Os Stricto Sensu em Administração são regulamentados pela CAPES Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, a qual preconiza pela qualidade, para tanto se utiliza de avaliações trienais. Cada Programa cria sua própria linha de pesquisa; porém o foco ainda é a formação de docentes de qualidade, embora haja, principalmente, na UCS e PUCRS a busca pela formação de empreendedores. No intuito de verificar o papel dos cursos de mestrados em estudo na formação de empreendedores, esta dissertação buscou, a partir da análise de literatura sobre o tema, caracterizar as dimensões do empreendedorismo, a evolução da pós-graduação, identificar as universidades e os mestrados em estudo, bem como dimensionar os alunos egressos a serem pesquisados e comparar as informações coletadas de cada mestrado. Para atingir os objetivos, foi utilizada a metodologia de estudo de caso, exploratório, descritivo do tipo múltiplos casos. Utilizou-se um instrumento de coleta aplicado a todos os egressos; porém, nem todos responderam. Optou-se por utilizar a quantidade total de retorno, sendo que, para que a amostra fosse considerada representativa, calculou-se a mesma considerando erro amostral de 10%, porém não pode ser considerada com viés, pois todos os indivíduos tiveram a mesma chance de serem pesquisados. De posse dos dados, optou-se por uma análise exploratória; posteriormente, para a comparação, uma análise comparativa, considerando um nível de significância de 5%, ou seja, a probabilidade máxima de rejeitar acidentalmente uma hipótese nula verdadeira, sendo a medida estimada do grau em que o resultado é verdadeiro. Assim, concluiu-se que os mestrados em estudo estão cumprindo com o proposto, sendo considerados pelos pesquisados como formadores de empreendedores, uma vez que a média de todas as questões aplicadas apresentou-se superior a três, mínimo para considerar importante na formação de empreendedores, pois, conforme a escala de likert utilizada, o valor três refere-se a "não concordo nem discordo", ou seja, neutro; portanto, para ser importante, deve ser maior ou igual a três, abaixo deste valor considera-se discordando com as proposições pesquisadas pelo constructo aplicado. Além de coletar as informações para verificar o papel dos mestrados na formação de empreendedores, a dissertação teve como foco preencher lacunas na área de conhecimento do referido assunto, com a finalidade de contribuir de forma científica na disseminação de novas teorias, bem como agregar novos estudos sobre o tema. / Submitted by Marcelo Teixeira (mvteixeira@ucs.br) on 2014-06-03T16:02:49Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Valquiria Paza Vuelma.pdf: 1038985 bytes, checksum: 4258a619cca9544ebc88c1e8f55cd563 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-03T16:02:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Valquiria Paza Vuelma.pdf: 1038985 bytes, checksum: 4258a619cca9544ebc88c1e8f55cd563 (MD5) / Stricto sensu in the administration are regulated by CAPES - Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education, which advocates for quality, for both uses of triennial evaluations. Each program creates its own line of research, but the focus is still the quality of teacher training, although there is, mainly, in UCS and PUCRS the search for training of entrepreneurs. In order to verify the role of study in Masters courses in the training of entrepreneurs, this paper sought from the analysis of literature on the subject, to characterize the dimensions of entrepreneurship, the development of postgraduate studies, to identify the universities and the Masters under study, as well as sizing the alumni to be searched and to compare information collected from each master. To reach these objectives, it was used the methodology of case study, exploratory, descriptive and multiple cases. It was used a data collection instrument applied to all graduates, although not all answered, it was chosen to use the total return, and for which the sample was considered representative, it was calculated considering the same sampling error of 10% but can not be considered biased, because all individuals had the same chance of being surveyed. By having the data, it was opted for an exploratory analysis, for later comparison, a comparative analysis, considering a significance level of 5%, in other words, the maximum probability of accidentally rejecting a true null hypothesis, whereas the measurement of estimated degree to which the result is true. Thus, it was concluded that the masters in the study are complying with the proposal being considered by researchers as trainers of entrepreneurs, since the average of all applied questions were better than the third, least important to consider the training of entrepreneurs because according to the Likert scale used, the value 3 refers to "neither agree nor disagree", or neutral, so it is important to be greater than or equal to 3, below this value is considered disagreeing with the propositions surveyed by the construct used. Besides collecting the information to verify the role of masters in the training of entrepreneurs, the dissertation focused on filling gaps in the knowledge area of that subject, in order to contribute in a scientific way with the dissemination of new theories as well as to add new studies on the subject.

Os Stricto Sensu em Administração são regulamentados pela CAPES Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, a qual preconiza pela qualidade, para tanto se utiliza de avaliações trienais. Cada Programa cria sua própria linha de pesquisa; porém o foco ainda é a formação de docentes de qualidade, embora haja, principalmente, na UCS e PUCRS a busca pela formação de empreendedores. No intuito de verificar o papel dos cursos de mestrados em estudo na formação de empreendedores, esta dissertação buscou, a partir da análise de literatura sobre o tema, caracterizar as dimensões do empreendedorismo, a evolução da pós-graduação, identificar as universidades e os mestrados em estudo, bem como dimensionar os alunos egressos a serem pesquisados e comparar as informações coletadas de cada mestrado. Para atingir os objetivos, foi utilizada a metodologia de estudo de caso, exploratório, descritivo do tipo múltiplos casos. Utilizou-se um instrumento de coleta aplicado a todos os egressos; porém, nem todos responderam. Optou-se por utilizar a quantidade total de retorno, sendo que, para que a amostra fosse considerada representativa, calculou-se a mesma considerando erro amostral de 10%, porém não pode ser considerada com viés, pois todos os indivíduos tiveram a mesma chance de serem pesquisados. De posse dos dados, optou-se por uma análise exploratória; posteriormente, para a comparação, uma análise comparativa, considerando um nível de significância de 5%, ou seja, a probabilidade máxima de rejeitar acidentalmente uma hipótese nula verdadeira, sendo a medida estimada do grau em que o resultado é verdadeiro. Assim, concluiu-se que os mestrados em estudo estão cumprindo com o proposto, sendo considerados pelos pesquisados como formadores de empreendedores, uma vez que a média de todas as questões aplicadas apresentou-se superior a três, mínimo para considerar importante na formação de empreendedores, pois, conforme a escala de likert utilizada, o valor três refere-se a "não concordo nem discordo", ou seja, neutro; portanto, para ser importante, deve ser maior ou igual a três, abaixo deste valor considera-se discordando com as proposições pesquisadas pelo constructo aplicado. Além de coletar as informações para verificar o papel dos mestrados na formação de empreendedores, a dissertação teve como foco preencher lacunas na área de conhecimento do referido assunto, com a finalidade de contribuir de forma científica na disseminação de novas teorias, bem como agregar novos estudos sobre o tema. / Stricto sensu in the administration are regulated by CAPES - Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education, which advocates for quality, for both uses of triennial evaluations. Each program creates its own line of research, but the focus is still the quality of teacher training, although there is, mainly, in UCS and PUCRS the search for training of entrepreneurs. In order to verify the role of study in Masters courses in the training of entrepreneurs, this paper sought from the analysis of literature on the subject, to characterize the dimensions of entrepreneurship, the development of postgraduate studies, to identify the universities and the Masters under study, as well as sizing the alumni to be searched and to compare information collected from each master. To reach these objectives, it was used the methodology of case study, exploratory, descriptive and multiple cases. It was used a data collection instrument applied to all graduates, although not all answered, it was chosen to use the total return, and for which the sample was considered representative, it was calculated considering the same sampling error of 10% but can not be considered biased, because all individuals had the same chance of being surveyed. By having the data, it was opted for an exploratory analysis, for later comparison, a comparative analysis, considering a significance level of 5%, in other words, the maximum probability of accidentally rejecting a true null hypothesis, whereas the measurement of estimated degree to which the result is true. Thus, it was concluded that the masters in the study are complying with the proposal being considered by researchers as trainers of entrepreneurs, since the average of all applied questions were better than the third, least important to consider the training of entrepreneurs because according to the Likert scale used, the value 3 refers to "neither agree nor disagree", or neutral, so it is important to be greater than or equal to 3, below this value is considered disagreeing with the propositions surveyed by the construct used. Besides collecting the information to verify the role of masters in the training of entrepreneurs, the dissertation focused on filling gaps in the knowledge area of that subject, in order to contribute in a scientific way with the dissemination of new theories as well as to add new studies on the subject.

This research consists of two main parts: development of a rock expert system (RES) as an easy-to-use and effective tool for evaluating rock properties, and modification and utilization of the three-dimensional Particle Flow Code (PFC3D) to analyze rock behavior. Because of different reasons, it is often difficult to obtain the rock property values directly. As an alternative, typical values and empirical correlations are often used to evaluate the rock property values. However, the typical values and empirical correlations come in various forms and are scattered in different sources. It is often difficult, time-consuming or even impossible for an engineer to find appropriate information to estimate the required rock properties. So in the first part of the research, the RES was developed as an easy-to-use and effective tool for evaluating rock properties by conducting detailed review and evaluation of well determined values and empirical correlations of rock properties in the published literature, and developing a central database and data application tools. The study of RES demonstrates the storage of rock property values and correlations is strongly applicable and the web based data application tool is effective to use and easy expandable. Considering its granular nature, the discrete element method (DEM) has been widely adopted to analyze the mechanical behavior of rock. The Particle Flow Code (PFC) is one of the most popular DEM softwares. The basic idea of PFC is to treat rock as an assembly of bonded particles that follow the law of motion and consider the model behavior dominated by the formation and interaction of micro cracks developed within the particle-particle cement (bond). Unlike the continuum methods, PFC can deal with the natural process from micro cracking to macro failure, without predefining a failure criterion for the rock. However, there are still issues related to the application of PFC to analyze different rock problems. For example, so far, most of the studies use PFC2D although many of the problems are three dimensional and should be better simulated with PFC3D. It is also found that the simulations using the default PFC parallel bond model extremely underestimate the ratio of unconfined compressive strength to tensile strength (UCS/T). So in the second part of the research, the important aspects related to the application of PFC3D, including model scale, particle size distribution and contact model, were studied, a new contact model was developed for addressing the limitation of the default PFC3D on obtaining unrealistically low UCS/T ratios, and finally the new contact model was used to investigate rock fracture initiation and propagation.

Submitted by Antonio José Faria da COSTA (tonidacosta@gmail.com) on 2015-03-20T19:44:53Z No. of bitstreams: 1 TESE - ANTONIO J F COSTA - 2015.pdf: 2490011 bytes, checksum: dcb3502fd2027bdd26d761c11bc888d1 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by PAMELA BELTRAN TONSA (pamela.tonsa@fgv.br) on 2015-03-20T19:52:18Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 TESE - ANTONIO J F COSTA - 2015.pdf: 2490011 bytes, checksum: dcb3502fd2027bdd26d761c11bc888d1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-23T12:52:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TESE - ANTONIO J F COSTA - 2015.pdf: 2490011 bytes, checksum: dcb3502fd2027bdd26d761c11bc888d1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-27 / The main objective of this dissertation is to understand the functioning of a mosaic of protected areas – the Mosaic of Bocaina. It is said that today biodiversity conservation policies depend on the creation and proper management of protected areas. However, when the government created those protected areas in particular it was done by the time it was not legally required to consult the inhabitants of those places, which has led to numerous drawbacks for both sides and a real legal imbroglio when it comes to recognition of diffuse rights. The Mosaic of Bocaina was created by a decree of the Ministry of the Environment in late 2006. Since 2007 it has been trying to establish itself as a planning tool for integrated and participatory management of a set of protected areas. It also tries to mitigate and seeks possible solutions to historical land conflicts created by overlapping official and traditional territories. Through systematic analysis of documents produced as part of its Advisory Commitee, and the monitoring of debates of special themes by those actors interacting in that hybrid governance forum, we have tried to understand why certain themes advance and enter the agenda, being referred for competent decision-makers, and others can not even be processed, being blocked as soon as they appear. We have found that this process is a result of the configuration of dynamic forces of two advocacy coalitions vying, more than sharing, spaces in the area and always through polarized discussions. On the one hand, the pro-biodiversity coalition, which brings together managers of protected areas (both integral protection and sustainable use) and other actors whose focus is not always a conservationist agenda, but rather excluding one. On the other, pro-sociodiversity coalition, which fights for the adoption of a socioenvironmentalist and alternative agenda, which encompass the inclusion and ensuring the role of traditional communities in sustainable local development projects. We believe that this bias and difficulty in building consensus based on principles of collaboration and cooperation is a result of the complexity of governance management in hybrid forums like the Mosaic of Bocaina, where complexity is derived from the coexistence of values, preferences and interests often divergent. But we can also identify other specific factors, resulting of local characteristics and/or choices made by the collective of actors throughout the path. The huge asymmetry of information and power between the actors involved, for example, hinders the development of trust and reciprocity mechanisms. The adoption of a collegiate coordination, on the other hand, which eventually affects the emergence of a leadership or neutral body to serve as a mediator of the negotiations between the parties. The profound misunderstanding of possibilities – but, above all, also the limits – of mosaics of protected areas as territorial management tool within the broad Brazilian National System of Protected Areas generates conflict resolution expectations that depend on decisions made elsewhere, which ultimately frustrate and demobilize participants on both sides. The image of apparent apathy of federal and state environmental agencies, in turn, derived from the length of public processes, is bound to infund even more uncertainty in the relationship between the actors. / O objetivo principal desta tese é compreender o funcionamento de um mosaico de áreas protegidas e unidades de conservação – o Mosaico Bocaina. Entende-se hoje que a política de conservação de biodiversidade depende da criação e adequada gestão de áreas protegidas. No entanto, a apropriação estatal de porções do território se deu por meio de decretos de criação de unidades de conservação num período em que não era obrigatória a consulta à população que habita essas localidades, o que acabou gerando inúmeros inconvenientes para ambos os lados e um verdadeiro imbróglio jurídico quando se trata do reconhecimento dos direitos difusos. O Mosaico Bocaina foi criado por uma portaria do Ministério do Meio Ambiente no final de 2006. Desde 2007 vem tentando se firmar como um instrumento de planejamento e gestão integrada e participativa de um conjunto unidades de conservação. Tenta-se também mitigar e buscar possíveis soluções para conflitos fundiários históricos criados pela sobreposição de territórios oficiais e tradicionais. Por meio da análise sistemática dos documentos produzidos no âmbito do seu Conselho Consultivo, e do acompanhamento das discussões de temas caros aos atores interagindo nesse fórum de governança híbrida, procuramos entender por que certos temas avançam e entram na agenda, sendo encaminhados para as instâncias decisórias competentes, e outros nem sequer conseguem ser processados, sendo bloqueados assim que entram na pauta. Identificamos que tal processo é resultado da dinâmica de configuração de forças de duas coalizões de defesa que disputam, mais que compartilham, espaços no território, e sempre polarizaram as discussões. De um lado, a coalizão pró-biodiversidade, que agrega gestores de unidades de conservação (tanto de proteção integral quanto de uso sustentado) e outros atores cujo foco nem sempre é uma agenda claramente conservacionista, mas excludente. De outro, a coalizão pró-sociodiversidade, que luta pela adoção de uma agenda socioambientalista e alternativa, com a inclusão e garantia do protagonismo das comunidades tradicionais nos projetos de desenvolvimento local sustentável. Acreditamos que essa polarização e dificuldade de construção de consensos baseados em princípios de colaboração e cooperação é resultado da própria complexidade da gestão da governança em fóruns híbridos como esse, complexidade esta derivada da coexistência de valores, preferências e interesses muitas vezes divergentes. Mas também conseguimos identificar outros fatores específicos, resultados de características locais e/ou escolhas realizadas pelo coletivo de atores ao longo da trajetória. A enorme assimetria de informação e poder entre os atores participantes, por exemplo, dificulta o desenvolvimento de confiança e mecanismos de reciprocidade. A adoção de uma coordenação colegiada, por outro lado, acabou comprometendo o surgimento de uma liderança ou instância neutra que funcionasse como mediadora dos processos de negociação entre as partes. O profundo desconhecimento das possibilidades – mas, sobretudo, também dos limites – dos mosaicos de áreas protegidas e unidades de conservação como instrumento de gestão territorial dentro do amplo Sistema Nacional de Unidades de Conservação gera expectativas de solução de conflitos que dependem de decisões que são tomadas alhures, o que acaba frustrando e desmobilizando os participantes de ambos os lados. A imagem de aparente apatia dos órgãos ambientais federais e estaduais, por sua vez, derivada da morosidade dos processos públicos, tende a infundir ainda mais incerteza no relacionamento entre os atores.

Submitted by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2017-08-24T13:19:45Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Reprodução Não Autorizada.pdf: 47716 bytes, checksum: 0353d988c60b584cfc9978721c498a11 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2017-08-24T13:19:59Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Reprodução Não Autorizada.pdf: 47716 bytes, checksum: 0353d988c60b584cfc9978721c498a11 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-24T13:19:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Reprodução Não Autorizada.pdf: 47716 bytes, checksum: 0353d988c60b584cfc9978721c498a11 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-06-09 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Use Cases (UCs) have become an important artifact for the specification of software requirements. However, there are several difficulties that prevent students and software engineers from specifying UCs correctly. In order to explore and understand the difficulties in modeling diagram and specify UCs, we carried out four empirical studies with 195 participants. We present in this thesis a model about the difficulties in the modeling of UCs found in the studies carried out. The model presents the difficulties in diagram and specification UC that were classified into categories. First, we present the categories related to the diagram (D), which identify: (D-I) the actors of the system, (D-II) the use cases of the system, (D-III) generalization relationship, (D-IV) included and extend relationship; and categories related to the use-case specification (E): (E-I) abstraction of requirements, (E-II) flows of UC, (E-III) business rules, (E-IV) References of flows and business rules, (E-V) Pre- and Post-condition and (E-VI) dependence of other UCs. This on research is based on an evidence-based methodology, we executed procedures of the Grounded Theory (GT) method to analyze the data; and we use the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to evaluate the constructed model. The model was evaluated and it showed that the presented difficulties occur with more than 50% of the participants. We used EFA to identify possible factors with correlated difficulties. The EFA did not show that some of the difficulties grouped in the categories defined for the model are correlated. Through the obtained results from the empirical studies, the current version of the model can be considered valid to represent the perception of the participants about the difficulties occurred in diagram and specification of UC. In addition, the model serves as a basis for future research in the field, as well as support for the suggestion of practices to improve the teaching / learning process of students in modeling UC. / Casos de Uso (Use Cases – UCs) tornaram-se um importante artefato para a especificação dos requisitos de software. No entanto, há várias dificuldades que impedem estudantes e engenheiros de software de especificarem UCs de forma correta. Com o objetivo de explorar e entender as dificuldades em modelar diagrama e especificar UCs, foram realizados quatro estudos experimentais com 195 participantes. Esta dissertação apresenta um modelo sobre as dificuldades na modelagem de UCs encontradas nos estudos realizados. O modelo apresenta as dificuldades relacionadas a modelagem do diagrama e especificação de UC. Estas dificuldades foram classificadas em categorias. Primeiramente, serão apresentadas as categorias relacionadas ao diagrama (D): (D-I) Identificar os atores do sistema, (D-II) Identificar os casos de uso do sistema, (D-III) Relacionamento de generalização e (D-IV) Relacionamentos extend e include. Por fim, as categorias relacionadas a especificação (E): (E-I) Abstração dos requisitos, (E-II) Fluxos do UC, (E-III) Regras de negócio, (E-IV) Referências de fluxos e Regras de negócio, (E-V) Pré e Pós-condição e (E-VI) Dependência de outros UCs. Esta pesquisa fundamentou-se em uma metodologia baseada em evidências, a análise dos dados foi conduzida utilizando procedimentos do método Grounded Theory (GT) e para a avaliação do modelo elaborado utilizou-se a Análise Fatorial Exploratória (AFE). O modelo foi avaliado e mostrou que as dificuldades apresentadas ocorrem com mais de 50% dos participantes. Utilizou-se a AFE para identificar possíveis fatores com dificuldades correlacionadas. A AFE mostrou a correlação entre certas dificuldades agrupadas nas categorias definidas para o modelo. Através dos resultados obtidos dos estudos experimentais, a versão atual do modelo pode ser considerada válida para representar a percepção dos participantes sobre as dificuldades ocorridas em diagrama e especificação de UC. Além disso, o modelo serve como base para futuras pesquisas na área, bem como no apoio à sugestão de práticas para melhorar o processo de ensino/aprendizagem dos alunos em modelagem de UC.

Over the past decades, cemented paste backfill (CPB) has become a common, environmentally friendly method of managing mine wastes (such as tailings). This technology allows up to 60% of the total amount of tailings to be reused and filled in the mine stopes after converting them into cemented material. Beside reducing the environmental risks associated with the traditional disposal of these materials, turning them into cemented material and placing them in the underground mine stopes can also provide secondary support for these stopes in addition to minimizing the risk of ground subsidence in the mine area. CPB is an engineered mixture of tailings, water, and hydraulic binder (such as cement, blast furnace slag, and fly ash) that is mixed in the paste plant and delivered into the mine stopes through a gravity or pumping based transportation system. During the transportation of CPB through the delivery system pipelines, the flowability of CPB depends on the rheology of the transported CPB, which is affected by different factors, such as the transportation time, temperature variation, binder type, and chemical composition of these mixtures. In addition, the performance of CPB, after placing the CPB mixture into the mine stopes, is mainly dependent on the role of the hydraulic binder, as it increases the mechanical strength of the mixture through the process of cement hydration. The mechanical strength is also influenced by different factors, such as time progress, temperature variation, and presence of chemical additives. It has previously been found that fresh CPB transported and/or placed in the mine stopes can be susceptible to temperature variation of different sources, such as the climatic effects, heat generated from the surrounding rocks, and heat generated during the process of cement hydration. Unsuitable flowability of CPB through the delivery system might lead to significant financial losses due to clogging of pipelines with unexpected hardening of CPB during transportation, which will cause delay in work and possible damages to the pipelines. Also, failure of CPB structure in the mine stopes due to inappropriate mechanical strength may cause casualties to the mine workers as well as significant environmental and economic damages. Many researchers studied the rheological properties and/or strength development of CPB under the individual effect of any of the aforementioned factors. Additionally, many researchers have evaluated the coupled effect of some of these factors on the rheology and mechanical strength of CPB material. Hitherto, there are currently no studies that addressed the combined effect of all these conditions on the rheological properties and strength development of CPB. At the first stage of this M.A.Sc. study, a series of experimental tests was conducted on fresh CPB in order to determine the combined effect of time, temperature, binder content, and chemical additives on the rheological properties of CPB. These experiments include rheological properties test (yield stress and viscosity), microstructural analysis (thermal analysis and XRD), chemical analysis (pH and Zeta potential), and monitoring tests (electrical conductivity), which were conducted on 125 CPB samples that were mixed and prepared at different temperatures (2oC, 20oC, 35oC) and cured for different curing time (0 hrs., 0.25 hrs., 1 hr., 2hrs, and 4 hrs.). These samples were prepared with different blends of hydraulic binders (PCI, PCI/Slag, and PCI/FA) and contained different dosages of sodium silicate (0%, 0.1%, 0.3%, and 0.5%). The results obtained show that rheology of CPB increases with the progress of curing time. It also increases with the increase in the initial (mixing and curing) temperature and content of sodium silicate. It was also found that the partial usage of slag and FA reduces the rheological properties. However, CPBs containing PCI/FA as binder have lower rheological properties, and thus better flowability, than those that contain PCI/Slag as binder. At the second stage of this M.A.Sc. study, in order to understand the combined effect of time, temperature and sodium silicate content on the strength development of slag-CPB, unconfined compression (UCS) test, microstructural analysis (thermal analysis and MIP), and monitoring tests (electrical conductivity, suction, and volumetric water content) were conducted on 72 CPB samples that were prepared with PCI-Slag as a binder, cured for different times (1 day, 3 days, 7 days, and 28 days) under different curing temperatures of (2oC, 20oC, 35oC), and contained different dosages of sodium silicate (0%, 0.3% and 0.5%). The results obtained at this stage showed that the strength development of slag-CPB increases with the progress of curing time and temperature. It also increases with the increase in the sodium silicate content. Also, the combined effect of high temperature, high dosage of sodium silicate and longer curing time showed significant enhancement in the mechanical strength of slag-CPB. The findings of this M.A.Sc. research will contribute to cost effective, efficient, and safer design of CPB structures in the mine areas. It will also help in minimizing financial loss associated with unsuitable flowability of CPB transported in the CPB delivery system besides reducing the risks of human loss, and the environmental and economic damages associated with the failure of CPB structures.

O bairro do Guapiruvu está situado entre os municípios de Sete Barras e Eldorado Paulista, na região do Vale do Ribeira, atualmente com cerca de 150 famílias. Localiza-se limítrofe ao PEI (Parque Estadual Intervales), unidade de proteção integral com mais de 41.700 hectares, inserida no Contínuo [Continuum] Ecológico de Paranapiacaba, um dos principais remanescentes conservados daMata Atlântica. Nos últimos dez anos se agravou o problema de extração clandestina da espécie Euterpe edulis - o palmito jiçara como é conhecido na região - entre outros danos ambientais e patrimoniais. Trata-se de um conflito permanente e diretamente relacionado ao processo de exclusão social da região. Neste mesmo contexto surgiu, em 1997, a AGUA (Associação de amigos e moradores do bairro Guapiruvu) e que promoveu e estruturou políticas públicas para o bairro, por meio de parcerias, projetos e ações socioambientais e atos reivindicatórios ao poder público. Sua atuação envolve também a mediação de conflitos entre a comunidade e o Parque. A abordagem de um conflito permanente requer esforço permanente de cooperação. Mais do que possível diálogo [entre moradores-lideranças do bairro Guapiruvu e funcionários-gestores do PEI], faz-se necessário construir instrumentos de parceria mais duradouros entre as instituições envolvidas. / The neighborhood of the Guapiruvu is situated between the towns of Sete Barras and Eldorado Paulista, in the region of the Vale do Ribeira, nowadays, with around 150 families. It is next to the State Park Intervales (Parque Estadual Intervales - PEI), a protected area with more of 41.700 hectares, inside of \"Continuum Ecológico de Paranapiacaba\", one of the main areas remainders conserved of the Atlantic Forest. In the last ten years was aggravated the problem of clandestine extraction of the specie Euterpe edulis, the palm jiçara as is known in the region, among others patrimonial and environmental damages. It deals with a permanent conflict and straightly related to the process of social exclusion of the region. In this same context, arose, in 1997, AGUA (Association of friends and inhabitants of the neighborhood Guapiruvu) that promoted and structured public politics for the neighborhood, by means of partnerships, socioenvironmental projects and claimed acts to the public power. Its action involves also the mediation of conflicts between the community and the Park. The approach of a permanent conflict applies a permanent effort of cooperation. More than a possible dialogue [between inhabitants-leaderships of the neighborhood Guapiruvu and member of staff-administrative of the PEI], it is necessary build instruments of partnership more durable between the institutions involved.

O bairro do Guapiruvu está situado entre os municípios de Sete Barras e Eldorado Paulista, na região do Vale do Ribeira, atualmente com cerca de 150 famílias. Localiza-se limítrofe ao PEI (Parque Estadual Intervales), unidade de proteção integral com mais de 41.700 hectares, inserida no Contínuo [Continuum] Ecológico de Paranapiacaba, um dos principais remanescentes conservados daMata Atlântica. Nos últimos dez anos se agravou o problema de extração clandestina da espécie Euterpe edulis - o palmito jiçara como é conhecido na região - entre outros danos ambientais e patrimoniais. Trata-se de um conflito permanente e diretamente relacionado ao processo de exclusão social da região. Neste mesmo contexto surgiu, em 1997, a AGUA (Associação de amigos e moradores do bairro Guapiruvu) e que promoveu e estruturou políticas públicas para o bairro, por meio de parcerias, projetos e ações socioambientais e atos reivindicatórios ao poder público. Sua atuação envolve também a mediação de conflitos entre a comunidade e o Parque. A abordagem de um conflito permanente requer esforço permanente de cooperação. Mais do que possível diálogo [entre moradores-lideranças do bairro Guapiruvu e funcionários-gestores do PEI], faz-se necessário construir instrumentos de parceria mais duradouros entre as instituições envolvidas. / The neighborhood of the Guapiruvu is situated between the towns of Sete Barras and Eldorado Paulista, in the region of the Vale do Ribeira, nowadays, with around 150 families. It is next to the State Park Intervales (Parque Estadual Intervales - PEI), a protected area with more of 41.700 hectares, inside of \"Continuum Ecológico de Paranapiacaba\", one of the main areas remainders conserved of the Atlantic Forest. In the last ten years was aggravated the problem of clandestine extraction of the specie Euterpe edulis, the palm jiçara as is known in the region, among others patrimonial and environmental damages. It deals with a permanent conflict and straightly related to the process of social exclusion of the region. In this same context, arose, in 1997, AGUA (Association of friends and inhabitants of the neighborhood Guapiruvu) that promoted and structured public politics for the neighborhood, by means of partnerships, socioenvironmental projects and claimed acts to the public power. Its action involves also the mediation of conflicts between the community and the Park. The approach of a permanent conflict applies a permanent effort of cooperation. More than a possible dialogue [between inhabitants-leaderships of the neighborhood Guapiruvu and member of staff-administrative of the PEI], it is necessary build instruments of partnership more durable between the institutions involved.

The networks in traditional data centers have remained unchanged for decades and have grown large, complex and costly. Many data centers have a general purpose Ethernet network and one or more additional specialized networks for storage or high performance low latency applications. Network convergence promises to lower the cost and complexity of the data center network by virtualizing the different networks onto a single wire. There is little evidence, aside from vendors' claims, that validate network convergence actually achieves these goals. This work defines a framework for creating a series of unbiased tests to validate converged technologies and compare them to traditional configurations. A case study involving two different network converged technologies was developed to validate the defined methodology and framework. The study also shows that these two technologies do indeed perform similarly to non-virtualized network, reduce costs, cabling, power consumption and are easy to operate.

One hundred billion tons of mine solid waste are estimated to be produced worldwide each year. In Canada, the mining and oil industries produce the most solid and semi-solid waste in the country, with more than a billion tons each year. In the earlier days of mining, the initial practices that were used to contain these waste materials consisted of surface storage, river dumping or just simple abandonment, while the more recent practices include dam impoundment and underground waste fill. These methods however can potentially cause environmental hazards and geotechnical problems. Against this context and as a result of stricter environmental regulations, cemented paste backfilling has been developed as a solution. This relatively new technology uses the produced waste tailings to backfill the mine stopes, greatly reducing their environmental impact while offering proper structural support in an efficient manner. However, the cost of cemented paste backfill (CPB) is greatly impacted by the binder content which can constitute up to 75% of its total cost. Additionally, the binder is usually mostly composed of ordinary Portland cement, and its production is highly energy-intensive and generates a large volume of carbon dioxide (CO₂). Indeed, it is estimated that the cement industry accounts for approximately 7% of the global anthropogenic CO₂ emissions, which is expected to increase on an annual basis. All of these factors have compelled the mining industry to seek alternatives for cement to enhance CPB strength, in hopes of reducing its carbon footprint. Against this context, this study investigates the effect of the addition of nanoparticles, namely nano silica (SiO₂) and nano-calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), on the strength development of CPB cured at a constant room temperature and in non-isothermal conditions. Nanoparticles have been studied and used as chemical admixtures in different cementitious materials with promising results; non-isothermal curing conditions better reflect the in-situ thermal curing conditions of CPB. Thus, numerous different laboratory tests and analyses, including uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) tests, thermogravimetric/derivative thermogravimetric (TG/DTG) analyses and electrical conductivity monitoring, have been conducted on CPB samples with or without nanoparticles, and cured at room temperatures or under non-isothermal conditions. The non-isothermal conditions replicate the development of temperature in two different sizes of CPB structures in the field. The results show that CPB that contains nanoparticles show a higher UCS over the entire period of curing in all of the tested conditions. The mechanical performance is further enhanced when tested under higher temperatures in non-isothermal temperature profiles. Most of the strength increase takes place at the early ages (3 days) of the testing. The reason for the improvement in the mechanical strength is linked to accelerated binder hydration and the nucleating and filler effects of the nano-material, which is corroborated by results obtained through microstructural analyses and EC monitoring. The use of natural gold tailings affects the mechanical performance of CPB and the accelerating effect of the nanoparticles due to sulphate attacks. Overall, these promising findings can help to contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of mining activities, and improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of mine backfilling processes.