Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:13:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2606.pdf: 930592 bytes, checksum: f4756c2d671b859733477486438959b2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-03-06 / The research is an investigation about the phenomenon of the Laugh, from the studies of Henri Bergson and Sigmund Freud up to today's research on neuroscience, gelotology and several other studies on human behaviour. In order to better understand the Laugh, an accurate evaluation of the book " Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic", by Henri Bergson is made as an attempt to better understand the main considerations set by the author, in his interpretation of this phenomenon as a Social Gesture and all the implications originated by such fact. In the second chapter of this study, Jokes and their Relation to the Unconscious , by Sigmund Freud, are closely analyzed in details, comparing Freud s and Bergson s approaches and analyzing the mechanisms proposed by Freud concerning the way the Joke works, pointing out the reasons why they would be told to others. The reading and analysis of this book are directed specifically to the study of the Laugh, not approaching any other aspect, relevant to the reading of Freud s work as a whole, which however, would deviate the focus of this work. All the efforts were dedicated to the comprehension of the jokes mechanisms studied by Freud as well as ways to obtain pleasure through them. At the end updated research is verified, such as the one from Richard Wiseman s Laugh Laboratory, that accomplished a worldwide research selecting which would be considered the funniest jokes by people. Also as an object of study there is the role of the mirror-neurones, an important finding that allows a clearer vision about primates and human s social behaviors. The possibility of the laughter to be a behaviour similar to the grooming of the primates is also raised, since both would be related to the exchange of pleasure among individuals viewing the benefit of the group. Following this line, a study is presented defining the laughter as a specific characteristic of the male gender, who would use this feature as an approach aiming at attracting a mate. There isn't a conclusive result, there is not a final word about the laughter because it is clear that in many circumstances the term ranges similar phenomena, which are not exactly the same. In the same way that there is multiple laughter, there are multiple areas that study the distinct variations of the Laugh. / A pesquisa é uma investigação sobre o fenômeno do Riso, partindo dos estudos de Henri Bergson e Sigmund Freud até as pesquisas atuais da neurociência, da gelotologia e dos variados estudos sobre o comportamento humano. Para compreender melhor o Riso, é feita uma avaliação detalhada do livro O Riso , de Henri Bergson, buscando compreender as considerações fundamentais estabelecidas pelo autor, na sua interpretação deste fenômeno como um Gesto Social e todas as implicações que derivam deste fato. No segundo capítulo deste estudo é analisado com detalhes O Chiste e sua relação com o Inconsciente , de Sigmund Freud, comparando as abordagens de Freud e Bergson e analisando os mecanismos propostos por Freud para o funcionamento do chiste e quais as razões pelas quais eles seriam contados. A leitura e análise deste livro são dirigidas especificamente ao estudo do Riso, deixando de abordar outros aspectos, importantes para a leitura da obra de Freud como um todo, mas que desviariam o foco deste trabalho. Todo o esforço foi dedicado à compreensão dos mecanismos do chiste estudados por Freud e das formas de obtenção de prazer através deles. Ao final, pesquisas atuais são estudadas, como as do Laboratório do Riso de Richard Wiseman, que realizou uma pesquisa mundial sobre quais seriam as piadas consideradas mais engraçadas pelas pessoas. Investiga-se também o papel dos neurônios-espelho, importante descoberta que permite uma visão mais clara sobre comportamentos sociais de humanos e primatas. A possibilidade de o riso ser um comportamento semelhante ao grooming dos primatas também é levantada, já que ambas seriam trocas de prazer entre indivíduos visando um benefício dentro do grupo. Nesta linha, é apresentado um estudo que define o riso como uma característica específica do gênero masculino, que usaria o recurso para aproximação da fêmea visando acasalamento. Não há um resultado conclusivo, não há uma palavra final sobre o Riso, pois se torna claro que em muitas circunstâncias o termo abarca fenômenos semelhantes, mas não exatamente iguais. Da mesma maneira que existem múltiplos risos, também existem múltiplas áreas que estudam as distintas variações do Riso.

Cette thèse présente des travaux de recherche de métrologie en ligne de faisceaux de rayons X dans les installations synchrotrons. Deux approches principales ont été étudiées pour extraire la phase d'un front d'onde X : les méthodes utilisant des réseaux optiques et celles utilisant l'effet speckle dans le domaine X. L'interféromètre à réseaux X est l'outil le plus répandu résentatif de la première catégorie. Ses performances et son potentiel furent étudiés dans diverses situations de métrologie en ligne. Les méthodes utilisant le speckle X sont des techniques originales développées au cours de ce projet. Elles utilisent des membranes faites de petits grains diffusants, dont seule la distribution statistique est connue, pour permettre la modulation du front d'onde. Les différentes techniques furent déployées expérimentalement sur les lignes de lumière BM05 de l'ESRF et B16 de Diamond Light Source. Leurs implémentations servirent à la caractérisation de différents composants optiques utilisés pour manipuler les faisceaux synchrotron X et à l'étude de la faisabilité de micro imagerie par contraste de phase avec les sus citées techniques. / This thesis presents research and development work on synchrotron X-ray at-wavelength metrology methods. Two approaches for measuring the phase of an X-ray wavefront were studied: the grating-based and the speckle-based methods. The X-ray grating interferometer is the most widespread technique representative of the first category. Its performance and potential in various situations encountered in at-wavelength metrology was investigated. Speckle methods are X-ray phase sensing techniques newly developed during this thesis project. They make use of membranes with small statistical features to modulate the beam wavefront. The different methods were deployed experimentally at the beamlines BM05 of the ESRF and B16 of the Diamond Light Source. Their implementation permitted the characterization of various kinds of optical elements used to manipulate synchrotron X-ray beamsas well as the feasibility study of micro phase contrast imaging using the two methods described above.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-06T17:06:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Leticia Cardoso Rodrigues.pdf: 1052434 bytes, checksum: 2855c165092fbfd27da3b53880390646 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-03-02 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Although there is some degree of motor recovery after stroke, many individuals don t have functional use of upper limb (UL), even in the chronic phase. In this context, the bilateral training with visual feedback through a mirror has shown promising results, although few studies had used this treatment approach. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of training with bilateral symmetrical tasks and systematic progression in addition to mirror visual feedback (MVF) on the quality of movement and function of the paretic UL in individuals with chronic hemiparesis. The study included 16 patients post stroke, with UL moderate recovery, which were randomly divided into experimental (EG, n = 8) and control group (CG, n = 8). Both groups performed one hour sessions, 3 times a week, during 4 weeks, involving functional bilateral symmetrical exercises with systematic progression, but the EG performed the tasks observing the movement of the non paretic UL reflected on the mirror, while the CG observed paretic UL directly. The Test d Évaluation des Membres Supérieurs de Personnes Âgées (TEMPA) was used as a primary outcome measure to check the function and quality of movement of the paretic UL. As secondary measures, we used the modified Ashworth Scale, Fugl-Meyer Scale (FMS) and the sense of movement as part of the sensory evaluation of the FMS. The variables analyzed did not show differences between groups, however the TEMPA total score showed main time effect (p = 0.01). When analyzed separately, bilateral tasks also showed a time effect on total score (p = 0.01), functional graduation (p = 0.01) and task analysis (0.01). The FMS also showed a time effect (p = 0.02), without differences between groups. Both groups showed gains after the intervention, without differences between groups. It was observed that the gains were most important in the bilateral tasks of TEMPA, which can influence the quality and function while performing tasks of daily living involve both upper limbs. Probably, these results were due to the similarity of both training and MVF or bilateral training using functional movements could help in the recovery of UL, with no apparent effect over the use of the mirror. / Embora haja algum grau de recuperação motora após o Acidente Vascular Encefálico (AVE), muitos indivíduos permanecem sem uso funcional do membro superior (MS), mesmo na fase crônica. Nesse contexto, surge o treino bilateral com feedback visual através do espelho, que vem mostrando resultados promissores, apesar de poucos estudos utilizando esta abordagem de tratamento. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar os efeitos do Treino com o Espelho utilizando tarefas bilaterais simétricas e progressão sistematizada sobre a qualidade do movimento e a função do MS parético em indivíduos com hemiparesia crônica. Participaram deste estudo 16 indivíduos com comprometimento moderado do MS, divididos em grupo experimental (GE, n=8) e controle (GC, n=8). Os dois grupos realizaram sessões de 1 hora, 3 vezes por semana, durante 4 semanas, envolvendo exercícios bilaterais simétricos funcionais com progressão sistematizada O GE realizou as tarefas observando o MS não parético refletido no espelho, enquanto o GC observava o MS parético diretamente. Foi utilizado o Teste de avaliação funcional dos membros superiores (TEMPA) para verificar a função e qualidade do movimento do MS parético, Escala modificada de Ashworth, Escala de Fugl-Meyer (EFM) e o sentido de movimento como parte da avaliação sensorial da EFM. As variáveis analisadas não mostraram diferenças entre os grupos, entretanto a pontuação do TEMPA total mostrou efeito principal de tempo (p=0,01). Quando analisadas separadamente as tarefas bilaterais também mostraram efeito de tempo na pontuação total (p=0,01), graduação funcional (p=0,01) e análise das tarefas (0,01). A EFM também apresentou efeito de tempo (p=0,02), sem diferenças entre os grupos. Observou-se que os ganhos foram mais importantes nas tarefas bilaterais do TEMPA, o que pode influenciar a qualidade e a função durante a realização de tarefas do dia-a-dia que envolvam os dois membros superiores. Acredita-se que os resultados encontrados foram devido à similaridade do treino e tanto o efeito produzido pelo espelho quanto o treino bilateral utilizando movimentos funcionais podem auxiliar na recuperação do MS, sem aparente efeito superior do uso do espelho.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:06:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 SmallyGM_DISSERT.pdf: 498597 bytes, checksum: 61a4b7c8073dafdc2ef9922698771f28 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-04-08 / This paper is divided into three chapters, which are structured as follows: in the first chapter, we examine the figure of death and its characteristics in the context of the work of Guimar?es Rosa, within a specific type, determining how this figure comes through " imposition "," no "," memory "and" ritual. " We intend to cover all the possibilities that this aspect denotes. In the second chapter, we found the incidence of the mirror as an analysis of our study, characterizing it as a stylistic condition can become a reading key, necessary for interpretation of the book "First Stories". The characterization of the mirror as an element of analysis has a theoretical foundation which stretches out along other literary works that are based on the same object. By setting the points where these works approach the theories of speculation, we want to justify their use from our perspective / O presente trabalho divide-se em tr?s cap?tulos, que constituem a seguinte estrutura: no primeiro cap?tulo, analisamos a figura da morte e suas caracter?sticas no contexto da obra de Guimar?es Rosa, dentro de uma tipologia espec?fica, determinando como essa figura surge atrav?s de imposi??o , aus?ncia , mem?ria e ritual . Com isso, pretendemos abranger todas as possibilidades que esse aspecto denota. No segundo cap?tulo, observamos a incid?ncia do espelho como elemento de an?lise de nosso estudo, caracterizando como uma condi??o estil?stica pode se tornar uma chave de leitura, necess?ria ? interpreta??o do livro Primeiras Est?rias . A caracteriza??o do espelho como elemento de an?lise possui uma fundamenta??o te?rica que se descortina ao longo de outras obras liter?rias que t?m por base o mesmo objeto. Ao estabelecer os pontos em que tais obras se aproximam das teorias da especularidade, pretendemos justificar seu uso sob nossa perspectiva

La complexité de l’anatomie fait de son apprentissage une tâche difficile. Au fil des années, différents supports de connaissances ont vu le jour dans le but de représenter et structurer l’anatomie : des dessins au tableau, aux livres d’anatomie, en passant par l’étape incontournable de la dissection, et des travaux pratiques sur maquettes 3d. Il est néanmoins difficile d’appréhenderla dimension dynamique de l’anatomie avec les outils d’apprentissage conventionnels ; connaissance qui est pourtant essentielle à la formation des médecins. A travers ces travaux de thèse nous proposons un système original et innovant pour l’apprentissage de l’anatomie intitulé « Living Book of Anatomy » (LBA). L’idée étant, pour un utilisateur donné, de superposer à sa propre image une maquette anatomique 3d (peau, squelette, muscles et viscères) et del’animer en mimant les mouvements de celui-ci. Nous parlons ici d’une application temps-réel de type « miroir augmenté ». Nous utilisons la Kinect comme capteur de mouvement.Le premier défi à relever est l’identification de caractéristiques morphologiques qui nous permettront de recaler notre maquette anatomique 3d sur l’utilisateur. Nous proposons ici deux technologies interchangeables en fonction des besoins. La première méthode, temps-réel, est basée sur l’utilisation de transformations affines attachées entre les repères positionnés à chaque articulation du squelette donné par la Kinect pour déformer la maquette 3d à l’aide de poids de skinning prédéfinis. La seconde méthode, plus couteuse en temps (de l’ordre de quelques minutes), se découpe en trois parties : dans un premier temps nous déformons la peau à l’aide de la position des articulations du squelette d’animation Kinect et du nuage de pointpartiel de l’utilisateur ; à partir de cela et de règles anatomiques strictes nous déformons le squelette ; pour finir nous déformons les tissus mous pour qu’ils comblent l’espace entre le squelette et la peau. Le second défi concerne la capture réaliste et temps-réel des mouvements utilisateurs. Reproduire le comportement des structures anatomiques est une tâche complexe due aux informations Kinect souvent partielles et très bruitées. Nous proposons ici l’utilisation de règles anatomiques concernant les articulations du corps (axes de rotation et butées articulaires) pour contraindre les mouvements donnés par la Kinect et obtenir des mouvements réalistes. Pour obtenir des mouvements fluides nous nous proposons d’utiliser des filtrages, notamment le filtre de Kalman. Le dernier défi concerne la dominante de retour visuel et d’interaction.Lors de ces travaux nous nous sommes tout particulièrement intéressés à un renducorps complet pour montrer le fonctionnement général du corps humain et de ces différentes articulations. Nous avons également choisi le membre inférieur comme structure anatomique d’intérêt avec pour but la mise en avant de phénomènes anatomiques spécifiques, comme l’activité musculaire.Les différents éléments ont été intégrés dans un système opérationnel présenté en détails dans ce manuscrit de thèse. Grâce à des expérimentations - avec des étudiants et des professionnels de différents domaines - et la présentation de ces travaux sous forme de démonstrations lors de différents congrès, nous avons validé cet outil / To ease the complex task of anatomy learning, there exist many ways to represent and structure anatomy : illustrations, books, cadaver dissections and 3d models. However, it is difficult to understand and analyse anatomy motion, which is essential for medicine students. We present the "Living Book of Anatomy" (LBA), an original and innovative tool to learn anatomy. For a specific user, we superimpose a 3d anatomical model (skin, skeleton, muscles and visceras) onto the user’s color map and we animate it following the user’s movements. We present a real-time mirror-like augmented reality (AR) system. A Kinect is used to capturebody motions.The first innovation of our work is the identification of the user’s body measurements to register our 3d anatomical model. We propose two different methods to register anatomy.The first one is real-time and use affine transformations attached to rigid positioned on each joint given by the Kinect body tracking skeleton in order to deform the 3d anatomical model using skinning to fit the user’s measurements.The second method needs a few minutes to register the anatomy and is divided in 3 parts : skin deformation (using Kinect body tracking skeleton and the Kinect partial point cloud), with it and strict anatomical rules we register the skeleton. Lastly we deformm the soft tissues to completly fill the space inbetween the registered skeleton and skin.Secondly, we want to capture realistically and in real-time the user’s motion. To do that we need to reproduce anatomical structure motion but it is a complex task due to the noisy and often partial Kinect data. We propose here the use of anatomical rules concerning body articulations (angular limits and degrees of freedom) to constraint Kinect captured motion in order to obtain/gain plausible motions. a kalman filter is used to smooth the obtaiined motion capture.Lastly, to embed visual style and interaction, we use a full body reproduction to show general knowledge on human anatomy and its differents joints. We also use a lower-limb as structure of interest to higlight specific anatomical phenomenon, as muscular activity.All these tools have been integrated in a working system detailed in this thesis.We validated our tool/system by presenting it as a live demo during different conferences and through user studies done with students and professionnals from different backgrounds

Le but de ce travail, consacré à la poésie de Christina Rossetti, est de s’éloigner du prisme interprétatif biographique qui est devenu la norme depuis sa mort en 1894. Cette étude, qui repose sur un examen des choix prosodiques et formels, montre que la voix poétique est avant tout une construction. Identifier le miroir à l’intérieur du texte dévoile des éléments essentiels pour comprendre la relation complexe qui se joue entre identité et altérité et qui, à maints égards, définit le style de Rossetti. L’étude des voix qui se font entendre dans son oeuvre poétique, qu’elles soient intertextuelles ou fictionnelles, révèle comment Rossetti parvient, par un usage unique de la répétition, à créer une voix harmonieuse et intemporelle à partir de la diversité et de la contradiction. Mais malgré une première impression de régularité, le principe répétitif est une source de redéfinition permanente qui nie la notion d’origine ou de version définitive. La re-présentation, la différance, et les réécritures incessantes offrent au lecteur un texte qui lui échappe sans cesse. Ce refus de la finitude pointe vers une autre ambition, celle d’atteindre un au-delà non plus religieux — nombre de ses poèmes expriment le désir de ne faire qu’un avec le divin — mais poétique : à travers la relation intime entre Dieu, le poète, et le texte ; par la manipulation de la forme, que le traitement du sonnet illustre ; et enfin grâce à un usage renouvelé des mots. Anglaise aux origines italiennes, Rossetti introduit au sein de la voix poétique un bilinguisme source d’interactions qui aboutissent à une langue hybride et à un rapport aux mots débarrassé de tout automatisme pour acquérir une expressivité nouvelle. / The purpose of this work, which is dedicated to Christina Rossetti’s poetry, is to step away from the biographical bias which has been the norm in the criticism about Christina Rossetti since her death in 1894. This study, based on the close analysis of the prosodic and formal choices, shows that the poetical voice is above all a construction. Finding the mirror within the text reveals important elements to understand the complex relationship between identity and alterity which, in many ways, defines Rossetti’s style. The examination of the voices that can be heard within her poems, may they be intertextual or fictional, shows how Rossetti manages to create a harmonious and timeless voice out of what strikes as diverse and contradictory. However, despite its apparent regularity, the work, through repetition, undergoes a constant self-redefinition negating the notion of origin or definite version: re-presentation, différance, and perpetual re-writing give the reader a text that keeps eluding him/her. This refusal of finitude hints at another ambition, that of reaching a “beyondˮ which is no longer religious — many of her poems express a wish to make one with the divine — but poetical: through an intimate relationship between God, the poet and the text; through the manipulation of the form, which Rossetti’s treatment of the sonnet examplifies; and finally through the poet’s renewed use of words. As an English poet with Italian origins, Rossetti inserts her bilingualism within the poetical voice and thereby creates interactions that result in a hybrid language and a relationship to words freed from habit and automatic reflex to reach enhanced expressivity.

Les premiers miroirs des princes apparaissent dans le monde arabo-musulman au début du VIIIe siècle après J.-C, sous l’autorité de trois secrétaires de chancellerie, kuttāb : Sālim abū al-‛Alā, ‛Abd al-Ḥamīd ibn Yaḥia et ‛Abd-Allāh ibn al-Muqaffa‛. C’est à eux que l’on doit le discours premier de l’art de gouverner, dont l’étude permet de déterminer ce qui peut s’énoncer du politique, en cette période de transition du pouvoir des Omeyyades aux Abbassides. Après la contextualisation philosophique et philologique du discours des miroirs des princes proposée en première partie, la deuxième partie de cette recherche porte sur le gouvernement de soi et examine les pratiques de soi proposées au Prince, au travers de l’emploi rhétorique des fables et de la présentation d’exercices spirituels. La troisième partie aborde la situation du conseil politique : il s’agit de montrer que la tension des rapports de pouvoir entre le sage et le Prince n’annule pas la quête d’un dire-vrai, horizon idéal de la relation de conseil. Enfin, la quatrième partie examine les modalités du gouvernement des autres au travers de l’éthique de l’apparence exigée du Prince, de la typologie des gouvernements et des fonctions du souverain. Parmi ces dernières, la justice, tant distributive que corrective, et le soin, donnent lieu à des modèles spécifiques de gouvernement. Au terme de ce parcours, l’examen de la relation du Prince à ses auxiliaires choisis, ainsi que le modèle de vertu qu’il doit présenter à ses sujets, rendent manifeste la continuité qu’il y a entre le gouvernement de soi et le gouvernement des autres. Ce peuple dont il doit prendre soin doit aussi être séduit, par un gouvernement que l’on ne peut jamais véritablement qualifier de pastoral. / The first mirrors for princes appeared in the Arabo-muslim world at the beginning of the 8th century, under the authority of three secretaries of chancellery, kuttāb, namely Sālim abū al-‛Alā, ‛Abd al-Ḥamīd ibn Yaḥia and ‛Abd-Allāh ibn al-Muqaffa‛. By analyzing this early discourse about the art of government, we aim at determining what can be stated about politics in this transition period between the Umayyad and Abbassid dynasties. After first introducing the philosophical and philological background to this discourse (to the discourse of the mirrors for princes), we shall, in the second part of this study, focus on the government of the self and look into the practices that are suggested to the Prince through the rhetorical use of fables and presentation of spiritual exercises. The third part will deal with the situation of the political counsel, showing that the tension generated by the power relationship between the wise man and the Prince does not cancel the search for frank-speech, regarded as an ideal in the counselling relationship. The fourth part will finally examine the terms and conditions of the government of others by studying the ethic of appearance imposed upon the Prince, the typology of governments and the different duties expected of the sovereign, some which, such as justice, distributive and corrective, and care give rise to specific models of government. Our investigation on the relationship established between the Prince and his chosen assistants and on the model of virtue that he is required to embody for his subjects eventually reveals the obvious continuity between the government of the self and the government of others. The Prince must not only take charge of his people but also charm them by a government that can never be really qualified as pastoral.

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The diploma thesis deals with the personality of Robert Maxwell, his biography, his taking effect on the British media and political scene. The thesis follows also Maxwell's book distribution, founding its first publishing house and several newspapers which he owned. The thesis contains information not only about the Robert Maxwell's personality but also about the historical context his times in Great Britain and focuses on the historical aspect of the media field, business and politics.

Due to their inherent BW capacity, optical interconnect (OI) offers a means of replacement to BW limited copper as bottlenecks begin to appear within the various interconnect levels of electronics systems. Low-cost optically enabled printed circuit boards are a key milestone on many electronics roadmaps, e.g. iNEMI. Current OI solutions found in industry are based upon optical fibres and are capable of providing a suitable platform for inter-board applications especially on the backplane. However, to allow component assembly onto high BW interconnects, an integral requirement for intra-board applications, optically enabled printed circuit boards containing waveguides are essential. Major barriers to the deployment of optical printed circuit boards include the compatibility of the technique, the cost of acquiring OI and the optical power budget. The purpose of this PhD research programme is to explore suitable techniques to address these barriers, primarily by means of laser material processing using UV and IR source lasers namely 248 nm KrF Excimer, 355 nm UV Nd:YAG and 10.6 μm IR CO2. The use of these three main lasers, the trio of which dominates most PCB production assembly, provides underpinning drive for the deployment of this technology into the industry at a very low cost without the need for any additional system or system modification. It further provides trade-offs among the suitable candidates in terms of processing speed, cost and quality of waveguides that could be achieved. This thesis presents the context of the research and the underlying governing science, i.e. theoretical analysis, involving laser-matter interactions. Experimental investigation of thermal (or pyrolitic) and bond-breaking (or photolytic) nature of laser ablation was studied in relation to each of the chosen lasers with regression analysis used to explain the experimental results. Optimal parameters necessary for achieving minimum Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) and surface/wall roughness were explored, both of which are key to achieving low loss waveguides. While photochemical dominance - a function of wavelength and pulse duration - is desired in laser ablation of photopolymers, the author has been able to find out that photothermallyprocessed materials, for example at 10.6 μm, can also provide desirable waveguides. Although there are literature information detailing the effect of certain parameters such as fluence, pulse repetition rate, pulse duration and wavelength among others, in relation to the etch rate of different materials, the machining of new materials requires new data to be obtained. In fact various models are available to try to explain the laser-matter interaction in a mathematical way, but these cannot be taken universally as they are deficient to general applications. For this reason, experimental optimisation appears to be the logical way forward at this stage of the research and thus requiring material-system characterisation to be conducted for each case thereby forming an integral achievement of this research. In this work, laser ablation of a single-layer optical polymer (Truemode™) multimode waveguides were successfully demonstrated using the aforementioned chosen lasers, thus providing opportunities for rapid deployment of OI to the PCB manufacturing industry. Truemode™ was chosen as it provides a very low absorption loss value < 0.04 dB/cm at 850 nm datacom wavelength used for VSR interconnections - a key to optical power budget - and its compatibility with current PCB fabrication processes. A wet-Truemode™ formulation was used which required that optical polymer layer on an FR4 substrate be formed using spin coating and then UV-cured in a nitrogen oxygen-free chamber. Layer thickness, chiefly influenced by spinning speed and duration, was studied in order to meet the optical layer thickness requirement for multimode (typically > 9 μm) waveguides. Two alternative polymers, namely polysiloxane-based photopolymer (OE4140 and OE 4141) from Dow Corning and PMMA, were sparingly utilized at some point in the research, mainly during laser machining using UV Nd:YAG and CO2 lasers. While Excimer laser was widely considered for polymer waveguide due to its high quality potential, the successful fabrication at 10.6 μm IR and 355 nm UV wavelengths and at relatively low propagation loss at datacom wavelength of 850 nm (estimated to be < 1.5 dB/cm) were unprecedented. The author considered further reduction in the optical loss by looking at the effect of fluence, power, pulse repetition rate, speed and optical density on the achievable propagation but found no direct relationship between these parameters; it is therefore concluded that process optimisation is the best practice. In addition, a novel in-plane 45-degree coupling mirror fabrication using Excimer laser ablation was demonstrated for the first time, which was considered to be vital for communication between chips (or other suitable components) at board-level.