Tese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Informática e Computação. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 2010

A finite element model based on the layer-wise theory and the von Kármán type nonlinear strains is used to analyze damage in laminated composite beams. In the formulation, the Heaviside step function is employed to express the discontinuous interlaminar displacement field at the delaminated interfaces. Two types of the most common damage modes in composite laminates are investigated for cross-ply laminated beams using a numerical approach. First, a multi-scale analysis approach to determine the influence of transverse cracks on a laminate is proposed. In the meso-scale model, the finite element model based on the classical laminate theory provides the material stiffness reduction in terms of the crack density by computing homogenized material properties of the cracked ply. The multiplication of transverse cracks is predicted in a macro-scale beam model under bending loads. In particular, a damage analysis based on nonlinear strain fields in contrast to the linear case is carried out for a moderately large deformation. Secondly, the effect of delamination in a cross-ply laminated beam under bending loads is studied for various boundary conditions with various cross-ply laminate lay-ups. The crack growth of delamination is predicted through investigating the strain energy release rate. Finally, the interactions of a transverse crack and delamination are considered for beams of different configurations. The relationships between the two different damage modes are described through the density of intralaminar cracks and the length of the interlaminar crack. It is found that geometric nonlinearity plays an important role in progression of interlaminar cracks whereas growth of intralaminar cracks is not significantly influenced. This study also shows that the mixture of fracture mode I and II should be considered for analysis of delamination under bending loads and the fracture mode leading delamination changes as the damage develops. The growth of delamination originated from the tip of the transverse crack is found to strongly depend on the thickness of 90- degree layers as well as the transverse crack density. Further, the effect of interfacial crack growth on the transverse cracking can be quatitatively determined by the delamination length, the thickness of 90-degree layers and the transverse crack density.

Wise use has been widely recognized as a central tenet of sustainable development in wetland management throughout the world. In 2005 the concept of wetland wise use was incorporated into the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) framework to highlight the importance of maintaining a balance between wetland utilization and maintenance of ecosystem diversity. However, the implementation of this framework has been less than effective due to a lack of official government support in terms of institutional and organisational arrangements and lack of local community engagement. The aim of this thesis was to explore the mental models of local communities and decision makers involved in wetland planning and management in Indonesia, as a means to unravel the barriers and opportunities for achieving more effective outcomes for both wetlands and local communities. The specific objectives were to better understand the mental models of the key actors involved in wetland management, as well as the broad policy, economic, social and cultural issues surrounding wetlands at multiple scales from local to national. The term mental models as used in this study referred to a collection of individual worldviews, values, beliefs and mindsets in relation to understanding human-wetland relationships. This thesis presents the findings from a case study of the mental models of community-based rehabilitation of coastal wetlands in Pemalang, Central Java. It drew from a constructivist and pragmatic research paradigm to illuminate the importance of understanding wetland wise use across the key stakeholders involved. The assumptions of the constructivist and pragmatic paradigms indicate that this approach is appropriate for gaining insight into the social and cultural context of communities in the Pemalang district. The research targeted all 110 community members, who were actively engaged in wetland rehabilitation in Pemalang coastal areas. Interviews were conducted with 22 key decision makers involved in wetland management. Systematic procedures were used to minimise the potential for bias that can be evident in interpretive research and to ensure that the findings represented accurate information regarding the phenomenon under investigation. Techniques that included face-to-face validity, triangulation, repeated and prolong observation were used to ensure the reliability and validity of the research. The data analysis used a grounded approach. Leximancer Software and Nvivo QSR analysis were used to enable the complexity of the phenomenon associated with wetland wise use within the community-based activities to be identified. A key finding of this research was that effective wetland management should incorporate community objectives that address economic, social and cultural issues. In particular, enhanced understanding of a range of social aspects is important in developing the stakeholders’ ability to nurture and provide stewardship of wetlands and to contribute to management practices that are collectively endorsed and coordinated and are socially accepted across the stakeholders involved. Decision makers viewed wetlands and their wise use on the basis of the relevant regulatory framework and had dominant anthropocentric orientations. The communities’ concerns about subsistence were the main drivers in all members who were engaged in wetland rehabilitation programs (i.e. seaweed and crab farmers, and shrimp paste makers). The community also prioritised cultural and traditional values in addressing wetland wise use. The local Pemalang communities displayed a combination of both anthropocentric and ecocentric worldviews. Comparisons across the community groups studied revealed that fish farmers’ mental models tended toward ecocentric worldviews, whereas the crab farmers and shrimp paste makers displayed strongly anthropocentric worldviews and utilitarian values concerning the meaning of wetlands and their wise use. In contrast, the decision makers’ mental models related to wetland wise use implementation showed a strong anthropocentric worldview, which was oriented to the optimisation of land use functions and compliance with the regulatory framework. This research is important as it combines both quantitative and qualitative approaches, including interviews and participant observation to provide rich descriptions and a deeper understanding of stakeholders’ mental models. By understanding these mental models, the views of the stakeholders can be more closely aligned with a stewarding and nurturing approach towards the environment. A key recommendation is the need to re-capitalise the existing National Committee of Wetland Management, through providing a more effective regulatory framework that accommodates various government regulations and integrates this with other levels of government (i.e. provincial and local). Stakeholder capacity building can be improved through encouraging and supporting local government involvement in the international network on wetland management. These findings also suggest that there is the need to support local communities in their management of wetlands by applying programs that incorporate local values, including traditional practices. Incentives should be generated through incorporating the existing international program such as bio-right entitlements for the community and introducing microfinance practices that are currently being widely practised in many less developed nations. The integration of these findings will provide insights and opportunity for more effective wetland wise use in Indonesia.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Food, Nutrition, Dietetics and Health / Tandalayo Kidd / Objective: The purpose of this study is to promote healthy dietary and physical activity (PA) behaviors in adolescents using a six-module nutrition education resource—Wise Eating (WE)—which was designed specifically for the adolescent population based on the concept and principles of Intuitive Eating (IE).  Study Design: Repeated measures study with pre-assessment and post-assessment. Outcome Measures and Analysis: This study assessed participating adolescents’ breakfast intake, fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption, and PA behaviors; perceptions of IE factors; and perceptions of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) variables. Independent samples t-tests and one-way ANOVAs were used to determine differences in demographic variables and differences between the control and the intervention group. Paired t-tests were performed to compare the behavioral and perception changes from the pre-assessment to the post-assessment. Multiple linear regressions were performed to examine the relationship between TPB variables and FV consumption and PA participation intent and behaviors. Results: The total number of participants at the pre- and the post-assessment was 154 and 148, respectively. Participant’s gender and grade level were evenly distributed. Hispanic was identified as the predominant ethnic population at both the pre- and the post-assessment. At post-assessment, participants in the intervention group significantly increased their breakfast intake frequency, FV consumption frequency, and PA participation frequency (P < .05). Sixth graders had significantly higher breakfast intake frequency, FV consumption frequency, and PA participation frequency when compared with 7th and 8th graders (P < .05). The TPB variables significantly predicted FV consumption and PA intent and behaviors at both the pre- and the post-assessment, and the perceived behavioral control served as the most consistent predictor. For the intervention group, the IE total and Factor 1—Unconditional Permission to Eat scores were significantly increased at the post-assessment when compared with the control group (P .001). Conclusions: These findings tested the effectiveness of WE education modules and further emphasized the need for more interventions on IE to improve dietary and PA behaviors change in the adolescent population.

This problem is to determine what form of organization has most advantages for the schools of Wise County, Texas.

The problem forming the basis of this study has to do with an analysis of the degree of utilization of the community resources in the educational programs of the independent school districts of Wise County, Texas, for the purpose of determining how adequately these resources are being utilized by the schools for the enrichment of their curricula to the end that pupils may be released into their respective communities well-prepared to assume the duties and responsibilities of efficient, functioning citizens.

"Some six months after the death of Margaret Wise Brown in November, 1952, Ellen Lewis Buell stated that she was the author of more than seventy books, and pointed out that with her passing the children's book publishing world had lost one of 'its most prolific writers.' An obituary notice gave the number of her publications as one hundred books 'under own name and pseudonyms.' The pseudonyms--Timothy Hay, Golden MacDonald, Juniper Sage--represented, according to Miss Brown, 'clear-cut writing personalities and distinct styles' differing from each other and from Margaret Wise Brown so greatly that, from the first draft of a book, it was perfectly clear to her just which one of her literary personalities was doing the writing. This remarkable statement, the discrepancy in the count of her books, and a curiosity about a writer who could produce in a life span of little more than forty years such a great number of books, be it seventy or one hundred, are the motivations for this paper. Its purpose is to compile from various sources a literary biography of Margaret Wise Brown and to establish the canon of her writing"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "August, 1959." / "Submitted to the Graduate School of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts." / Advisor: Robert Clapp, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references.

The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission surveyed the sky in four infrared wavelength bands (3.4, 4.6, 12 and 22 μm) between January 2010 and February 2011. During the mission, WISE serendipitously observed 160 comets, including 21 newly discovered objects. About 89 of the comets observed by WISE displayed a significant dust tail in the 12 and 22 μm (thermal emission) bands, showing a wide range of activity levels and dust morphology. Since the observed objects are a mix of both long-period comets (LPCs) and short-period comets (SPCs), differences in their activity can be used to better understand the thermal evolution that each of these populations has undergone. For the comets that displayed a significant dust tail, we have estimated the sizes and ages of the particles using dynamical models based on the Finson-Probstein method [Finson and Probstein, 1968]. For a selection of 40 comets, we have then compared these models to the data using a novel tail-fitting method that allows the best-fit model to be chosen analytically rather than subjectively. For comets that were observed multiple times by WISE, the particle properties were estimated separately, and then compared. We find that the dust tails of both LPCs and SPCs are primarily comprised of ~mm-cm sized particles, which were the result of emission that occurred several months to several years prior to the observations. The LPCs nearly all have strong emission close to the comet*s perihelion distance, and the SPCs mostly have strong emission close to perihelion, but some have strong emission well before perihelion.

No description available.

The Penn Virginia Resources Corporation is a large land holding company in southwest Virginia. Approximately 62 percent of their holdings are forested. The major objective of this study was to determine the economic feasibility of utilizing timber on Penn Virginia forest lands as a raw material for selected forest products. The study was conducted in three phases: (1) A market and resource analysis; (2) Estimation of the cost of harvesting and transporting timber from Penn Virginia lands to local processing facilities; and (3) An analysis of the economic feasibility of establishing new forest products markets utilizing Penn Virginia timber as the primary raw material supply. Results from phase one of the study indicated that approximately 116 wood-based industries are located within 50 miles of the Penn Virginia forest, and that the forest contains the resources to supply some of these existing markets. Phase two results were obtained using harvesting simulations. A harvesting system cutting conventional products and recovering residues was the most economical. A discounted cash flow analysis was employed in phase three of the study to examine the economic feasibility of establishing wood-based plants using Penn Virginia timber. Five mill types were analyzed: pallet mill, dimension mill, SHOLO mill, System 6 mill, and sawmill. Five sawmill configurations were examined. Results of this study phase indicated that the mill types showing the greatest potential for establishment using Fenn Virginia timber were the dimension mill, SHOLO mill, and scragg sawmill. All provided after-tax rates-of-return 0£ approximately 30 percent or higher. / Master of Science