El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / Mining activities around the world are undergoing constant change and modernization owing to technological and scientific advancements. Consequently, there are frequent proposals to streamline and enhance processes in mining operations. This study deals with ore transportation in mechanized mining units and aims to optimize fleet management using the Lean Six Sigma methodology to obtain a model in this specific process. The proposed method was implemented using a Lean Six Sigma instrument known as DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control). The case study was applied to an underground mine located in the Huancavelica region, Peru. The simulation showed that 24% of the time in the ore transport cycle is un-productive time and the improvement potential time represents 53% of the transportation process time.

Revolver Revue is a cultural periodical magazine founded in 1985. Initially, as a product of Czech underground subculture, of the former communist Czechoslovakia, Revolver Revue was deemed to be illegal samizdat material. After the transformation of the social and political environment in Czechoslovakia, Revolver Revue became a legal publication, and continues to be published today, in the Czech Republic. The following work is a study of Revolver Revue as a social phenomenon in which the author works towards capturing its main defining features and its developments over time, including it's noteworthy changes as well as the continuity which the organization has seen. Also focused upon are the specific social groups related to Revolver Revue, the specific institutions and the interaction of important actors involved, all perceived through a political and historical context. This work is centred around qualitative empirical research based on analyses of interviews and on the study of related documents. The approach taken to this study was heavily influenced by Grounded Theory.

The thesis "Biblical motifs in Czech pop music of the 1960s and the 1970s of the twentieth century: The function and using of biblical motifs for pop music lyrics with the original biblical background and message" introduces the academic framework of the topic within the first chapter: the definition of the terms, the criteria and method for selecting the motifs and lyrics used. Then, the position of Czech pop music in the cultural and political context of the period is explained, which is a relevant part of the topic itself. Also an outline of the academic reflection of the related topic is referred to as well as the function of biblical motifs in other styles of music (rock, folk and underground music) with the emphasis on the projection of the stylistic differences into using these topics for the lyrics. The following four chapters are probes into the pop music and biblical motifs issue.They are meant as the reflection of the the inner dynamics of the genre as well: in the second and third chapters the selected biblical motifs (general motifs, prayers, biblicisms and biblical characters) are enlisted and the anylysis of their funcion and using for various lyrics is provided in comparison with their biblical message and introducing the original loci in the B ible. The fourth chapter is focused on...

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[pt] Neste momento que a humanidade atravessa uma mudança de época, diagnosticada de formas diferentes e até antagônicas, com diferentes cosmovisões que advogam sua verdade muitas vezes de forma absoluta, não raras vezes fundamentalista, as Igrejas Cristãs precisam responder ao desafio de falar de Deus, entendido esse falar de Deus , como anunciar o Deus revelado por Jesus Cristo, para o ser humano que vive em contexto urbano. A Pastoral Urbana é desafiadora na medida em que os agentes pastorais enfrentam uma diversidade cultural aguda. O confuso processo de globalização que procura produzir uma sociedade culturalmente homogênea, contraditoriamente tem produzido identidades múltiplas, com matrizes multiculturais. O horizonte cultural dos receptores da Palavra de Deus em ambiente urbano é cada vez mais complexo, afetado por um multiculturalismo agudo. Neste contexto urbano os agentes pastorais defrontam-se na contemporaneidade com pessoas vinculadas às tribos urbanas de rosto underground. O horizonte cultural destes receptores é a cultura underground. Anunciar a Boa Nova de Jesus Cristo para essas pessoas vinculadas às tribos urbanas de rosto underground implica que os agentes evangelizadores saibam distinguir claramente entre Fé e Cultura buscando discernir entre o que efetivamente pertence ao núcleo da Revelação e o que é marca histórico cultural. Sendo assim a questão de fundo desta tese está relacionada à sua proposta de construção de uma matriz evangelizadora de linha inculturada e a partir da mesma a construção de um projeto evangelístico-missionário para que as Igrejas Cristãs apresentem a Boa Nova de Jesus para a Cultura Underground. É fundamental que as Igrejas Cristãs abandonem a matriz evangelizadora de dominação e exclusão construída ao longo da história do Cristianismo. A organização da tese estruturou-se a partir de três capítulos. O primeiro capítulo, que corresponde ao enfoque sociocultural, propõe uma análise dos referenciais socioculturais com o auxílio multidisciplinar das Ciências Sociais. O segundo capítulo, correspondente ao enfoque teológico, analisa os referenciais teológicos em busca de uma elaboração dos conceitos de evangelização, missão e inculturação voltados para a construção de uma matriz evangelizadora inculturada. O terceiro capítulo refere-se ao enfoque pastoral. Propõe um projeto evangelístico-missionário junto às tribos urbanas de rosto underground. / [en] At the moment that humanity is going through a change of time, diagnosed in different ways and even antagonistic, with different worldviews that advocate its truth often absolutely, not rarely fundamentalist, Christian churches must respond to the challenge of presenting God, revealed by Jesus Christ, to the human being who lives in the urban context. Urban Ministry is challenging because the pastoral workers face an acute cultural diversity. The confusing process of globalization that seeks to produce a culturally homogenous society, paradoxically has produced multiple identities, with multicultural aspects. The cultural horizon of receivers of the Word of God in the urban environment is increasingly complex, affected by a sharp multiculturalism. In this urban context the pastoral workers face in contemporary times with people linked to underground urban tribes. The cultural horizon of these receptors is the underground culture. Announce the Good News of Jesus Christ to those people linked to underground urban tribes implies that pastoral agents know how to distinguish clearly between Faith and Culture seeking to discern between what actually belongs to the core of the Revelation and it s historical cultural brand. So the bottom line of this thesis is related to its propose to construct a inculturated evangelistic matrix and based in this matrix offer an evangelistic project that enable Christian Churches to present the Good News of Jesus to the Underground Culture. It is essential that the Christian churches leave the evangelistic matrix of domination and exclusion built throughout the history of Christianity. The thesis organisation was built around three chapters. The first chapter, nominated as the social-cultural approach, proposes an analysis of the socio-cultural references with the aid of multidisciplinary social sciences. The second chapter, corresponding to the theological approach, analyses the theological references in search of an elaboration of the concepts of evangelism, mission and inculturation meant for the construction of an evangelistic inculturated matrix. The third chapter refers to the pastoral approach. Proposes an evangelistic-missionary project in underground urban environments.

Dust is a well-known occupational hygiene challenge and has been throughout the years, especially in the coal mining industry. The hazards arising from coal dust will differ between geographical areas due to the unique characteristics of dust from the coal mining environment. It is therefore of upmost importance to identify these qualities or characteristics of coal dust in order to understand the potential hazards it may pose. It is also important to consider the presence of nanoparticles which until recently remained neglected due to the absence of methods to study them. Aim: The aim of this study was to collect significant quantities of airborne dust through static sampling to characterise the physical, morphological as well as elemental properties of inhalable and respirable dust produced at two South African underground and two opencast coal mines. Personal exposure quantification was therefore not the primary concern in this study. Method: Static dust sampling was done at two mining areas of the two opencast and underground coal mines using four Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) and four cyclone samplers per area at each mine. A condensation particle counter (CPC) was also used at the opencast areas. The opencast areas included blast hole drilling, drag line and power shovel operations. The underground areas included the continuous miner and roof bolter operations. Gravimetric analyses of the cyclone and IOM samples were done as well as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. Results: Mine A (opencast and underground) produces higher grade coal in comparison to mine B (opencast and underground). Gravimetric analysis indicated higher average inhalable (55.35 mg/m3) and respirable (2.13 mg/m3) concentrations of dust in the underground areas when compared to the opencast areas (34.73 mg/m3 and 0.33 mg/m3). Blast hole drilling operations indicated higher average inhalable and respirable dust concentrations (39.02 mg/m3 and 0.41 mg/m3) when compared to the drag line and power shovel operations (30.44 mg/m3 and 0.246 mg/m3). CPC results showed higher average concentrations of sub-micron particles at the blast hole drilling areas per cubic metre (63132 x 106) compared to the drag line and power shovel operations (38877 x 106). EDS analysis from the opencast areas indicated much higher concentrations of impurities (with lower concentrations of carbon – 33.33%) when compared to samples taken from the underground mining activities (65.41%). The EDS results from the opencast areas differed substantially. The highest concentrations of silica were found at the blast hole drilling areas. EDS results from the underground areas indicated that mine A has slightly higher concentrations of carbon (66.2%) with less impurities when compared to mine B (64.62%). The continuous miner operations showed a higher concentration of impurities when compared to the dust from the roof bolter. SEM results from the opencast areas revealed that the majority of particles are irregularly shaped and the presence of quartz and agglomerations are evident. SEM results from the underground areas were similar except that the roof bolter produced smaller sized particles when compared to the continuous miner. It also seemed that the areas with higher levels of impurities produced more sub-micron particles. Conclusions: It is possible to identify the majority of physical and elemental characteristics of coal dust by means of gravimetric analysis, particle counting, SEM and EDS. There were differences found, regarding the morphological; chemical and physical characteristics, between the different opencast and underground areas at mine A and mine B due to the type of mining activity and amount of overburden present. Silicosis, Pneumoconiosis and Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are some of the possible health concerns. It has been seen that dust from higher grade coal mines contributed to more developed stages of these diseases. / MSc (Occupational Hygiene), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Dust is a well-known occupational hygiene challenge and has been throughout the years, especially in the coal mining industry. The hazards arising from coal dust will differ between geographical areas due to the unique characteristics of dust from the coal mining environment. It is therefore of upmost importance to identify these qualities or characteristics of coal dust in order to understand the potential hazards it may pose. It is also important to consider the presence of nanoparticles which until recently remained neglected due to the absence of methods to study them. Aim: The aim of this study was to collect significant quantities of airborne dust through static sampling to characterise the physical, morphological as well as elemental properties of inhalable and respirable dust produced at two South African underground and two opencast coal mines. Personal exposure quantification was therefore not the primary concern in this study. Method: Static dust sampling was done at two mining areas of the two opencast and underground coal mines using four Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) and four cyclone samplers per area at each mine. A condensation particle counter (CPC) was also used at the opencast areas. The opencast areas included blast hole drilling, drag line and power shovel operations. The underground areas included the continuous miner and roof bolter operations. Gravimetric analyses of the cyclone and IOM samples were done as well as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. Results: Mine A (opencast and underground) produces higher grade coal in comparison to mine B (opencast and underground). Gravimetric analysis indicated higher average inhalable (55.35 mg/m3) and respirable (2.13 mg/m3) concentrations of dust in the underground areas when compared to the opencast areas (34.73 mg/m3 and 0.33 mg/m3). Blast hole drilling operations indicated higher average inhalable and respirable dust concentrations (39.02 mg/m3 and 0.41 mg/m3) when compared to the drag line and power shovel operations (30.44 mg/m3 and 0.246 mg/m3). CPC results showed higher average concentrations of sub-micron particles at the blast hole drilling areas per cubic metre (63132 x 106) compared to the drag line and power shovel operations (38877 x 106). EDS analysis from the opencast areas indicated much higher concentrations of impurities (with lower concentrations of carbon – 33.33%) when compared to samples taken from the underground mining activities (65.41%). The EDS results from the opencast areas differed substantially. The highest concentrations of silica were found at the blast hole drilling areas. EDS results from the underground areas indicated that mine A has slightly higher concentrations of carbon (66.2%) with less impurities when compared to mine B (64.62%). The continuous miner operations showed a higher concentration of impurities when compared to the dust from the roof bolter. SEM results from the opencast areas revealed that the majority of particles are irregularly shaped and the presence of quartz and agglomerations are evident. SEM results from the underground areas were similar except that the roof bolter produced smaller sized particles when compared to the continuous miner. It also seemed that the areas with higher levels of impurities produced more sub-micron particles. Conclusions: It is possible to identify the majority of physical and elemental characteristics of coal dust by means of gravimetric analysis, particle counting, SEM and EDS. There were differences found, regarding the morphological; chemical and physical characteristics, between the different opencast and underground areas at mine A and mine B due to the type of mining activity and amount of overburden present. Silicosis, Pneumoconiosis and Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are some of the possible health concerns. It has been seen that dust from higher grade coal mines contributed to more developed stages of these diseases. / MSc (Occupational Hygiene), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The abundance and diversity of carbohydrate and protein resources in the southern Cape of South Africa may well have aided the survival of modern humans through the harsh climatic conditions of the late Pleistocene. Until now, the carbohydrate resources, in particular the underground storage organs (USOs) of some plant species have not been described from a forager’s perspective. This is baffling when one considers that the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa harbors the highest diversity of geophyte (herbaceous plants which possess USOs) species in the world. I report on USO distribution and abundance in the southern Cape of South Africa and on the effort, nutritional return and energetic return rates of harvesting these USOs. To determine their distribution and abundance, I assessed identity and abundance in a hundred 25m2 plots. These data, along with biomass data of every species sampled, allowed me to quantify the variation of this potential food source over different habitat types in the southern Cape landscape. Furthermore, I observed the time it took for human subjects to gather a sample of six USO species in three different vegetation types and in two seasons. Proximal analyses of the nutritional content of each of these species provided data which, when combined with foraging time, enabled a basic quantification of the return rate of energy (in calories) per time unit. There is high variability in the distribution of edible USO abundance and biomass across the study area, with some sites having very high biomass. Such biomass hotspots are likely to have been targeted by foragers, returning biomass values comparable to other studies which have been conducted on extant hunter-gatherer communities. Due to considerable variation over the landscape, the hotspots of biomass did not correlate significantly with any abiotic variables we measured. This suggests that hotspots of high biomass may have been challenging to find, unless the cognitive skills required to locate such patches were sufficiently developed – certainly excellent knowledge of the landscape and botany would have been crucial if survival depended on locating these diet items. USO species belonging to the Iridaceae family had the highest overall and average biomass in the area, so it is not surprising that this family is best represented amongst USO plant remains found in the archaeological record. Little effort (time) was required to obtain the six species of USOs we observed, although the weights obtained were also low. The nutritional returns of the six test species were higher than in other studies. The return rates per simulated foraging event in this study therefore compare favorably to the anthropological observations of extant hunter-gatherer communities. The lines of evidence presented in this thesis therefore lend support to the hypothesis that the USO resources of the southern Cape would have provided a large component of the carbohydrate requirements for sustaining hunter-gatherer communities. The data set presented in this thesis can be considered a baseline for future studies. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die digtheid en diversiteit van koolhidraat- en proteïenhulpbronne in die Suid-Kaap van Suid-Afrika mag die oorlewing van die moderne mens beïnvloed het tydens die ongunstige klimaatstoestande wat geheers het deur die laat Pleistoseen. Tot op hede is die koolhidraathulpbronne in die area nie beskryf vanuit ‘n kosversamelaar se perspektief af nie, spesifiek nie die koolhidrate wat deur ondergrondse stoororgane (OSO's) van sommige plantspesies verskaf kan word nie. Dié feit is verstommend as mens in ag neem dat die Kaapse Floristiese Streek van Suid-Afrika die hoogste geofietspesies (kruidagtige plante met OSO's) diversiteit ter wêreld het. Ek rapporteer oor die verspreiding en digtheid van OSO's in die Suid-Kaap en op die inspanning, voedingswaarde en energie-opbrengskoerse verbonde aan die oes van dié OSO's. Verspreiding en digtheid is bepaal oor ʼn honderd 25m2 plotte. Dié data, saam met die biomassa-data van elke spesie wat geïdentifiseer was, is gebruik om potensiële voedselbronne te kwantifiseer in verskillende habitattipes in die Suid-Kaap. Ek het verder die tyd wat dit neem vir mense om die ses geïdentifiseerde OSO-spesies te oes in drie verskillende habitatte en twee seisoene waargeneem. Voedingswaarde-data, tesame met OSO-oestyd-data, is gebruik vir die basiese berekening van energie-opbrengskoerse van spesies deur middel van proksimale analises. Daar is hoë variasie in die verspreiding, digtheid en biomassa van eetbare OSO's gevind in die studie-area, met sommige plotte wat baie hoë biomassa bevat het. Hierdie areas van hoë biomassa sou heel waarskynlik deur kos-versamelaars geteiken gewees het, en gevolglik hoë opbrengste van biomassa bied, wat vergelykbaar is met die biomassa-waardes wat waargeneem word binne areas waar huidige jagter-versamelaar-gemeenskappe tans oorleef. As gevolg van die aansienlike variasie wat waargeneem is oor die landskap het die hoë-biomassa-areas nie beduidend gekorreleer met enige abiotiese veranderlikes wat gemeet is nie. Dit dui daarop dat hoë-biomassa-areas moeilik kan wees om te vind, tensy kognitiewe vermoëns wat noodsaaklik is om kolle van hoë biomassa te vind ontwikkel was. OSO-spesies wat aan die Iridaceae-familie behoort het die hoogste algehele en gemiddelde biomassa in die area gehad. Dit is dus nie verbasend dat dié familie die beste verteenwoordig word in die argeologiese rekord van OSO-plantoorskot nie. Min inspanning (tyd) was nodig om die OSO's van die ses geïdentifiseerde spesies te bekom, alhoewel die massa wat bekom is ook laag was. Die voedingswaarde-opbrengs (per eenheidsmassa) van die ses toetsspesies was hoër as in ander studies. Die energie-opbrengskoers per versamelingsgebeurtenis het gevolglik ook gunstig vergelyk met die antropologiese waarnemings wat van huidige jagter-versamelaars gemeenskappe gemaak is. Die resultate van hierdie studie ondersteun die hipotese dat die OSO-hulpbronne in die Suid-Kaap 'n groot komponent van die koolhidraat-vereistes van jagter-versamelaar-gemeenskappe sou gewees het. Die datastel wat in dié tesis aangebied word kan as 'n basisverwysing dien vir toekomstige studies.

Sewer flooding incidents in the UK are being increasingly associated with the presence of blockages. Blockages are difficult to deal with as although there are locations where they are more likely to occur, they do occur intermittently. In order to manage sewer blockage pro-actively sewer managers need to be able to identify the location of blockages promptly. Traditional CCTV inspection technologies are slow and relatively expensive so are not well suited to the rapid inspection of a network. This is needed if managers are to be able to address sewer blockages pro-actively. This thesis reports on the development of low-cost, rapidly deployable acoustic base sensor that will be able to survey live sewer pipes. The sensor emits short coded acoustic signals which are reflected from any defects of the wall of the underground pipes and recorded for future processing. The processing algorithms are based on the temporal windowing, deconvolution, Fourier, and intensity analysis so that the response can be linked directly to the location and property of the of the pipe deformation. The sensor was tested in a full scale sewer pipe in the laboratory and in few sites in UK, Austria and Netherlands and it was shown that it is able to discriminate between blockages and structural aspects of a sewer pipe such as a manhole and lateral connection. The anticipated cost is orders of magnitude lower than any current technique.

published_or_final_version / Electrical Engineering / Master / Master of Science in Engineering