This thesis document seeks to find a common thread between three of my plays; The Tides of Aberdeen, The Death of Beth, and Highway Play, written during my MFA program at The University of Texas at Austin. Each play deals with the theme of disappearance in a different way. The lens with which I will examine each play can be defined as “the presence of absence”. I define the presence of absence as having three necessary elements; a liminal space, a palpable void and an unseen tension. The essay also deals with the presence of absence in The Walls by Griselda Gambaro. By defining the presence of absence and how it works in each of my plays I hope to develop a rewriting strategy that incorporates structuring a plot. Also included in this thesis document are the three plays I examine in my thesis, The Tides of Aberdeen, The Death of Beth and Highway Play. / text

This paper presents a new way of thinking about designing personalized artefacts for dyads (a group of two people) in long-distance relationships, whether they are family members, close friends or romantic couples. In this paper I am presenting the idea of a playful, yet useful tangible design for people who are often not able to see their loved ones in person. I strive to ideate a highly personalized and meaningful design through a Do It Yourself (DIY) activity for users, which will give them a chance to personalize the product according to their own needs. For this research, littleBits electronics have been used as a prototyping and DIY material. They allow you to create and connect two devices together and use them for different purposes. User testing with two close friends who live in different countries has been conducted. They received three different half-way done prototypes that they could choose from to build. The results showed that the idea of DIY artefact for presence in absence is worth researching, since the activity creates a meaningful shared experience which adds a bigger value to the device.

No description available.

FundaÃÃo Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Cientifico e TecnolÃgico / Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa AgropecuÃria / As orquÃdeas sÃo plantas ornamentais que se destacam principalmente na floricultura devido à beleza, ao exotismo, à diversidade de cores, aos tamanhos e aos formatos de suas flores. A espÃcie Cattleya labiata e as do gÃnero Phalaenopsis apresentam uma grande oferta de opÃÃes de cores que tornam suas flores muito valorizadas e demandadas para comercializaÃÃo. Cattleya labiata à nativa do Nordeste brasileiro e suas floress sÃo levemente arroxeadas e perfumadas; enquanto que Phalaenopsis sp. produz flores brancas de longa durabilidade. A cultura de tecidos tem sido largamente empregada na multiplicaÃÃo massiva desses dois gÃneros. O estiolamento in vitro permite produzir grande nÃmero de plantas, reduzindo os riscos da ocorrÃncia de variaÃÃo somaclonal. Em razÃo disso, este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a influÃncia de diferentes ambientes de cultivo e de concentraÃÃes de BAP (6-benzilaminopurina) e ANA (Ãcido naftaleno acÃtico) no estiolamento in vitro das orquÃdeas Cattleya labiata e Phalaenopsis sp. PlÃntulas oriundas de sementes germinadas in vitro com aproximadamente + 1,0 cm de comprimento foram inoculadas em tubos de ensaio contendo 15,0 mL de meio de cultura MS, acrescido de diferentes concentraÃÃes de BAP (0,0; 2,0 e 4,0 mg L-1), ANA (0,0; 1,0 e 2,0 mg L-1) e ambientes de cultivo (sala de crescimento no escuro e com 16 horas de luz artificial), em esquema fatorial 2 x 3 x 3 (2 ambientes x 3 doses de BAP x 3 doses de ANA). Ao final de 150 dias, foram realizadas as seguintes avaliaÃÃes: a) nÃmero de brotos estiolados; b) nÃmero de nÃs por broto estiolado; c) comprimento da brotaÃÃo principal (cm); d) nÃmero de raÃzes e, e) massa seca total (g). O nÃmero de brotos estiolados e de nÃs (por broto estiolado) em plÃntulas de C. labiata e de nÃs por broto estiolado em Phalaenopsis sp. foram superiores no ambiente em ausÃncia de luz independente do fitorregulador utilizado, entretanto para o nÃmero de brotaÃÃes de Phalaenopsis sp. o ambiente luminoso foi o mais favorÃvel. A espÃcie C. labiata apresentou maior nÃmero de nÃs com a utilizaÃÃo de 2,0 mg L-1 de ANA na ausÃncia de BAP, e a orquÃdea Phalaenopsis sp. proporcionou maior nÃmero de nÃs com o emprego de 2,0 mg L-1 de ANA. Em plÃntulas de C. labiata e Phalaenopsis sp. a altura da brotaÃÃo principal foi superior em ambiente na ausÃncia de luz e, em contraste, o nÃmero de raÃzes e a massa seca total das plÃntulas foram superiores em ambiente na presenÃa de luz, sendo que para C. labiata esses resultados foram independentes do regulador de crescimento utilizado. / Orchids are ornamental plants that stand out mainly in floriculture due to the beauty, the exoticism, the diversity of colors, the sizes and shapes of their flowers. Cattleya labiata and species of the genus Phalaenopsis feature a wide range of color choices that make their flowers much valued and demanded for marketing. Cattleya labiata is native of the Brazilian Northeast and produces purplish and slightly fragrant flowers; and Phalaenopsis sp. produces white flowers for long lasting durability. Tissue culture is widely used in massive multiplication of genres. The in vitro etiolation allows to produce large numbers of plants, reducing the risk of somaclonal variation. For this reason, this study aimed to evaluate the influence of different cultivation environments and concentrations of BAP (6-benzylaminopurine) and NAA (naphthalene acetic acid) in vitro etiolation of the orchids Cattleya labiata and Phalaenopsis sp. Seedlings grown from seeds germinated in vitro with approximately + 1.0 cm in length were inoculated into test tubes containing 15.0 mL of MS medium supplemented with different concentrations of BAP (0.0, 2.0 and 4,0 mg L-1), NAA (0.0, 1.0 and 2.0 mg L-1) and culture environments (dark growth and room with artificial light) in a factorial 2 x 3 x 3 (2 environments x 3 doses of BAP x 3 doses of NAA). At the end of 150 days, the following evaluations were performed: a) number of etiolated shoots; b) number of nodes per etiolated shoot; c) length of the main sprout (cm); d) number of roots, and e) total dry mass (g). The number of etiolated shoots and nodes (per etiolated shoot) on seedlings of C. labiata and nodes per etiolated shoot in Phalaenopsis sp. were higher in the environment in the absence of light independent of the phytoregulator used, however the number of shoots of Phalaenopsis sp. the luminous environment was the most favorable. The species C. labiata showed a higher number of nodes with the use of 2.0 mg L-1 of NAA, in the absence of BAP, and Phalaenopsis sp. provided the highest number of nodes with the use of 2.0 mg L-1 of NAA. In seedlings of C. labiata and Phalaenopsis sp. the height of the main budding was higher in the environment in the absence of light, in contrast, the number of roots and total dry weight of seedlings were higher in luminous environment, and for C. labiata these results were independent regulator growth used.