A maior preocupação deste trabalho é com as moradias das populações de baixa renda que na maioria dos casos são precárias não atendendo aos requisitos mínimos de habitabilidade. Para encarar este problema utilizamos como instrumento o conceito de tecnologia apropriada tendo em vista que as tecnologias tradicionais e modernas não tem apresentado bons resultados neste campo. Isto não quer dizer que estamos defendendo apenas uma saída tecnológica para os problemas da habitação popular. Para exemplificar a viabilidade deste enfoque, estudamos duas aplicações, em tijolos e em paredes monolíticas de solo-cimento, onde se colocaram as questões de escolha do solo, dosagem e ensaios de avaliação tais como: resistência à compressão, durabilidade, absorção d\'água, impermeabilidade. Procuramos também, através das aplicações, disseminar a metodologia empregada, que acreditamos possa ser utilizada no desenvolvimento de outros materiais. / The principal objective of this Project is housing for low income people, wich is in the most part poorly constructed without the minimum standards of habitability. To face this problem, the appropriate technology approach were applied bering in mind that traditional and modern ones have not been suited to best resolve this type of housing. But this does not mean that this housing problem is only a technological challenge. As an example two cases were studied, one in pressed earth and the other in rammed earth, both using soil-cement. Soil selection, the cement to soil mixture, compressive strength, durability, water absorption and impermeability tests were evaluated. Besides these examples it is considered that this methodology can be applied to other studies of other materials.

A pedofilia é um tema complexo e multifacetado, que exige abordagem interdisciplinar. No que tange às ciências jurídicas, uma das questões mais importantes a serem enfrentadas diz respeito à adequação da resposta penal dada aos pedófilos condenados pela Justiça criminal brasileira. O objetivo geral da presente pesquisa é verificar como a resposta penal dada aos pedófilos judicialmente condenados pode ser mais adequada à luz do atual estado de arte da clínica. Para que o escopo principal fosse alcançado, foram formulados três objetivos específicos, quais sejam, (I) identificar os aspectos clínicos da pedofilia que são relevantes para a compreensão do fenômeno pelos operadores do Direito e que permitem uma abordagem interdisciplinar; (II) enumerar os aspectos éticos e os pressupostos desejáveis das medidas terapêuticas e das consequências jurídicas da condenação criminal dos pedófilos; e, (III) averiguar, à luz de medidas alternativas e eticamente defensáveis, novas possibilidades de resposta penal para os pedófilos judicialmente condenados. Todas as questões permitiram também a reflexão sobre a adequação e a pertinência das atuais propostas legislativas em trâmite no Congresso Nacional acerca da matéria. A abordagem não se restringe à dogmática jurídica e estabelece elos com outras áreas do conhecimento humano, notadamente com a Medicina Forense, com a Psiquiatria Forense e com a Psicologia Jurídica. Esta pesquisa pretende contribuir para o debate jurídico-penal acerca da pertinência ou não da implementação de medidas terapêuticas obrigatórias aos pedófilos judicialmente condenados, bem como oferecer subsídios para a proposição de um novo paradigma à prática forense no tocante às consequências jurídicas decorrentes da condenação criminal de pessoas com transtorno pedofílico. / Pedophilia is a complex and multifaceted subject that requires an interdisciplinary approach. Regarding the juridical sciences, one of the most important issues to be faced concerns the adequacy of the criminal response given to convicted pedophiles by the Brazilian criminal justice. The general aim of this research is to verify how the criminal response given to convicted pedophiles may be more appropriate in the light of the current state of the clinic art. For the main purpose to be reached, three specific aims were formulated: (I) to identify the clinical aspects of pedophilia that are relevant to understanding the phenomenon by the Law operators and that allow an interdisciplinary approach; (II) to enumerate the ethical aspects and the desirable presuppositions of the therapeutic measures and the juridical consequences of criminal conviction of pedophiles; and (III) to examine, in the light of alternative and ethically defensible measures, new possibilities of criminal response for convicted pedophiles. All issues also allowed the reflection on the appropriateness and aptness of the current legislative proposals in course at the National Congress on the subject. The approach is not limited to law doctrine and establishes links with other areas of the human knowledge, especially with the Forensic Medicine, Forensic Psychiatry and Forensic Psychology. This research intends to contribute to the criminal legal debate about the aptness or not of the implementation of mandatory therapeutic measures to convicted pedophiles, as well as to offer subsidies for the proposal of a new paradigm to forensic practice with regard to the juridical consequences of the criminal condemnation of people with pedophilic disorder.

Context: Pre-project Requirements Engineering (RE) decisions are considered as very complex in Market Driven Requirements Engineering (MDRE). The complexity and economical impact of RE decisions motivates the need to support and understand RE decisions in MDRE. The purpose of Pre-project activities is to gather, analyze, select, and plan requirements for future releases of the software product in MDRE environment. Correct and timely pre-project decisions (for example initial requirements selection) are dependent on the quality and the availability of the provided decision material (for example requirements, business cases etc) for RE decisions. A Requirements Engineering framework called NORM (Needs Oriented Framework for Producing Requirements Decision Material) in collaboration with Ericsson AB is previously created with the intention of facilitating and speeding up the RE processes by ensuring that the right and sufficient decision material is available at the right time for pre-project RE decisions. NORM needs to be validated in software companies practicing MDRE in order to make it generally applicable in industry. Objectives: NORM framework was partially validated with informal interviews at one business unit within Ericsson AB but needed to be tested or validated in different environments (Telecom, e-commerce etc) in software industry to make sure that it becomes generally applicable in industry. The scope of this master's thesis is to investigate how to tailor NORM to improve a company's requirements engineering processes with the help of value stream mapping (VSM), and to evaluate the effort required and impact of this tailored process. Two MDRE based companies are chosen in this thesis work in order to validate NORM framework in software industry. Methods: There are two main research methods in this research work; Interviews and Document Analysis. In two MDRE based companies, we conducted interviews of employees involved in pre-project RE decision activities in a product, and accessed the requirements documents for the same product in order to initiate the NORM framework. Finally, an email was sent to the interviewees in both companies involved in RE with less than 10 questions in order to confirm our findings for validation of NORM framework. Results: With the information of initiation of NORM framework and using VSM we are able to chart the current decision points (DP) or decisions in the company’s RE process and the decision material that is used for each DP. We then have investigated what decision material is just enough, and when do a company need to produce it so that it is ready when the decision should be taken. We have looked at things such as waiting times, utilization and usefulness of produced decision material, and finally it is suggested to companies how their RE decision process in MDRE environment can be improved. Conclusions: Interviewees provided us the positive feedback on NORM, and they liked our novel research work in the form of NORM framework. Interviewees felt that the provided NORM structure of presenting pre-project decisions and its steps of identifying Appropriate Decision Material (ADM) is useful and usable, scalable and is according to industry relevance. It is concluded that the validation of NORM framework achieved positive feedback and results. / Blekinge Institute of Technology SE-371 79 Karlskrona Sweden Ph.: +46 455 38 50 00

Users can assess the visual appeal of a web page within 50 milliseconds and color is the first thing noticed onscreen. That directly influences user perception of the website, and choosing appealing color combinations is therefore crucial for successful web design. Recent scientific research has identified which individual colors are culturally preferred in web design in different countries but there is no similar research on hue combinations. Currently no effective, scientifically based guidelines on combining hues for web designers exist either, since recent research by Ou et al and Szabo et al, among others, proves the classic color harmonies invalid. Therefore this study aims to identify guidelines for culturally appropriate hue combination in context of web design. The study is limited to culturally appropriate combining of hues in Thai and Swedish web design.

Human Development is not a term used in casual conversation, it describes the current approach used by large aide international development organizations like the United Nations; but most people are familiar with the terms “emergency relief” and “humanitarian intervention”. Emergency relief focuses on providing assistance to save lives, alleviate suffering, or protect populations; while human development uses various societal levers to improve living conditions. The United Nation has been publishing an annual report on human development since 1990 (UNDP 1990), and it is widely recognized as a consistent measure of global living conditions. Development strategies revolve around a transfer of something valuable to an aided population: education, vaccination, fertilizers, etc. In technology-based human development projects, technology artefacts (a medical record computer system, solar electrification systems, irrigation) and related knowledge (education, operation and maintenance instruction) are those valuables being transferred. The benefits of technology are specific to each economy, and dependant on how quickly technology is adapted and integrated in the local economy (Cypher & Dietz 2008). The value of ideas increases to the degree they can be shared with and used by others (Houghton & Sheehan 2000): the more knowledge is diffused and adopted, the greater its value. The success of free and open-source software exemplifies this principle, and a growing number of scholars agree that the model also applies to hardware (Balka et al. 2009; Thompson 2008). This thesis presents research on open source hardware and its knowledge-sharing approach as a means to human development. It presents a model that leverages the collaborative design methodology of open hardware for adoption of artefacts that address pressing “humanitarian technology” needs, for example, in health or education. To achieve this, critical literature reviews on open source and on technology-based human development are first done; the findings from literature are then complemented with the findings from interviews and case studies to model a sustainable deployment strategy for open source use in human development projects. Adopting the human development paradigm defined in the first Human Development Report (“HDR1990”), which aims at three people-centered aspirations: to live a long and healthy life, to be educated and to have access to resources needed for a decent standard of living (UNDP 1990). This thesis research models its deployment strategy using the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), showing that: (a) open source hardware, like any technology used in development, can magnify effective development programs when used appropriately; (b) Dr. E.F. Schumacher’s appropriate technology principles, and P. Polak’s reinstatement, mesh very well with the open source methodology, as long as required constituents in the aided communities are taken care of (availability of electricity, internet access, technical know-how, etc.); (c) extreme affordability is particularly important for open source hardware, because a sustainable strategy is based on the belief that aided population would want to procure these artifacts if they improve their earning potential; (d) participatory human development practices work well with the open source methodology, but “solutions” must be fully verified before deployment. This document is structured in 5 chapters: introduction, literature review, research strategies, case studies and interviews, and conclusion. The appendix include three articles published on parallel work for the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) on defining a strategy for the IEEE’s use of opens source technology in their humanitarian activities. This research provides insight into the new topic of open source hardware and its proposed use in the mission critical context of international development; because entrepreneurship is a key enabler to the strategy it describes, I hope the research can support future work on that aspect.

The squeeze-out has been introduced into Czech law in June 2005. Until now, 780 squeeze-outs have been executed, during that almost 22 billion CZK have been distributed among minority shareholders. The rights of different shareholders groups are in conflict during squeeze-out which makes the whole process quite controversial. Minority shareholders' basic right to participate in the company, which is usually accompanied by the profit participation right is taken from them. On the other side, the major shareholder gets the chance of more effective company governance or the chance to sell the company in the merger for much higher sale price. The whole process is honest only if the minority shareholders receive an appropriate compensation for the termination of their participation in the company.

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) is funding and supporting a longitudinal study of Early Child Care. Beginning in 1991, data was collected from ten sites across the United States and included 1,364 families with a newborn child. This study used the NICHD Early Child Care data set to investigate characteristics of teachers that provide childcare in a daycare-like setting or childcare centers. Specifically, the relationship between early childhood teacher endorsement of developmentally appropriate belief systems and teacher education in early childhood were examined to determine their potential influence on the teachers' developmentally appropriate classroom practices, global rating of classroom quality, and child cognitive abilities. These relationships were examined at two time periods- at child age 36 months and child age 54 months. The results indicated that many of these relationships were significant. Interestingly, many of the significant findings were present only at child age 54 months.

The purposes of the present study are to: (a) describe the beliefs and practices of the US and Taiwan (TW) public and private kindergarten teachers regarding developmentally appropriate practice (DAP), (b) examine the group differences between the four groups of teachers, and (c) identify the salient factors related to the variability of developmentally appropriate beliefs and practice in these teachers. Three hundred and fifty-seven kindergarten teachers participated in the study. The group sizes were 123, 123, 57, and 54 for Taiwan private, Taiwan public, US private, and US public kindergarten teachers, respectively. A survey was used to collect data. Findings from this study showed: (a) Both the US and Taiwan kindergarten teachers highly endorsed beliefs about DAP; (b) US and Taiwan kindergarten teachers also held strong beliefs about developmentally inappropriate practices (DIP); (c) DAP activities occurred regularly in the classrooms; (d) developmentally inappropriate practice (DIP) activities also took place a lot although they were lower than the DAP activities; (e) the Taiwan teachers had higher beliefs about DAP and lower beliefs about DIP than the US teachers; (f) the US teachers reported both higher DAP and DIP activities than the Taiwan teachers; (g) there were no differences between public and private kindergarten teachers; (h) hierarchical regression analyses using teacher's personal demographic variables as the first block and numbers of boys and girls as the second block were generally not effective; (i) there were different sets of best predictors from the backward regression for different dimensions of developmentally appropriate beliefs and practices; and (j) beliefs about DAP and DIP were usually more powerful than the demographic and classroom variables in predicting the DAP and DIP activities. Future studies are needed to refine the Teacher Belief Scale and Instructional Activity Scale instruments and include classroom observations to verify and expand the findings. Future teacher training on DAP should promote beliefs about DAP and reduce beliefs about DIP. Enhancing teachers' skills to implement the DAP activities and decrease the DIP activities is suggested.

The application of information and communication technology (ICT) in socioeconomic development often referred to as “ICT for development” (ICT4D) is an increasingly relevant concern both academically as well as within development organisations on all levels.   This master thesis project has explored opportunities, constraints and challenges to designing and implementing mobile phone based ICT services for an organisation working with sustainable agricultural development in West Bengal, India. Through a participatory design process with smallholding farmers a simple, low-cost platform for prototyping and implementing mobile phone based ICT services using interactive voice response as interaction modality was developed. It was found that even inexperienced and illiterate users were able to understand and make use of such services with minimal training. On the basis of services deployed on this platform, context specific constraints and opportunities were identified as well as the appropriateness of the ICT design evaluated. Finally, use of participation was critically reviewed and found to be a necessary element of ICT design in this context yet requiring a high level of reflexivity and contextual understanding from the researcher or designer in order to contribute to development goals. / Användning av informations och kommunikationsteknologi (ICT) för socioekonomisk utveckling ofta kallat ”ICT for development” (ICT4D) är i allt högre grad en relevant fråga både akademiskt och inom utvecklingsorganisationer på alla nivåer. Detta exjobb utforskade möjligheter, begränsningar och utmaningar för introduktionen av mobilbaserade ICT-tjänster åt en organisation som arbetar med hållbar jordbruksutveckling i Västbengalen i Indien. Genom en deltagande designprocess med småskaliga bönder så utvecklades en enkel, billig plattform för att skapa prototyper och implementera mobiltjänster som använder sig av ”Interactive Voice Response” som interaktionsmodalitet. Även personer med begränsad erfarenhet av ICT samt begränsad läs- och skrivkunnighet kunde förstå och använda tjänster utvecklade på plattformen med minimal träning. Med grund i tjänster utvecklade på denna plattform så utvärderades lämpligheten för ICT i den lokala kontexten och flera kontext-specifika begränsningar och utmaningar identifierades. Slutligen så utvärderades ”deltagande” i design processen metodologiskt och fanns vara ett nödvändigt element av ICT-design i denna kontext samtidigt som det kräver en hög grad av reflexivitet och kontext-specifik förståelse från forskaren eller designern för att kunna bidra till utvecklingsmål.

This qualitative study was an exploration of 55 Utah kindergarten teachers' perceptions of challenges in teaching. It investigated written concerns teachers expressed in a statewide survey of kindergarten teachers. Study findings indicated that two main issues were communicated by teachers: a disparity between their developmentally appropriate beliefs and practices in the classroom, and concerns about children's kindergarten readiness and transition to school. About 56% of teachers felt a struggle in implementing their developmentally appropriate beliefs about education, for a variety of reasons: large class sizes, district and state mandates, and lack of resources, particularly time. Furthermore, 53% of educators conveyed concerns regarding children's school readiness and their transition to kindergarten. These teachers articulated transition activities they engaged in and communicated the influence of preschool, both positive and negative, on their incoming kindergarteners. Three other concerns and challenges were also delineated: limited teaching time; feelings that kindergarten curriculum is becoming too academic, particularly that curricular expectations have been raised and an emphasis placed on literacy; and issues surrounding parental involvement, both in and out of school. Study findings also demonstrated that most teachers who communicated concerns about implementing developmentally appropriate beliefs had been teaching for more than 7 years. The majority of the educators who shared challenges regarding time had taught for 12 or more years, as was the case for those who spoke about concerns with parental involvement. Limitations, implications, and suggestions for future research are discussed.