The Seven Valleys is an interactive 3D installation based artwork inspired by mystical writings of the Bahá'í Faith. Created as a modification of the firstperson shooter Unreal Tournament 2003 (Epic, 2003) it subverts the original paradigm of the game to create an experience of the numinous, which in spirit, is diametrically opposed to the original intent of the gameplay design. This artwork presents an exploration of, and allusion to, the often subtle and illusive concepts found in the sacred treatise The Seven Valleys (Bahá'u'lláh, 1991) in which the user engages in an experiential journey through the work. The user is faced with conditions and situations that provide motivation to question, explore and attempt to fathom the abstract sense of the numinous. Each of The Seven Valleys contains its own individual mysteries while at the same time contributing its part to the telling of a collective story. / Master of Arts

During our archaeological surveys in the upper reaches of the Palpa valleys, at the western slope of the Andes, we identified and registered a large number of settlements of the Paracas culture, most of them dating to the Middle Paracas(550-350 BC) and Late Paracas (350-200 BC) period. Of special interest are several large sites with stone buildings with circular ground plans, similar to the shape of a flower. The center of these architectural complexes consists of acircular or crescent shaped sunken patio, around which are arranged D-shaped enclosures with small terraces in front of the straight wall.Through our large scale excavations in Cutamalla, one of the largest and best preserved settlements in the area, we were able to document in detail this new type of architecture and to define its formal and constructive features, as well as its cultural affiliation and the activities carried out within the structures.All the data recovered so far indicate that these circular structures have to be considered as a new architectural type of the Late Paracas period. The distribution of this new architectural pattern is limited to a part of the highlands of Lucanas, Ayacucho, and, as far as we know, seems to be unique in the southern highlands of Peru. / Trabajos de prospección arqueológica realizados en la parte alta de los valles de Palpa, en la vertiente occidental de los Andes, nos han permitido identificar y registrar un importante número de asentamientos pertenecientes a la culturaParacas, de manera especial, aquellos pertenecientes a las épocas Paracas Medio (550 a 350 a.C.) y Paracas Tardío (350 a 200 a.C.), entre los que destacan varios sitios bastante grandes que presentan construcciones de piedra que conforman estructuras arquitectónicas en forma de flor. Se trata de construcciones en donde se pueden distinguir patios hundidos de forma de media luna o de forma circular, alrededor de los cuales se disponen recintos en forma de «D» que presentan pequeñas terrazas delante del muro recto.Recientes excavaciones en área realizadas en Cutamalla, uno de los asentamientos más grandes y mejor conservados de la zona, nos han permitido documentar con detalle este tipo de estructuras arquitectónicas, y conocer sus rasgos formales y constructivos, su filiación cultural, así como las actividades que se realizaban en ellas.Todos los datos indican que las estructuras arquitectónicas en forma de flor constituyen un nuevo patrón arquitectónico Paracas Tardío, cuya distribución se limita a una parte de la sierra de Lucanas, Ayacucho, y que, hasta el momento, viene a ser único en toda la sierra sur del Perú.

Low slope roofs are roofs with an inclination between 1:16 and 1:4 and have been constructed and preferred for many years due to the benefits they present. The goal of the present work is to study the following problems of low slope roofs, as they are suggested by previous relevant theses and the current needs of the market. Moisture transfer in low slope roofs with constant exposure to high levels of relative humidity. Is protection against corrosion required for steel beams placed directly under the external membranes? If yes, what kind of protection is that? Roof drainage on low slope roofs The study of the first subject was based on simulations of this type of structures in order to see how external moisture affects the moisture level and the potential for corrosion on steel beams. The main goal was to conclude whether we can actually build inverted roofs with steel plates or beams lying right under the roof membrane and what kind of protection is more appropriate to apply, in case it is required. According to the literature review conducted on roof structures, corrosion and corrosion protection, as well as the results of the simulations, the main factor defining the corrosion potential is the indoor environment. Moreover, paint coating seems to be the indicated anticorrosive protection. Regarding drainage, the study focused on the literature review of the current situation, the solutions applied, the existing regulations and guidelines regarding the type of systems used (full flow or gravity, internal or external), the construction of drainage valleys (inclined or horizontal) and the placement and dimensioning of drains and overflows, in order to create a short handbook with issues to be considered by the roof engineer. The main conclusions are that drain valleys are suggested to be constructed completely horizontal, in order to facilitate the cooperation between drains, and that full-flow systems are more efficient than gravity ones and should be preferred, as long as the roof is not exposed to solid material and prone to its accumulation around drains (e.g. roofs covered with vegetation or stone ballast, with overhanging or nearby trees).

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<p>In 2009, the Regional Municipality of Halton and McMaster University initiated a 2-year collaborative study (Georgetown Aquifer Characterization Study-GACS) of the groundwater resource potential of Quaternary sediments near Georgetown, Ontario. As part of that study, this thesis investigated the Quaternary infill stratigraphy of the Middle Sixteen Mile Creek (MSMC) and Cedarvale (CV) buried valley systems using newly acquired core and borehole geophysical data. Multi-parameter geophysical log suites (natural gamma, EM conductivity, resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, full-waveform sonic, caliper) were acquired in 16 new boreholes (16 m to 55 m depth), pre-existing monitoring wells and from archival data. Characteristic log responses (electrofacies) were identified and correlated with core to produce a detailed subsurface model of a 20-km² area to the southwest of Georgetown. Nine distinctive lithostratgraphic units were identified and their geometry mapped across the study area as structure contour and isochore thickness maps. The subsurface model shows that the CV valley truncates the Late Wisconsin MSMC stratigraphy along a channelized erosional unconformity and is a younger (post-glacial?) sediment-hosted valley system. Model results demonstrate the high level of stratigraphic heterogeneity and complexity that is inherent in bedrock valley systems and provides a geological framework for understanding groundwater resource availability.</p> <p>Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to selected log suites to evaluate the potential for objective lithologic classification using log data. Gamma, resistivity and conductivity logs were most useful for lithologic typing, while p-wave velocity and resistivity logs were more diagnostic of compact diamict units. Cross plots of the first and second principal components of log parameters discriminated silts and clays/shales from sand/gravel and diamict lithofacies. The results show that PCA is a viable method for predicting subsurface lithology in un-cored boreholes and can assist in the identification of hydrostratigraphic units.</p> / Master of Science (MSc)

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth and Planetary Science, 1982. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Science / Vita. / Bibliography: leaves 217-223. / by Frances Luellen Stephenson Hotchkiss. / Ph.D.

L'objectif de ce travail est d'appréhender l'émergence et l'affirmation du territoire des Vallées occitanes d'Italie et le processus de construction identitaire qui le sous-tend. En partant d'une « protohistoire » de la revendication d'oc jusqu'à une ethnographie du présent, cette enquête prend en compte les représentations revendiquées et/ou visibles de la culture, de l'identité et du territoire et donc les discours et les pratiques des « entrepreneurs identitaires », que sont en premier lieu les occitanistes. La délimitation des frontières ethno-linguistiques, la création et la diffusion de symboles, la construction d'un patrimoine musico-chorégraphique, d'une architecture occitane et d'un « occitan imaginé », constituent les principaux procédés mis en œuvre à cet effet. L'institutionnalisation de la revendication au cours des années 1990, qui aboutit à la promulgation d'une loi reconnaissant une « minorité occitane » dont l'État italien protège « la langue et la culture » (1999), a impliqué aussi l'analyse des usages sociaux et politiques du « fonds patrimonial » élaboré par les militants à l'extérieur des groupes revendicatifs. Celui-ci est dès lors mis au service du développement du territoire en un double souci identitaire et économique à travers la réalisation d'une politique culturelle et linguistique institutionnelle, la création de produits et labels à connotation occitane et la mise en tourisme d'un territoire jusqu'alors dépourvu d'éléments d'attractivité et de différenciation conséquents. / The purpose of this work is to understand the emergence and affirmation of the Italian Occitan Valleys territory and the identity construction process that underlies it. Starting from a “proto-history” of the oc claim to a present ethnography, this research considers the claimed and / or visible representations of culture, identity and territory, and therefore the speeches and the practices of “identity entrepreneurs” that are primarily the occitanists. The demarcation of ethno-linguistic border, the creation and diffusion of symbols, the construction of a musical-choreographic heritage, as well as an Occitan architecture and an “imagined Occitan” language, are some of the processes implemented by the occitanists to this end. The institutionalization of the claim in the 1990s, which resulted in the enactment of a national law officially recognizing the “Occitan minority” (1999), also involved to lead the analysis of social and political uses of “heritage fund” developed by activists outside the protest groups. This last one has been therefore dedicated to territory development with a double identity and economic concern, through the implementation of a cultural and linguistic institutional policy, the creation of economic activities and labels with Occitan patterning, and the launching for tourism of a territory devoid of substantial elements of attractiveness and differentiation.

Neste estudo analisamos a diversidade e endemismos da flora lenhosa das florestas estacionais decíduas (FEDs) do norte e centro do Perú. Caracterizamos a diversidade das plantas lenhosas ao longo dos vales, para definir os valores de conservação da área a nível nacional. Os resultados indicam que as FEDs do vale do Marañón apresentam valores significativamente altos em endemias em relação às outras FEDs do Perú e FEDs vizinhas e o padrão de endemismos e estrutura populacional das espécies variam no gradiente geográfico e altitudinal. Em constraste, as FEDs do vale do rio Tambo, centro do Perú, são moderadamente ricas em espécies do que a média das FEDs neotropicais e apresentam escassos endemismos. Esta região necessita de mais esforços de pesquisas para conhecer mais profundamente os elementos da biodiversidade. Neste estudo, também realizamos a caracterização dendro-anatômica do lenho das árvores de 87 espécies, sendo o primeiro registro da anatomia da madeira das árvores dos dois vales. Das análises do lenho das 183 espécies registradas nas florestas do norte e centro do Perú, só 157 apresentam anéis de crescimento e precisam ser analisadas em detalhe com outras pesquisas de desenvolvimento cambial e técnicas tradicionais de análises dendrocronológicas. A derivação desta informação pode alcançar alto impacto em estudos de variabilidade climática e aplicações na conservação. Assim mesmo, a análise preliminar dendrocronológica das taxas de crescimento do tronco revelam que as árvores de Cedrela kuelapensis apresentam as taxas de crescimento mais altas e ressaltam como um excelente recurso para programas de reflorestamento nos vales interandinos, além, das populações endêmicas de Cordia iguaguana e Esenbeckia cornuta são principalmente de exemplares jovens. Esperamos que as informações dos cinco capítulos constituam-se uma eficiente e importante ferramenta para melhorar a gestão dos recursos florestais dos vales estudados. / In this study we analyzed the diversity and endemism of the woody flora of Seazonally dry tropical forests (SDTF) in northern and central Peru. We characterized the diversity of woody plants along the valleys to define the conservation values of the area at the national and international levels. The results indicate that the SDTF s of the Marañón Valley show surprisingly high values in endemics in relation to other SDTF s in Peru and neighboring SDTFs, and the pattern of endemism and population structure of the species varies in geographic and altitudinal grades. In contrast, the SDTFs of the Tambo River Valley, central Peru, are moderately rich in species that average the neotropical SDTFs and have scarce endemism. This region needs more efforts to get to know the elements of biodiversity more deeply. In this study, we also performed the dendroanatomic characterization of 87 species and is the first report of the anatomy of the wood for the two valleys. From the analysis of the wood of the 183 species recorded in the forests of northern and central Peru, only 157 have growth rings and need to be analyzed in detail with other studies of exchange rate development and traditional techniques of dendrochronological analysis. The derivation of this information can reach high impact in studies of climatic variability and conservation applications. Likewise, the preliminary dendrochronological analysis of growth rates reveals that Cedrela kuelapensis showed the highest growth rates and stands out as an excellent resource for reforestation programs in the inter-Andean valleys, in addition, Cordia iguaguana and Esenbeckia cornuta endemic populations are mainly from young individuals. We hope that the information in the five chapters constitutes in efficient and important tool to improve the management of forest resources in the valleys studied.

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Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:00:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissBCF.pdf: 30759720 bytes, checksum: 0bb002a847de0e2dfa65110800339b3a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-12-01 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / The analysis and discussion about anthropic occupation of Permanent Preservation Areas along urban water streams constitute the central part of this work. Initially was tried to understand how human beings dominate space and how this domination is degrading the life quality of Man himself through times. Then, through the studies of occupation of Permanent Preservation Areas of Bagres, Cubatão and Espraiado streams in Franca/SP, we tried to explain the problems of Permanent Preservation Areas, as well as identify along with the legal aspects the critical situation of the treatment given to these areas by the society and the government. / A análise e discussão sobre a ocupação antrópica em Áreas de Preservação Permanente APPs marginais a corpos d água urbanos constituem o cerne deste trabalho. Inicialmente procurou-se entender como o ser humano interage com o espaço e como essa interação vem ao longo dos tempos degradando a qualidade de vida do próprio Homem. Posteriormente, através do estudo da ocupação das APPs dos córregos dos Bagres, Cubatão e Espraiado, em Franca/SP, procurou-se explanar os problemas sobre a questão urbana das APPs, bem como identificar, juntamente com os aspectos legais, a situação crítica do tratamento dado pelo poder público e sociedade a essas áreas.