The prominence of the internet and networked computing has driven research efforts into providing support for heterogeneous computing platforms. This has been exemplified by the emergence of virtual machines, such as the Java virtual machine. Unfortunately, most virtual computing platforms come with a performance penalty. This dissertation investigates a new approach for providing virtual computing platforms through the use of reconfigurable computing devices and hardware/software co-design. Traditionally, when designing a hardware/software solution, instance specific methods are used to iterate towards a solution that satisfies the requirements. This is not an ideal approach as the costs involved with integrating hardware and software components are significant. This technique demotes the interface between the hardware and software, often resulting in major complications at the integration stage. These problems can be avoided through adherence to a sound methodology which the co-design process follows. This dissertation examines the original concept of using hardware/software co-design and reconfigurable computing as a means of providing virtual machine platforms. Specifically the contributions include an advancement towards a new general computing paradigm and architecture; guidelines and several algorithms for applying the general hardware/software co-design process to the specific virtual machine class of problems; and an assessment of the potential advantages of using co-design as an implementation approach for virtual machines. These are applied to the Java virtual machine and simulated for insights into the potential benefits, requirements, and caveats of co-design for virtual machines. This research demonstrates that using hardware/software co-design as described specifically for virtual machines, the solution can offer performance benefits over a software-only solution. These performance increases will be shown to be dependent upon several factors such as the application itself and the underlying architectural features. This dissertation will promote and give evidence that reconfigurable computing can be used for more general purpose computing and not just for specific problem instances. / Graduate

Las comunicaciones y su correlato mediático definido por los acelerados avances tecnológicos, permean y ensanchan todas las esferas sociales de la comunicación, información y entretención; emergiendo una nueva fuente de sentidos y formas comunicantes que catalizan en lo interactivo un nuevo alcance de identificación y significados, es decir, se genera una opinión pública virtualizada. La Escuela, no ha sido ajena a estos cambios, pero a diferencia de otras instituciones culturalmente relevantes, aún no termina de asimilar y definir su adaptación a esta nueva tendencia comunicativa. La presente investigación da cuenta de los encuentros y relaciones que los jóvenes en este nuevo espacio virtual y comunicacional practican, principalmente a través del dispositivo del Videojuego. Entender el sentido y significados otorgados por estos al dispositivo virtual como medio de comunicación, aprendizaje, conocimiento, entretención y emoción, nos ofrece con su potencial interactivo un nuevo horizonte de sentido. Esta investigación exploratoria y de estudio de casos, abre un horizonte hermenéutico de posibilidades de reflexión en torno a la cultura juvenil definida por lo virtual, además del abordaje a la problemática de la crisis de la educación; la resignificación de la violencia, la discriminación y sentido de comunidad, entre otros. Finalmente devela la controversia y los distintos niveles de radicalización con que este hiperlenguaje de lo virtual incorpora y coloniza espacios sociales e institucionales que ofrecen mayores o menores grados de resistencia y/o aceptación a los cambios

La presente tesis explora las representaciones y prácticas corporales que se diseminan en el imaginario de las usuarias de las comunidades virtuales “pro ana”; a través del análisis del discurso presentado en sus blogs; ya que éstos encierran una serie de manifestaciones respecto a la cultura de la belleza femenina hegemónica basada en el ideal de la delgadez que une e identifica a este grupo de usuarias; cuya posición frente al peso se ha convertido en una obsesión que conlleva a una extrema racionalización del cuerpo; y, la exploración de dicho proceso es el propósito de este estudio. El estudio desarrollado se basa en una metodología cualitativa y se enmarca en los estudios de sociología del cuerpo que rescata las teorías del interaccionismo simbólico y el constructivismo social; de tal forma que se pueda explorar y entender el problema recogiendo la mayor riqueza de los datos. PALABRAS CLAVES: Comunidades virtuales, anorexia, ideal de belleza. / --- This thesis explores the representations and bodily practices that spread in the imagination of users of virtual communities "pro ana"; by analyzing the speech delivered on their blogs; because they contain a series of events regarding the hegemonic culture of female beauty based on the ideal of thinness that unites and identifies this group of users; whose position on the weight has become an obsession that leads to extreme rationalization of the body; and exploration of this process is the purpose of this study. The study was developed based on a qualitative methodology and is part of the studies of sociology of the body that rescues the theory of symbolic interaction and social constructivism; so that you can explore and understand the problem collecting richer data. KEYWORDS: Virtual communities, anorexia, beauty ideal.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Johannesburg, May 2017. / Virtual Reality (VR) is widely used in training simulators of dangerous or expensive vehicles such as aircraft or heavy mining machinery. The vehicles often have very complicated controls that users need to master before attempting to operate a real world version of the machine. VR allows users to safely train in a simulated environment without the risk of injury or damaging expensive equipment in the field. VR however visually cuts off the user from the real environment,whichmayobtainobstructions. Usersareunabletosafelymoveorgesturewhilewearing aVRheadset. Additionallyusersareunabletousestandardinputdevicessuchasmiceandkeyboards. Bymixinginaliveviewofthetherealworld,theusercanstillseeandinteractwiththe physical environment. The contribution of this research is presenting ways of using Mixed RealitytoenhancetheuserexperienceoftraditionalVRbasedsimulators. MixedRealityimproves on traditional VR simulators by allowing the user the safety and freedom of not being cut off from the real world, allowing interaction and the tactile feedback of interacting with complex physical controls, while still allowing simultaneous use of virtual controls and by adding a real world reference point to aid in diminishing simulator sickness caused by visual motion / A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science / GR2018

This study sought to explore the effects of virtual reality (VR) as a technology that can potentially improve guided meditation practices; VR guided meditation sessions and audio guided meditation sessions were compared. Specifically, this study investigated VR’s impact on an individual’s self-perception of psychological factors that reflect mood or emotion; it also examined VR’s impact on an individual’s self-perception of presence and relaxation. After examination, VR guided meditation had no significant impact on an individual’s self-perception of mood and emotion or self-reported feelings of relaxation. However, guided VR meditation had a significant impact on an individual’s self-reported perception of presence; participants who meditated with VR felt “as if they were at the beach.” Although this study demonstrated that a fairly inexpensive VR system can enhance feelings of presence, that sense of presence did not enhance feelings of well-being and relaxation; this could be attributed to the novelty effect. / 2020-09-06

Esta tese de doutorado consiste na remontagem virtual da exposição A casa tomada (de Julio Cortázar) por desenhos que não deram certo. Desenhos de 1978/80. Apogeu do Claro-escuro Pós-Caravaggio, do artista joinvilense Luiz Henrique Schwanke, realizada no Museu Nacional de Belas Artes, do Rio de Janeiro (RJ), em 1980. Tal remontagem é ancorada na curadoria educativa, entendida no contexto desta pesquisa como uma forma de desenhar exposições pensadas para todos os tipos de público, por meio da qual a arte se coloca em articulação com o indivíduo e com a sociedade, de maneira a ser ativada como um instrumento de ação cultural. Essa exposição acontece no Museu de Arte Contemporânea Luiz Henrique Schwanke Virtual (MAC Schwanke Virtual), localizado no website do museu, que ainda não possui sede física, mas que já atua enquanto tal mediante seus programas e suas ações. Defende-se a existência do museu no ambiente virtual em rede, assim como a utilização desse espaço pela exploração de suas especificidades, ou seja, como um meio de ampliar as ações do museu e de pôr o seu acervo constantemente em ativação, para deleite, pesquisa e estudo, sem reproduzir os recursos utilizados na realidade física. Portanto, a versão virtual da exposição promovida está alicerçada na exploração da natureza não linear e hipermidiática no ciberespaço, e não na tentativa de reprodução do espaço e da lógica de exposições existentes na realidade física, o que aqui, conforme já dito, ocorreu por intermédio da curadoria educativa. / This PhD thesis consists on the virtual reinstallation of A Casa Tomada exhibition (by Julio Cortázar) with drawings that did not work. Drawings from 1978/1980. The prime of post-Caravaggio chiaroscuro, by Joinville-born artist Luiz Henrique Schwanke, at the National Fine Arts Museum, of Rio de Janeiro, in 1980. Such reinstallation is anchored on educational curating, understood in the context of this research as a way to plan exhibitions for all kinds of public, through the means of which art is articulated with the individual and with society, so that it is activated as an instrument of cultural action. This exhibition is at Schwanke Virtual Museum of Contemporary Art, located in the website of the museum, which does not have a physical headquarters yet, but is already active through its programs and actions. We defend the existence of the museum in the virtual network environment, just as utilizing this space from the exploration of its specificities, that is, as a means to enlarge the actions of the museum and activate its collection, for delight, research and studies, without reproducing the resources of the physical reality. Thus, the virtual version of the exhibition is based on the exploration of non-linear and hypermediatic nature of cyberspace, and not in the attempt to reproduce the space and the logic of exhibitions that exist in physical reality, which, as said, was achieved by the means of educational curating.

With Home Virtual Assistant (HVA) becoming popular, it has entered many families. This study aims to understand how novice users explore the capabilities of HVAs and the factors influence the users’ discovery process. The researcher used a study inspired by diary study, combining survey and interview to collect the data, along with dialogue history that contains all the activities between the user and the device. The results reveal the activities the users engage in and the factors of the HVA device and the users that influence the discovery process. Three themes emerged from the data, they are: the activities participant engaged to learn the capabilities of Echo Dot, the influence of Echo Dot being screen-less and factors of participants that influenced the initial use. Based on the results, the researcher discusses the current issues of the Echo Dot’s design and suggests potential improvement for the HVAs.

A manufatura virtual representa uma abordagem emergente que as empresas podem adotar para melhorar seus processos de desenvolvimento de produtos, introduzindo novos produtos no mercado mais rapidamente e a um custo apropriado. A ideia fundamental é criar um ambiente integrado e sintético, composto por um conjunto de ferramentas e sistemas de software, tais como realidade virtual e simulação para apoiar esses processos. O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar a utilização da manufatura virtual no processo de desenvolvimento de produtos em termos de limitações existentes que podem ser superadas, proposta da manufatura virtual, benefícios, e desafios encontrados para sua aplicação. Para a realização da análise, foi desenvolvido um modelo para orientar a aplicação da manufatura virtual no processo de desenvolvimento de produtos que considera: as atividades do desenvolvimento de produtos que podem ser apoiadas por sistemas de software da manufatura virtual; os tipos de sistemas e suas funcionalidades; e alternativas de formatos neutros para habilitar a interoperabilidade de dados. O trabalho foi desenvolvido através da realização de estudos de caso, que forneceram informações para a análise da utilização da manufatura virtual e para a geração do modelo proposto. / Virtual manufacturing represents the emerging approach the enterprises can use to improve their processes, introducing new products more quickly in the market in a cost effective way. The fundamental idea is to create an integrated and synthetic environment, composed of software tools and systems such as virtual reality and simulation to support those processes. The purpose of this work is to analyze the utilization of virtual manufacturing in the product development process regarding current limitations that can be overcome by virtual manufacturing, its proposal, benefits and challenges for its application. For the analysis accomplishment, a product development model in virtual manufacturing environment was developed which considers: the product development activities that can be supported by virtual manufacturing systems; the system types and their functionalities; and neutral formats alternatives to enable data interoperability. The research was done by the accomplishment of case studies that provided information to the impact analysis and to the model development.

Atualmente, a utilização de alianças estratégicas por empresas tem aumentado muito, devido a grande concorrência nos mercados nacionais e internacionais. Entre os tipos de alianças estratégicas comumente utilizadas estão os Consórcios, as Joint Ventures e as Organizações Virtuais (por meio da criação de Empresas Virtuais). Vários são os fatores que levam as empresas a utilizarem essas formas de aliança, entre elas a redução de custos, o aumento de participação de mercado, a aquisição de capacitação tecnológica. Para que tais uniões se concretizem com sucesso, metodologias de avaliação vêm sendo estudadas e adaptadas a essas diferentes formas de aliança com o intuito de minimizar os riscos de união envolvidos em tais processos. Entre esses estudos, pode-se destacar as ferramentas de análise econômica/financeira, que de certa maneira, já vêm sendo empregadas nos Consórcios e Joint Ventures. No que se refere às Organizações Virtuais e Empresas Virtuais existe uma lacuna no que diz respeito a esse assunto. Nesse sentido, esse trabalho tem como objetivo identificar e analisar as principais contribuições e limitações geradas pela inclusão de procedimentos de análise econômica/financeira nos processos de formação de Organizações Virtuais; manutenção de Organizações Virtuais; formação de Empresas Virtuais e manutenção de Empresas Virtuais. / Nowadays, there is an increase of the use of strategic alliances by enterprises, due to hard competition in the national and international markets. The kinds of strategic alliances more usual are Consortiums, Joint Ventures and Virtual Organizations with the creation of Virtual Enterprises, by the last entity. The enterprises use the strategic alliances by several factors: reducing costs, increase of market share, acquisition of technological capacity and others. For what occur a successful partnership, evaluation methodologies are being studied and adopted for these alliances with the purpose of minimize the risks of the partnership of such processes. Between these studies, the economical/financial analysis tools, in a manner, it are being used in Consortiums and Joint Ventures. In relationship of Virtual Organizations and Virtual Enterprises exist a gap in the literature in this aspect. By the way, this work intends to identify and to analyze the main contributions and limitations caused by the inclusion of procedures of economical/financial analysis in the processes of development of Virtual Organizations; maintenance of Virtual Organizations; development of Virtual Enterprises and maintenance of Virtual Enterprises.

This thesis describes the development and refinement of a number of techniques for molecular docking and ligand database screening, as well as the application of these techniques to predict the structures of several protein-ligand complexes and to discover novel ligands of an important receptor protein. Global energy optimisation by Monte-Carlo minimisation in internal co-ordinates was used to predict bound conformations of eight protein-ligand complexes. Experimental X-ray crystallography structures became available after the predictions were made. Comparison with the X-ray structures showed that the docking procedure placed 30 to 70% of the ligand molecule correctly within 1.5A from the native structure. The discrimination potential for identification of high-affinity ligands was derived and optimised using a large set of available protein-ligand complex structures. A fast boundary-element solvation electrostatic calculation algorithm was implemented to evaluate the solvation component of the discrimination potential. An accelerated docking procedure utilising pre-calculated grid potentials was developed and tested. For 23 receptors and 63 ligands extracted from X-ray structures, the docking and discrimination protocol was capable of correct identification of the majority of native receptor-ligand couples. 51 complexes with known structures were predicted. 35 predictions were within 3A from the native structure, giving correct overall positioning of the ligand, and 26 were within 2A, reproducing a detailed picture of the receptor-ligand interaction. Docking and ligand discrimination potential evaluation was applied to screen the database of more than 150000 commercially available compounds for binding to the fibroblast growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase, the protein implicated in several pathological cell growth aberrations. As expected, a number of compounds selected by the screening protocol turned out to be known inhibitors of the tyrosine kinases. 49 putative novel ligands identified by the screening protocol were experimentally tested and five compounds have shown inhibition of phosphorylation activity of the kinase. These compounds can be used as leads for further drug development.