descrever as mudanças que se sucedem em seu interior. Entre elas, se destacam um processo de ampliação da democracia e a presença da cidadania, considerada como ator fundamental. Descrito um breve percurso sobre sua história, se destaca a fluidez e autonomia como recursos que fazem possível sua presença em cenários como a mídia. A conexão entre estes dois conceitos vai se dar através do tema dos direitos, de modo específico, tanto o direito à comunicação como à informação. A partir deste panorama, utilizando o Estudo de Caso como estratégia metodológica, se realiza uma relação e o aprofundamento entre estas três experiências selecionadas. Nele se descrevem seus antecedentes, estratégias midiáticas utilizadas e, de modo particular, a presença da cidadania no seu interior. A tese fecha com uma reflexão sobre a relação entre mídia e democracia a partir dos observatórios e ouvidorias. / In this thesis, the author makes an approach toward Observatories and Media Insight Groups, both situated in complementary fields of media studies and politics and both increasingly strong and visible. The communication strategies selected were: Observatório de Imprensa from Brazil; Veeduría de Comunicación Social from Peru; and the Colombian‟s Compromiso por una Televisión de Calidad. The main purpose was to examine the role that these action fields have in the democratization of information process in Latin America.The dissertation begins by defining them as case of study and giving a description of these experiences as media criticism–or critical review of functions of the Media that has a growing presence in the continent.The second section describes the movements and changes experienced by the political arena, pointing out the expanding democracy and the growing presence of citizenship, which plays a key role. This section provides a brief historic overview of the concept of citizenship, highlighting its fluidity and autonomy. These features make its presence possible in the Media field.The connection between citizenship and Media is made possible by placing them in the field of rights of communication and information. From this standpoint, and using a Case Study as a methodological strategy, the thesis proposes a relationship and a profound study between the three selected experiences, describing its background, the use of media strategies and, in particular, the presence of citizens and citizenship.The dissertation concludes with reflections about the relationship between Media and Democracy from the perspective of Observatories and Media Insight Groups.

This thesis outlines the design and implementation of a single channel, dual polarization pulsar timing instrument for the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO). The new timer is designed to be an improved, temporary replacement for the existing device which has been in operation for over 20 years. The existing device is no longer reliable and is di±cult to maintain. The new pulsar timer is designed to provide improved functional- ity, higher sampling speed, greater pulse resolution, more °exibility and easier maintenance over the existing device. The new device is also designed to keeping changes to the observation system to a minimum until a full de-dispersion timer can be implemented at theobservatory. The design makes use of an 8-bit Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) micro-processor with external Random Access Memory (RAM). The instrument includes an IEEE-488 subsystem for interfacing the pulsar timer to the observation computer system. The microcontroller software is written in assembler code to ensure optimal loop execution speed and deterministic code execution for the system. The design path is discussed and problems encountered during the design process are highlighted. Final testing of the new instrument indicates an improvement in the sam- pling rate of 13.6 times and a significant reduction in 60Hz interference over the existing instrument.

L'étude du coût des inondations passées est essentielle pour permettre aux parties prenantes, publiques et privées, d'améliorer la gestion et la prévention des risques. Les retours d'expérience sur les dommages économiques sont notamment utiles aux gestionnaires de bassin pour justifier leurs mesures de protection ou aux assureurs pour évaluer l'exposition réelle de leurs portefeuilles. Pourtant seuls les événements les plus meurtriers, coûteux ou médiatiques sont étudiés de manière approfondie. Même si elles sont rares, il existe des informations et des données sur des événements moins dommageables, plus locaux et fréquents ; mais elles sont difficiles à exploiter car produites par des acteurs très variés qui communiquent peu entre eux et agissent sur des périmètres différents.L'objectif de cette thèse est de favoriser le partage d'informations entre assureurs et acteurs locaux pour améliorer les connaissances sur les facteurs explicatifs de sinistralité et proposer des pistes d'amélioration dans la prévention des inondations, en exploitant les concepts de périmètres spatio-temporels des événements naturels, l'évaluation des dommages causés par les inondations et les notions d'observation territoriale. / Cost analysis of past flood events is essential for public and private stakeholders to improve the management and risk prevention. For instance, past events lessons learnt allow floodplain managers to justify their preventive measures or insurers to comfort by experience the assessments made on their portfolio's exposure. Yet only the most deadly, costly or dramatic (in the media at least) floods are being studied. Few in number, information and data are available on less damaging events which are more local and frequent, but they are difficult to use because they are produced by a variety of actors who do not communicate with each other and have different scopes of actions.The aim of this PhD work is to promote the sharing of knowledge between public and private stakeholders to better understand the origin of the claims and propose new ways to improve the flood prevention. The research is therefore based on the concept of natural event spatio-temporal scopes, the flood damage assessment and territorial observation.

The design of the flexure mount recently submitted to NASA Ames for the structural support of the primary mirror of the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) is presented. The flexure system must passively accommodate the differential thermal contraction between the glass mirror and the aluminum structure of the telescope during cryogenic cooldown. Further, it must support the one meter diameter, 116 kilogram (258 pound) primary mirror during a severe launch to orbit. Procedures used to establish the required radial compliance using computer programs NASTRAN and FRINGE are discussed. The parametric design program developed to study early concepts is presented. Methods of combining modal responses resulting from a displacement response spectrum analysis are discussed, and a combination scheme called MRSS, Modified Root of Sum of Squares, is presented. Modal combination schemes using MRSS, SRSS, and ABS are compared to the results of a Modal Frequency Response analysis.

This thesis presents the research done towards the development of the final mirror suspension stage for the high power test facility at AIGO, Western Australia. One of the goals of the facility is to test advanced suspension methods that may be useful in future gravitational wave detectors. An in depth study of current mirror suspension techniques is presented and areas of possible improvement are highlighted. The extension of an existing suspension modelling toolkit written in Mathematica is also presented, where added functions allow one to include the violin modes of a suspension into their analysis. Through this tool, new suspension geometries boasting a lower number of violin modes with lower Q factors where developed. The orthogonal ribbon suspension and the thin tube suspension boast a lower number of lower Q violin modes compared to typical ribbon suspensions. For the latter, a reduction in the number of violin modes below 5kHz down to 5 and peak thermal noise amplitude by approximately 30dB is predicted. Presented also is the affect that such suspension geometries have on pendulum mode dilution factor and overall suspension thermal noise. It is seen that the violin mode improvement comes at a cost of a small increase in thermal noise above approximately 50Hz. A theoretical analysis of the AIGO cavity locking control scheme is also given. Issues of sensor noise and dynamic range are considered to produce a possible hierarchical locking method that would be compatible with advanced detectors. The resulting actuator force range requirements for AIGO at each actuation location on the vibration isolation system are given. Requirements of local controls before achieving cavity lock are also discussed. Finally, the suspension of a dummy sapphire mirror using removable modular niobium ribbons is presented. The design and performance of an electrostatic actuator and sensor for suspended mirror control is given. Initial experimental results of positioning and control of the final stage suspension through a digital interface is also included.

Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This work discusses the design of a 3-axis Geomagnetometer SQUID System (GSS), in which HTS SQUIDs are used unshielded. The initial GSS installed at SANSA was fully operable, however the LN2 evaporation rate and SQUID orientation required improving. Magnetic shields were also developed in case the SQUIDs would not operate unshielded and to test the system noise with geomagnetic variations removed. To enable removing the double layer shield from the probes while the SQUIDs remain submerged in LN2, the shield was designed to disassemble. The shields proved to be effective, however due to icing the shields could not be removed without removing the SQUIDs from the LN2. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie werk bespreek die ontwerp van 'n 3-as Geomagnetometer SQUID Sisteem (GSS), waarin HTS SQUIDs sonder magnetiese skilde aangedryf word. Die aanvanklike GSS geïnstalleer by SANSA was ten volle binnewerking, maar die LN2 verdamping en SQUID oriëntasie benodig verbetering. Magnetiese skilde was ook ontwikkel vir die geval dat die SQUIDs nie sonder skilde wou werk nie en om die ruis te toets na geomagnetiese variasies verwyder is. Die dubbele laag skild was ontwerp om uitmekaar gehaal te word terwyl die SQUIDs binne die LN2 bly. Die skild was doeltreffend, maar ys het verhoed dat die skild verwyder kon word vanaf die LN2 sonder om die SQUIDs ook te verwyder.

QC 351 A7 no. 07 / The Meinel Reducing Camera for the U. S. Naval Observatory's 60-inch telescope, Flagstaff, Arizona, comprises an f /10 collimator designed by Meinel and Wilkerson, and a Leica 50-mm f/2 Summicron camera lens. The collimator consists of a thick, 5-inch field lens located close to the focal plane of the telescope, plus four additional elements extending toward the camera. The collimator has an efl of 10 inches, yielding a 1-inch exit pupil that coincides with the camera's entrance pupil, 1.558 inches beyond the final surface of the collimator. There is room between the facing lenses of the collimator and camera to place filters and a grating. The collimated light here is the best possible situation for interference filters. Problems of the collimator design work included astigmatism due to the stop's being so far outside the collimator, and field curvature. Two computer programs were used in development of the collimator design. Initial work, begun in 1964, was with the University of Rochester's ORDEALS program (this was the first time the authors had used such a program) and was continued through July, 1965. Development subsequently was continued and completed on the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory's program, LASL. The final design, completed January 24, 1966, was evaluated with ORDEALS. This project gave a good opportunity to compare ORDEALS, an "aberration" program, with LASL, a "ray deviation" program. It was felt that LASL was the superior program in this case, and some experimental runs beginning with flat slabs of glass indicated that it could have been used for the entire development of the collimator. Calculated optical performance of the design indicated that the reducing camera should be "seeing limited" for most work. Some astigmatism was apparent, but the amount did not turn out to be harmful in actual astronomical use. After the final design was arrived at, minor changes were made to accommodate actual glass indices of the final melt, and later to accommodate slight changes of radii and thicknesses of the elements as fabricated. An additional small change in spacing between two of the elements was made at the observatory after the reducing camera had been in use for a short time. The fabricated camera is working according to expectations. Some photographs are included in the report to illustrate its performance and utility.

QC 351 A7 no. 16 / This document has been prepared to form the basis for the operational specifications for the Cassegrain instrumentation for the 90-inch telescope of the Steward Observatory. The publication of this document is for the purpose of providing guidance to other astronomical groups who may have use for the considerations recorded herein.