Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-20T13:59:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao_camila_sousa.pdf: 1105338 bytes, checksum: 6a0e449f6b57375f68a8ff703e00bf3c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-10-04 / The objective of this research was: a) evaluate the effect of imidazolinone chemical group herbicides on the growth of plants and the injuries to the photosynthetic apparatus of three rice types (varieties) exposed to these and b) evaluate the effect of soil residual herbicides imazethapyr+ imazapic on corn, cucumber, radish and tomato are used as bioindicators. At first experiments we used the herbicide Only® and Kifix®, using a randomized split plot design in a factorial 5x3 with six replications, with the first factor rates corresponded to 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 mg p. c. m-2 of commercial product Only® and 0, 7, 14, 21 and 28 mg p. c. m-2 of commercial product Kifix®, and factor B type of rice (cultivated rice cv. Puitá Inta CL, red rice ecotype sensitive to herbicides Imidazolinone and red rice ecotype with suspected herbicide tolerance imidazolinone). We evaluated the parameters of chlorophyll a fluorescence, phytotoxicity, plant height and dry mass. Analysis of chlorophyll a fluorescence was performed using a portable fluorometer (HandyPEA, Hanstech). It was concluded that cv. Puitá Inta CL is tolerant to herbicides Only® and Kifix® and can be used in the Clearfield® system and the red rice ecotype with suspected tolerance was tolerant to both herbicides, suffering a low phytotoxity compared to the sensitive ecotype, even using higher doses of the commercial products. The application of chemical herbicides of the imidazolinone group in rice plants cause changes in the photosynthetic metabolism of plants that can be detected by evaluating the emission of chlorophyll a fluorescence transient. The second experiment was conducted in a randomized block experimental design (with) four replicates per treatment. The treatments were the residual effect of herbicide Only® in rice CL plants in the 2006/2007 harvest, at 0, 10, 15 and 20 mg p. c. m-2 doses of commercial product, on four bioindicators: corn, cucumber, radish and tomato. The variables evaluated were: height, dry weight of shoot and root dry mass, with the latter doesn t being performed for the corn plants. Data of biometric variables generated in both experiments were subjected to analysis of variance (p ≤ 0.05) were significant in these models were tested by polynomial regression. Activity was detected in the commercial mixture of residual herbicides imazethapyr +imazapic in soil 1100 days after herbicide application, by use of bioindicators plants. / Este trabalho teve por objetivo: a) avaliar o efeito da aplicação de herbicidas do grupo químico das imidazolinonas sobre o crescimento de plantas e as injúrias causadas ao aparelho fotossintético de três tipos de arroz e b) avaliar o efeito residual no solo dos herbicidas imazethapyr + imazapic sobre as plantas de milho, pepino, rabanete e tomate, utilizadas como bioindicadoras. No primeiro ensaio foram utilizados os herbicidas Only® e Kifix®, utilizando-se para cada herbicida um delineamento experimental de parcelas subdivididas, em esquema fatorial 5x3, com seis repetições, sendo o fator A as doses do herbicida correspondentes a 0, 5, 10, 15 e 20 mg p. c. m-2 do produto comercial Only® e 0, 7, 14, 21 e 28 mg p. c. m-2 do produto comercial Kifix®, e o fator B o tipo de arroz (arroz cultivado cv. Puitá Inta CL, ecótipo de arroz-vermelho sensível aos herbicidas do grupo das imidazolinonas e ecótipo de arroz-vermelho com suspeita de tolerância aos herbicidas do grupo das imidazolinonas). Foram avaliados os parâmetros da fluorescência da clorofila a, fitotoxicidade, altura de plantas e massa seca da parte aérea. A análise da fluorescência da clorofila a foi realizada utilizando-se um fluorômetro portátil (HandyPEA, Hanstech).Conclui-se que a cv. Puitá Inta CL é tolerante aos herbicidas Only® e Kifix®, podendo ser utilizada no Sistema de Produção Clearfield® e que o ecótipo de arroz-vermelho com suspeita de tolerância apresentou tolerância a ambos herbicidas, sofrendo baixa fitotoxicidade em comparação ao ecótipo sensível, mesmo utilizando-se doses superiores as comerciais dos produtos. A aplicação de herbicidas do grupo químico das imidazolinonas em plantas de arroz causa alterações no metabolismo fotossintético das plantas que podem ser detectadas através da avaliação da emissão da fluorescência da clorofila a transiente. O segundo experimento foi conduzido em um delineamento experimental casualizado por bloco, totalizando quatro repetições por tratamento. Os tratamentos avaliados foram o efeito residual do herbicida Only® sob as plantas de arroz CL na safra 2006/2007, nas doses de doses de 0, 10, 15 e 20 mg p. c. m-2 do produto comercial, sobre quatro espécies bioindicadoras: milho, pepino, rabanete e tomate. Foram avaliadas as variáveis: altura de plantas, massa seca da parte aérea e massa seca das raízes, sendo esta última não realizada para as plantas de milho. Os dados relativos às variáveis biométricas gerados em ambos os experimentos foram submetidos à análise da variância (p≤0,05); em sendo significativos, estes foram testados por modelos de regressão polinomial. Foi detectada atividade residual da mistura comercial dos herbicidas imazethapyr+imazapic em solo após 1100 dias da aplicação dos herbicidas, pelo uso de plantas bioindicadoras.

This project explored the impact of the implementation of Proposition 227 on SAT-9 scores in grades 2-11 of the Leander Unified School District. Minimal growth in test scores was found as a result of replacing the bilingual programs with English-only programs, contradicting claims by proponents of the proposition.

Airborne angle-only geolocalization is the localization of objects on ground level from airborne vehicles (AV) using bearing measurements, namely azimuth and elevation. This thesis aims to introduce elevation data of the terrain to the airborne angle-only geolocalization problem and to demonstrate that it could be applicable for localization of jammers. Jammers are often used for deliberate interference with malicious intent which could interfere with the positioning system of a vehicle. It is important to locate the jammers to either avoid them or to remove them.    Three localization methods, i.e. the nonlinear least squares (NLS), the extended Kalman filter (EKF) and the unscented Kalman filter (UKF), are implemented and tested on simulated data. The methods are also compared to the theoretical lower bound, the Cramér-Rao Lower Bound (CRLB), to see if there is an efficient estimator. The simulated data are different scenarios where the number of AVs, the relative flight path of the AVs and the knowledge of the terrain can differ. Using the knowledge of the terrain elevation, the methods give more consistent localization than without it. Without elevation data, the localization relies on good geometry of the problem, i.e. the relative flight path of the AVs, while the geometry is not as critical when elevation data is available. However, the elevation data does not always improve the localization for certain geometries.    There is no method that is clearly better than the others when elevation data is used. The methods’ performances are very similar and they all converge to the CRLB but that could also be an advantage. This makes the usage of elevation data not restricted to a certain method and it leaves more up to the implementer which method they prefer.

The search for efficient and economical ways to beneficiate fine coal remains an active research area. Recent developments have shown that the reflux classifier can successfully be used on Australian coals, and based on that, a number of pilot plant investigations have been done in South Africa. While pilot scale units are usually used to test the applicability of a new technology on specific coals, a need exists to gather more fundamental data at a laboratory scale in order to save manpower, costs and time. This study has aimed at introducing a way to pre-test material prior to pilot plant trials in the design chain. The study shows that a laboratory water only reflux classifier can be used as a density fractionator, which accurately produces washability data for coal – this was also investigated by Callen et al. (2008). There is also a linear correlation between density cut-point and fluid velocity within the plates. Only when looking at the model proposed in Walton (2011:68), does it become clear that the relationship is indeed slightly curved. Many investigations from laboratory and pilot tests accept the linear relationship, and describe it as slightly curved due to the settling being in the intermediate settling regime (Iveson et al., 2014; Galvin & Lui, 2011). The separation procedures that produce two products – an overflow and underflow – compare well with fractionation results produced. Thus, fractionation results can generate washability data and predict batch separation operations. The laboratory reflux classifier setup is also dependent on particle size, where individual size ranges achieve e.p.m. values of 0.012 and 0.030, while the combined separation efficiency is 0.039. It was, however, found that the respective laboratory scale reflux classifier that was designed and built was not suitable for continuous operation. The vertical fluidisation section was not high enough to enable a steady fluidised bed. This was necessary for density separation within the bed and to produce a significant pressure differential. It is also recommended to obtain a PID controller. / MIng (Chemical Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The search for efficient and economical ways to beneficiate fine coal remains an active research area. Recent developments have shown that the reflux classifier can successfully be used on Australian coals, and based on that, a number of pilot plant investigations have been done in South Africa. While pilot scale units are usually used to test the applicability of a new technology on specific coals, a need exists to gather more fundamental data at a laboratory scale in order to save manpower, costs and time. This study has aimed at introducing a way to pre-test material prior to pilot plant trials in the design chain. The study shows that a laboratory water only reflux classifier can be used as a density fractionator, which accurately produces washability data for coal – this was also investigated by Callen et al. (2008). There is also a linear correlation between density cut-point and fluid velocity within the plates. Only when looking at the model proposed in Walton (2011:68), does it become clear that the relationship is indeed slightly curved. Many investigations from laboratory and pilot tests accept the linear relationship, and describe it as slightly curved due to the settling being in the intermediate settling regime (Iveson et al., 2014; Galvin & Lui, 2011). The separation procedures that produce two products – an overflow and underflow – compare well with fractionation results produced. Thus, fractionation results can generate washability data and predict batch separation operations. The laboratory reflux classifier setup is also dependent on particle size, where individual size ranges achieve e.p.m. values of 0.012 and 0.030, while the combined separation efficiency is 0.039. It was, however, found that the respective laboratory scale reflux classifier that was designed and built was not suitable for continuous operation. The vertical fluidisation section was not high enough to enable a steady fluidised bed. This was necessary for density separation within the bed and to produce a significant pressure differential. It is also recommended to obtain a PID controller. / MIng (Chemical Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Based on the various changes in sexual education, many schools throughout the United States still teach abstinence-only education. There is a plethora of literature on the effectiveness of sexual education programs as well as adolescent sexual practices. However, there is a deep gap in literature on students' perspectives of their sexual education and the possible effects it has on their experiences while in college. Therefore, this phenomenological study aims to explore and describe the essence of the experience female university students have regarding the abstinence-only education they received during secondary schooling. The informants (n=12) were 19-22 year old female university undergraduate students who received abstinence-only education within their middle and/or high school. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Data was analyzed through a phenomenological approach where themes and sub-themes emerged. The results from this study indicate that no matter what the participants’ personal beliefs and values surrounding sex are, their abstinence-only sexual education did not teach them adequate information for their secondary school years nor to prepare them for their time in a university setting.

Pulling from the foundations of research on social support and resilience indicating that those who receive extensive social support are more resilient, this research, consisting of two studies, primarily examined the differences between individuals who are only children and individuals who have siblings in their formation of social support networks. While it is true that only children inherently have less immediate kin available, this research explored the formation of relationships in which non-kin come to be psychologically considered as kin, or psychological kinship. In Study 1, qualitative interviews were conducted in order to develop a working Kinship scale. Study 2, an online study conducted with 480 English-speaking adults, assessed self-reported resilience, social support, and experiences of psychological kinship. Contrary to original hypotheses, results indicated that while only children did not match people with siblings in their levels of social support and resilience, they did report experiencing equal amounts of psychological kinship. Overall, psychological kin relationships appear to be an important aspect of social support networks and therefore meaningfully contribute to one’s resiliency.

published_or_final_version / Urban Studies / Master / Master of Social Sciences

When the primary measurement sensor is passive in nature--by which we mean that it does not directly measure range or range rate--there are well-documented challenges for target state estimation. Most estimation schemes rely on variations of the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF), which, in certain situations, suffer from divergence and/or covariance collapse. For this and other reasons, we believe that the Kalman filter is fundamentally ill-suited to the problems that are inherent in target state estimation using passive sensors. As an alternative, we propose a bounded-error (or set-membership) approach to the target state estimation problem. Such estimators are nearly as old as the Kalman filter, but have enjoyed much less attention. In this study we develop a practical estimator that bounds the target states, and apply it to the two-dimensional case of a submarine tracking a surface vessel, which is commonly referred to as Target Motion Analysis (TMA). The estimator is robust in the sense that the true target state does not escape the determined bounds; and the estimator is not unduly pessimistic in the sense that the bounds are not wider than the situation dictates. The estimator is--as is the problem itself--nonlinear and geometric in nature. In part, the simplicity of the estimator is maintained by using redundant states to parameterize the target's velocity. These redundant states also simplify the incorporation of other measurements that are frequently available to the system. The estimator's performance is assessed in a series of simulations and the results are analyzed. Extensions of the algorithm are considered.

This project studies the theological legacy of white evangelical purity culture (WEPC) and proposes a constructive Baptist practical theology of baptism in response. It foregrounds the activism and testimonies of Christian women to foment and intervene in white supremacist constructions of womanhood in the Female Moral Reform movement; to perpetuate and prevent racial violence in the lynching era through the deployment of a reimagined vision of sacred white womanhood; and to expand conceptions of the wounding legacies, persisting challenges, and alternative visions proposed by those harmed by WEPC. In the “afterlife” of white evangelical purity culture, baptism, conceived as a practice of solidarity, is a critical intervention to the persistent and problematic deformations of identity, salvation, and ecclesial formation. The project begins with analysis of the theopolitical history of WEPC and its founding frameworks and promises. It then turns to the Female Moral Reform movement, and particularly the activism and theological arguments of Sarah Grimké and a dissenting interlocutor in 1838, to illustrate how questions of womanhood, race, and women’s rights were forged in the context of institutional slavery. Next, this project engages the activism of Rebecca Felton, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, and the Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching, attends to the character de/formations deployed in women’s activism and rhetoric supportive of and against lynching, and argues that the uninterrogated sacred status of white womanhood prevents a full acknowledgement and dismantling of the regnant theological frameworks of WEPC. It then frames the online writing as testimonies to the wounding experiences in WEPC, offering an emergent tripartite framework of shame, misplaced blame, and silence to capture the impact of WEPC. Finally, drawing from the works of James Wm. McClendon, Jr., Ada María Isasi-Díaz and M. Shawn Copeland, it proposes a Baptist theology of baptism wherein baptism is revelatory rite that initiates solidarity in the service of a world that engenders the possibility of mutual liberation and human flourishing. This project contributes to the growing literature on WEPC by exposing the raced theological scaffolding that necessitate a transformation of core Christian practices. / 2022-12-09T00:00:00Z