Thesis (M.S. in Information Technology Management)--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2003. / Thesis advisor(s): George Dinolt, Craig Rasmussen. Includes bibliographical references (p. 155-157). Also available online.

With the increasing use of fission-type nuclear power generation, particularly high-levels radioactive nuclear waste are generated, so the safe use of nuclear energy requires proper disposal of high-level radioactive nuclear waste. The selected treatment method is deep geological disposal. Therefore, underground research laboratory (URL) to prepare for deep geological disposal will also be carried out. Corrosion of metallic materials, which are closely related to the safety of URL, is the focus of this research project. This study selected monitoring techniques for URL and developed a rough monitoring scheme for temperature and resistivity in URL. In this study, corrosion-temperature and corrosion-resistivity monitoring experiments were carried out in different bentonite samples to simulate the experiments in URL. The results show that the self-compensating high-precision inductance corrosion monitoring system and multifunction soil corrosion rate measurer proved to be a good system for monitoring the corrosion-temperature and corrosion-resistivity of metals. However, the life span limitation makes them unable to meet the requirements of URL. The results also show that the corrosion rate of metal in bentonite is positively correlated with temperature. The existing electrochemical probes are suitable for monitoring the corrosion rate, but not suitable for soil corrosion rate monitoring.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references. / Raymond Chi Hing Chiu. / Ph.D.

<p> This is a study of the groundwaters and their associated rocks and minerals from the Lac du Bonnet batholith at the Underground Research Laboratory (URL), Pinawa, Manitoba, to assess the water-rock interaction in crystalline rocks by using Sr, O and U-series isotopes. Emphasis is also placed on the development of the analytical techniques.</p> <p> A high precision analytical technique of U-series isotopes has been developed in this study by using solid-source mass spectrometry. A precision of better than 1% (2σ) is achieved in determining the 234U/238U and 230Th/234U ratios using 10^-8 g of U and 10^-11 g of 230Th. The potential applications of this method is demonstrated by dating small speleothem samples and the results agree well with those of α-spectrometry. This method also applies well to precise determination of the 234U/238U ratios in groundwaters and igneous rocks and minerals using small quantities of samples. However, precise measurements of 230Th in igneous rocks and minerals are limited by the large 232Th tail in the Th mass spectrum. Even better precision is achievable if pure Th spike is used.</p> <p> An ICP-MS isotope dilution method is also developed for fast and precise determination of Sr concentrations in groundwater samples. A precision of 1% is routinely achieved by taking into account the dead-time effect of the Channel Electron Multiplier (CEM) and the sample-to-spike ratios.</p> <p> The isotope results of both the groundwaters and the host rocks and minerals have revealed the processes of water-rock interaction and water mixing through the history of the batholith. Strontium isotope systematics of the rocks and their constituent minerals have shown that Sr loss occurred on whole-rock scale during both the high-temperature alteration (about 2300 Ma ago) and the low-temperature alteration which lasted at least 450 Ma. The Sr loss is most pronounced in plagioclase of altered samples. Uranium-series results indicate the disequilibrium of both whole-rock samples and minerals, and migration of U on whole-rock scale in, at least, the last million years.</p> <p> The Sr and O isotopic results have shown that the groundwaters from the three sub-horizontal, successively deeper fracture zones (FZ) have distinct isotopic signature: 87Sr/86Sr= 0.715 to 0.719 and 𝛿18O=-13o/oo for FZ-3; 87Sr/86Sr= 0.720 to 0.729 and 𝛿18O=-13 to -20o/oo for FZ-2; 87Sr/86Sr= 0.730 to 0.738 and 𝛿18O=-13 to -17o/oo for FZ-1. Uranium-series results show that all the groundwaters are highly enriched in 234U and the 234U/238U activity ratios range from 2.6 to 7.7. Mixing of three groundwaters is indicated by the Sr and O isotopes and the elemental chemistry. The three end-members are fresh surface water, the deep fresh (possibly glacial melt) groundwater and the deep saline groundwater.</p> <p> Comparison between the rocks and associated groundwaters shows that Sr isotopic equilibrium exists between plagioclase of altered samples and the groundwaters. This similarity indicates the vulnerable mineral phase control, such as plagioclase in this case, of the isotopic signatures, hence, chemistry of the groundwaters.</p> / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

"The world of supermodernity does not exactly match the one in which we believe we live, for we live in a world that we have not yet learned to look at. We have to relearn to think about space.” (Augé, 1995:35)The dissertation postulates that the main issue when working in the contemporary urban environment is not how to repair the damage caused to the traditional city form as we know (or think about) it, but a realization that the idea of “city” has changed. Failure of intervention strategies such as geographical unification and planning programmes should rather be ascribed to incomprehension of this “new” city form. Cities are human organisations and as such complex systems made up of interdependent elements showing signs of emergence, uncertainty in behaviour, adaptation, self-organisation, feedback loops and non-linearity (phenomena that do not adhere to order, reductionism, predictability and determinism). This necessitates a new architectural response with which to define the city as well as a new way of analysis and representation in built form, since the traditional designer’s tools have proven to be inadequate.Resulting from investigation steered by SPACELAB Research Laboratory for the Contemporary City at Delft University of Technology, a new threshold with which to define the new city and study area is recommended, one grounded in movement. Furthermore, the technique of “Disfiguring the urban” (developed by the same laboratory) is applied to do an alternative reading and representation of the study area, one which will explain the processes responsible for the transformation visible in the morphological landscape. The deductions made from this analysis are used to inform a “processes framework for Salvokop” and guide the candidate in terms of client and programme, towards establishing parameters for physical manifestation. / Dissertation (MArchProf)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / Architecture / Unrestricted

The current legal framework pertaining to animals does not sufficiently address the welfare of animals. The Animal Protection Act 71 of 1962 does not specifically regulate the welfare of animals contained in research laboratories. Animals utilized for experimental research purposes endure tremendous “unnecessary suffering” due to legislative inaptitude. Experimental animals suffer inherent abuses associated with experimental research because of the methods, procedures and processes relevant to the experiments. The most controversial method of experimental research is vivisection. The method of vivisection is not only invasive but also causes “unnecessary suffering” to animals. The non-inherent abuses animals suffer during confinement in a laboratory solely relates to uncontrolled and unregulated conduct of staff. Continuing the application of the current legislative framework may also be detrimental to the health and well-being of humans. Animals are specifically utilized as objects of science in research laboratories. The data obtained from research experiments conducted on animals are for the benefit of humankind rather than the animals. Scientific research concluded that not only are invasive methods of research conducted on live animals generally regarded as useless but extrapolating data from animals to humans can also be misleading, unnecessary and dangerous. False results and questionable methodologies are some of the other problems that seem to require urgent attention. Ethically, neither human nor animal should be utilized at the expense of the other and therefore it would be reasonable to recommend that legislative reform takes place. The human perception of animals in terms of the relationship we have with them is the reason why legislative inaptitude in terms of animal welfare exists. The current approach followed is the philosophy of Utilitarianism. Utilitarians believe that neither humans nor animals have rights but interests. Utilitarianism focuses on the permissibility of an act (the use of animals) by weighing the benefits of such an act to the costs suffered because of such act. If the benefits outweigh the costs suffered, the act is permissible. The application of Utilitarianism seems to be the crux of our legislative inaptitude. The human perception and view of animals must therefore be re-directed to develop a sufficient legal framework in terms of animal welfare. A solution offered is to apply an alternative interpretation to the concept of “dignity” (capabilities approach) and progressive realisation. In terms of this solution a species capabilities in terms of its value, capabilities and worth are considered. Inherent to its value, capabilities and worth, is its “dignity”. Once the alternative interpretation of “dignity” is acknowledged, the progressive realisation of its interests can be achieved. / Thesis (LLM)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

The current legal framework pertaining to animals does not sufficiently address the welfare of animals. The Animal Protection Act 71 of 1962 does not specifically regulate the welfare of animals contained in research laboratories. Animals utilized for experimental research purposes endure tremendous “unnecessary suffering” due to legislative inaptitude. Experimental animals suffer inherent abuses associated with experimental research because of the methods, procedures and processes relevant to the experiments. The most controversial method of experimental research is vivisection. The method of vivisection is not only invasive but also causes “unnecessary suffering” to animals. The non-inherent abuses animals suffer during confinement in a laboratory solely relates to uncontrolled and unregulated conduct of staff. Continuing the application of the current legislative framework may also be detrimental to the health and well-being of humans. Animals are specifically utilized as objects of science in research laboratories. The data obtained from research experiments conducted on animals are for the benefit of humankind rather than the animals. Scientific research concluded that not only are invasive methods of research conducted on live animals generally regarded as useless but extrapolating data from animals to humans can also be misleading, unnecessary and dangerous. False results and questionable methodologies are some of the other problems that seem to require urgent attention. Ethically, neither human nor animal should be utilized at the expense of the other and therefore it would be reasonable to recommend that legislative reform takes place. The human perception of animals in terms of the relationship we have with them is the reason why legislative inaptitude in terms of animal welfare exists. The current approach followed is the philosophy of Utilitarianism. Utilitarians believe that neither humans nor animals have rights but interests. Utilitarianism focuses on the permissibility of an act (the use of animals) by weighing the benefits of such an act to the costs suffered because of such act. If the benefits outweigh the costs suffered, the act is permissible. The application of Utilitarianism seems to be the crux of our legislative inaptitude. The human perception and view of animals must therefore be re-directed to develop a sufficient legal framework in terms of animal welfare. A solution offered is to apply an alternative interpretation to the concept of “dignity” (capabilities approach) and progressive realisation. In terms of this solution a species capabilities in terms of its value, capabilities and worth are considered. Inherent to its value, capabilities and worth, is its “dignity”. Once the alternative interpretation of “dignity” is acknowledged, the progressive realisation of its interests can be achieved. / Thesis (LLM)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

A globalização e os avanços tecnológicos provocam mudanças muito rápidas, gerando incertezas e dificultando a tomada de decisões em organizações. O uso de um Sistema de Inteligência Competitiva (SIC) fornece informações analisadas, permitindo a tomada de decisões com segurança em um curto espaço de tempo, facilitando a sobrevivência de organizações em um cenário competitivo. Algumas das técnicas utilizadas no campo da Inteligência Competitiva (IC) são aplicáveis para monitorar tendências tecnológicas e de inovação, sendo assim, são aplicáveis a laboratórios de pesquisa acadêmica que visam ao desenvolvimento tecnológico, à inovação e à solução de problemas práticos. O Laboratório de Eletrônica Embarcada (LEE) é frequentado por alunos de graduação e pós-graduação (mestrado e doutorado) da Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos. Por ser um ambiente acadêmico, de formação de pessoas, existe alta rotatividade de recursos humanos, o que é prejudicial do ponto de vista de conhecimento. Cada pesquisador que se forma leva consigo todo o material e conhecimento adquiridos durante a pesquisa. Daí surge o interesse da coordenação do LEE em gerir o conhecimento e implantar um Sistema de Inteligência Competitiva (SIC) através do uso de ferramentas computacionais que auxiliem o processo de gerenciar o conhecimento. Utilizou-se para a implementação do SIC o software Zotero, disponibilizando informações sobre as pesquisas realizadas ou em andamento no LEE, principalmente o material bibliográfico já levantado por outros pesquisadores, facilitando a revisão de literatura dos novos alunos, a escrita de artigos científicos e a escolha do tema de pesquisa. Como resultados, obteve-se a redução do tempo gasto com a pesquisa bibliográfica e com a confecção de citações e referências, visto que o software realiza estas operações automaticamente, além de auxiliar na tomada de decisões, como por exemplo, a escolha do tema da pesquisa, pois a IC dá suporte à tomada de decisões baseadas nas análises já efetuadas por outros pesquisadores. Conclui-se que as facilidades oferecidas pelo Zotero contribuíram para a diminuição do tempo gasto com a pesquisa bibliográfica e escrita de artigos científicos. Sua característica de promover interação entre equipes e apoiar as atividades de IC nas fases de coleta e análise, além de gerar relatórios sucintos e objetivos sobre o conteúdo armazenado, o constituem como uma boa escolha para a implementação do SIC em um laboratório de pesquisas. A centralização do banco de dados em um servidor interno contribuiu para a segurança da informação. / Globalization and technological advances lead to very rapid changes, creating uncertainty and hindering the decision-making in organizations. The use of a Competitive Intelligence System (CIS) provides analyzed information, allowing making safe decisions within a short time, facilitating the survival of organizations in a competitive landscape. Some of the techniques used in the field of Competitive Intelligence (CI) are applicable to monitor technological and innovation trends, therefore, they are applicable to academic research laboratories aimed at technological development, innovation and practical problem solving. The Embedded Electronics Laboratory (EEL) is attended by undergraduate and postgraduate students (Masters and PhD) of the School of Engineering of São Carlos. Being an academic environment, there is high turnover of human resources, which is detrimental from the standpoint of knowledge. Each researcher who obtains his degree takes away all the material and knowledge acquired during the research. Hence, the coordination of the EEL has been interested in deploying a Competitive Intelligence System (CIS) through the use of computational tools that assist the process of managing knowledge. The Zotero software was used for the implementation, providing information on the completed or in progress researches which are developed at the EEL, especially the bibliography already consulted by other researchers, helping literature review, writing papers and choice of research topic for the new students. As a result, the time spent on bibliographic research and the preparation of quotations and references was reduced, since the software automatically performs these operations, and helps the decision-making, as example, guides the choice of research topic, since the CI supports the decision-making based in the analysis already performed by other researchers. The facilities offered by Zotero contributed to the decreased time spent on literature review and writing papers. Its characteristic to promote interaction among teams and support the activities of CI during the stages of collection and analysis, besides generating succinct and objective reports on the stored content, constitute it as a good choice for the implementation of the SIC in a research lab. The centralization of the database on an internal server contributed to the security of information.

As pesquisas na área da saúde tem sido desenvolvidas com recursos governamentais obtidos junto às agências de fomento ou com recursos próprios das instituições, num esforço conjunto para a obtenção de parâmetros, em que se destacam os estudos epidemiológicos, voltados à melhoria na resolutividade dos problemas de saúde da população. A inserção da temática “Gestão em Serviços de Saúde” na área epidemiológica surge do enfoque multidisciplinar como uma forma de complementar os estudos trazendo conhecimentos oriundos da Administração para a abordagem das questões relativas à qualidade na atenção, eqüidade, identificação dos agravos de saúde, novas tecnologias e avaliação de custoefetividade das intervenções em saúde. A capacidade de auto-sustentabilidade de um laboratório de pesquisa de uma instituição pública de saúde em relação aos seus recursos financeiros e materiais e ao desenvolvimento do seu potencial humano de forma efetiva e eficaz é o foco deste trabalho que tem por objetivo desenvolver e aplicar o sistema gerencial Balanced Scorecard (BSC) no Centro de Terapia Gênica do Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre. O desenvolvimento do Balanced Scorecard no Centro de Terapia Gênica foi realizado em duas etapas: a primeiro, voltada à construção do modelo conceitual através da elaboração do Mapa Estratégico e a segunda, à definição do Plano de Ação com a seleção das áreas de indicadores do laboratório. As referências usadas nessas fases foram a revisão da literatura sobre o BSC e seu desenvolvimento em outras organizações do setor público e privado, a análise exploratória dos indicadores de desempenho sugeridos pela Associação Brasileira das Instituições de Pesquisa Tecnológica (ABIPTI), o Planejamento Estratégico do Hospital de Clínicas e o levantamento dos dados do laboratório. Os resultados obtidos indicam a viabilidade da aplicação do BSC em um laboratório de pesquisa de um hospital público de ensino. Mostram, também, que a administração das atividades de pesquisa, vista sob uma perspectiva estratégica, torna a multidisciplinaridade de conhecimentos presentes em uma instituição como um fator importante para a busca das melhores práticas gerenciais que contribuam para agregar valor científico, tecnológico e econômico às atividades de pesquisa e desta forma, auxiliem a impulsionar as atividades de P&D na organização. / The researches in healthcare have been being developed with government resources or the institutions own resources, in an joint effort to obtain parameters in which the epidemiologic studies outstand , aiming at the improvement of the solution of the health problems of the population. The insertion of the issue " Administration in Healthcare Organizations " in the epidemiologic area comes from the multidisciplinary focus as a way of complementing the studies bringing knowledge originated from the Administration to the approach of issues such as the quality of the attention, access, identification of diseases, new technology and the evaluation of cost-effectiveness of the health care intervention. The capacity of self-sustainability of a research laboratory of a public institution of healthcare in relation to its financial and material resources and to the development of its human potential capital in an effective and efficient way is the focus of this work that has as objective to develop and to apply the system management called Balanced Scorecard (BSC) in the Center for Gene Therapy of the Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre. The development of the Balanced Scorecard in Center for Gene Therapy was accomplished in two stages: firstly, aiming at the construction of the conceptual model through the elaboration of the Strategic Map and, secondly, to the definition of the Plan of Action with the selection of the performance measures of the laboratory. The references used in those phases were the revision of the literature on BSC and its development in other public and private organizations, the exploratory analysis of the performance measures suggested by the Brazilian Association of the Technological Research Institutions (ABIPTI), the Strategic Planning of the Hospital de Clinicas and the obtaining of the data of the laboratory. The results obtained indicate the viability of the application of BSC in a research laboratory of a public hospital. They also show that the administration of research activities, seen under a strategic perspective, turns the multidisciplinary knowledge present in an institution as an important factor for the search of the best managerial practices that contribute to join scientific, technological and economic value to the research activities and this way, help to impel the activities of P&D in the organization.

As pesquisas na área da saúde tem sido desenvolvidas com recursos governamentais obtidos junto às agências de fomento ou com recursos próprios das instituições, num esforço conjunto para a obtenção de parâmetros, em que se destacam os estudos epidemiológicos, voltados à melhoria na resolutividade dos problemas de saúde da população. A inserção da temática “Gestão em Serviços de Saúde” na área epidemiológica surge do enfoque multidisciplinar como uma forma de complementar os estudos trazendo conhecimentos oriundos da Administração para a abordagem das questões relativas à qualidade na atenção, eqüidade, identificação dos agravos de saúde, novas tecnologias e avaliação de custoefetividade das intervenções em saúde. A capacidade de auto-sustentabilidade de um laboratório de pesquisa de uma instituição pública de saúde em relação aos seus recursos financeiros e materiais e ao desenvolvimento do seu potencial humano de forma efetiva e eficaz é o foco deste trabalho que tem por objetivo desenvolver e aplicar o sistema gerencial Balanced Scorecard (BSC) no Centro de Terapia Gênica do Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre. O desenvolvimento do Balanced Scorecard no Centro de Terapia Gênica foi realizado em duas etapas: a primeiro, voltada à construção do modelo conceitual através da elaboração do Mapa Estratégico e a segunda, à definição do Plano de Ação com a seleção das áreas de indicadores do laboratório. As referências usadas nessas fases foram a revisão da literatura sobre o BSC e seu desenvolvimento em outras organizações do setor público e privado, a análise exploratória dos indicadores de desempenho sugeridos pela Associação Brasileira das Instituições de Pesquisa Tecnológica (ABIPTI), o Planejamento Estratégico do Hospital de Clínicas e o levantamento dos dados do laboratório. Os resultados obtidos indicam a viabilidade da aplicação do BSC em um laboratório de pesquisa de um hospital público de ensino. Mostram, também, que a administração das atividades de pesquisa, vista sob uma perspectiva estratégica, torna a multidisciplinaridade de conhecimentos presentes em uma instituição como um fator importante para a busca das melhores práticas gerenciais que contribuam para agregar valor científico, tecnológico e econômico às atividades de pesquisa e desta forma, auxiliem a impulsionar as atividades de P&D na organização. / The researches in healthcare have been being developed with government resources or the institutions own resources, in an joint effort to obtain parameters in which the epidemiologic studies outstand , aiming at the improvement of the solution of the health problems of the population. The insertion of the issue " Administration in Healthcare Organizations " in the epidemiologic area comes from the multidisciplinary focus as a way of complementing the studies bringing knowledge originated from the Administration to the approach of issues such as the quality of the attention, access, identification of diseases, new technology and the evaluation of cost-effectiveness of the health care intervention. The capacity of self-sustainability of a research laboratory of a public institution of healthcare in relation to its financial and material resources and to the development of its human potential capital in an effective and efficient way is the focus of this work that has as objective to develop and to apply the system management called Balanced Scorecard (BSC) in the Center for Gene Therapy of the Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre. The development of the Balanced Scorecard in Center for Gene Therapy was accomplished in two stages: firstly, aiming at the construction of the conceptual model through the elaboration of the Strategic Map and, secondly, to the definition of the Plan of Action with the selection of the performance measures of the laboratory. The references used in those phases were the revision of the literature on BSC and its development in other public and private organizations, the exploratory analysis of the performance measures suggested by the Brazilian Association of the Technological Research Institutions (ABIPTI), the Strategic Planning of the Hospital de Clinicas and the obtaining of the data of the laboratory. The results obtained indicate the viability of the application of BSC in a research laboratory of a public hospital. They also show that the administration of research activities, seen under a strategic perspective, turns the multidisciplinary knowledge present in an institution as an important factor for the search of the best managerial practices that contribute to join scientific, technological and economic value to the research activities and this way, help to impel the activities of P&D in the organization.