This thesis proposes a way in which architecture and the built environment might work to integrate human consciousness and natural process. A theoretical design entitled Landscope is presented as a responsive, sustainable landscape that offers understanding of nature through active observation, interpretation and transformation of the environment. The design proposal is situated at the edge of Hamilton Harbour, Ontario, Canada, adjacent to the existing facilities of the National Water Research Institute. Two extended studies accompany the design proposal. The first, Water, presents a poetic exploration of cosmic, responsive, and connective qualities of water relating to nature and technology. The second study, Connected Fields, focuses on the visionary American engineer Buckminster Fuller and his ‘Geoscope’ project, a geodesic dome designed to act as a monitoring and control centre for global material and resource flows. This section also includes a discussion of general conceptions of the world, focusing on key twentieth-century conceptions of the Biosphere, Gaia, and the Noösphere. Historical theories of environmental perception are discussed including Gestalt psychology and technical systems of observation. Drawing upon this cultural material, the thesis attempts to open boundaries that separate nature and technology, encouraging a complex, mutually dependent relationship between these traditionally separate realms. The general pursuit is a cybernetic and virtual model for environmental and ontological hybridity, involving an evolution of consciousness at both individual and global scales.

Advances in cybernetic and nanotechnological body modifications currently allow for enhancements to human physical and mental function which exceed human species-based norms. This thesis examines body modification and human enhancement from two perspectives—Roman Catholicism and Transhumanism— in order to contribute to bioethical deliberations regarding enhancement technologies. Roman Catholicism has a longstanding tradition of bioethical discourse, informing the healthcare directives of Roman Catholic institutions. Transhumanism is more recent movement that endorses body modifications and human enhancements as a means of individual betterment and social evolution. The thesis first considers definitions of human enhancement and levels of normalcy in connection to cybernetic and nanotechnological bionic implants, and outlines a series of criteria to assess a technology’s potential bioethical acceptability: implantability, permanency, power, and public interaction. The thesis then describes Roman Catholicism’s response to non-enhancing decorative body modifications (cosmetic surgeries, common decorative modifications such as tattoos and piercings, and uncommon modifications such as scarifications and brandings) in order to establish a basis for possible Roman Catholic responses to enhancing cybernetic and nanotechnological modifications. This is followed by an analysis from a Roman Catholic perspective of the major social issues brought forward by enhancement technologies: commodification, eugenics, vulnerability, and distributive justice. Turning to Transhumanism, the thesis describes the origins and philosophy of the movement, and then discusses the bioethical principles it advances with regard to human enhancement. The thesis concludes by locating points of convergence between Transhumanism and Roman Catholicism that could be the basis of more widely accepted ethical guidelines regarding modification technologies.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:23:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-06-22Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:09:35Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 santos_ra_me_mar.pdf: 329223 bytes, checksum: f79dbc4b0f6943379d3f2d5fed96b1ae (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Neste trabalho buscamos analisar criticamente o fenômeno do pós-humano que se configura basicamente como uma ideologia contemporânea pela qual se assenta uma perspectiva pragmatista de homem, isto é, de homem apartado de sua humanidade e de seu devir na história. Interpretado como resultante dos recentes desenvolvimentos técnicos e científicos, o pós-humano seria assim uma projeção fáustica do homem para além da sua naturalidade biológica. No entanto, a partir de uma apreensão ontológica do homem como ser social, entendemos ser o pós-humano um equívoco conceitual à medida que faz do homem um ser sem qualidades essencialmente humanas, um ser sem consciência universal. Prova disso encontramos na concepção de homem forjada pelo físico norte-americano Norbert Wiener no bojo da cibernética, ou seja, um homem cuja identidade não consiste nesse material limitado e perecível que é o corpo, mas num padrão biológico informacional que pode ser transmitido ou modificado, pelo menos “teoricamente”. Em vista disso, notamos que o ideário do póshumano é tributário dessa particular concepção de homem cibernético. / In this work we critically examine the phenomenon of post-human that is configured basically as a contemporary ideology in which sits a pragmatist view of man, that is, a man apart from his humanity and its future in history. Interpreted as the result of recent technical and scientific developments, the post-human would be like a Faustian man's projection beyond its natural biodiversity. However, from an ontological apprehension of man as a social being, we understand that the post-human as a conceptual mistake that makes a man without qualities to be essentially human, without being a universal consciousness. Proof of that found in the conception of man forged by American physicist, Norbert Wiener of cybernetics in the bulge, or a man whose identity is not restricted and perishable material that is the body, but an informational biological pattern that can be transmitted or modified at least “theoretically”. In view of this, we note that the idea of the posthuman is a tributary of that particular conception of human cybernetic.

Submitted by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2018-04-11T14:17:45Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Tese_Marilia G. G. Rezende.pdf: 5299990 bytes, checksum: f0eba071eec55b88045d8af467caae43 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2018-04-11T14:17:58Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Tese_Marilia G. G. Rezende.pdf: 5299990 bytes, checksum: f0eba071eec55b88045d8af467caae43 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-04-11T14:17:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Tese_Marilia G. G. Rezende.pdf: 5299990 bytes, checksum: f0eba071eec55b88045d8af467caae43 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-22 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Understanding governance in rural communities in the state of Amazonas requires interdisciplinary knowledge, since understanding the network of political articulation involves a constellation of knowledge. Despite the existence of many works related to this theme, there is a presumed state apriorism in the representation of the network of political articulation, which leads to an exacerbated role of the State in the face of other forms of social organization. In this sense, the objective of this work was to analyze environmental governance in the communities of São Francisco and São José do Botafogo, located on Careiro da Várzea Island. In order to achieve this, a number of methodological tools were used, such as forms and open interviews. In addition, the Venn Diagram of Agriculture, Fisheries and Vegetable Extraction were constructed in both communities. The Matrix F.O.F.A. and the Crop Matrix were also used, aiming to expand the process of exploration and research of the real. It can be inferred, after analyzing the data, that the governance existing in the communities studied is an isomorphic governance, based on the correspondence between land, forests and working water. The material expression of this network of political articulation is cybernetic management, which reuses exergy through neguentropic productive processes. Conservation strategies and human adaptation are guided by riverside environmental knowledge, which establishes specific ways of exploiting natural resources, centered on respect for ecosystem resilience and maintenance of the autopoiesis of the Varzean environmental system. Isomorphic governance and cybernetic management were concepts created after a long process of systematization and data analysis, configured in the process of intellectual craftsmanship of this thesis. / Compreender a governança em comunidades rurais no estado do Amazonas requer conhecimentos interdisciplinares, visto que a compreensão da rede de articulação política envolve uma constelação de conhecimentos. Apesar da existência de inúmeros trabalhos relativos à essa temática, há um apriorismo estatal presumido na representação da rede de articulação política, o que leva à um exacerbado protagonismo do Estado, em face das demais formas de organização social. Nesse sentido, o objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar a governança ambiental nas comunidades São Francisco e São José do Botafogo, localizadas na Ilha do Careiro da Várzea. Para atingi-lo, foram utilizadas inúmeras ferramentas metodológicas, como formulários e entrevistas abertas, além disso, foram construídos o Diagrama de Venn da agricultura, da pesca e do extrativismo vegetal em ambas as comunidades. A Matriz F.O.F.A. e a Matriz dos Cultivos também foram utilizadas, visando ampliar o processo de exploração e investigação do real. Pode-se inferir, após a análise dos dados, que a governança existente nas comunidades estudadas é uma governança isomórfica, pautada na correspondência triunívoca entre as terras, florestas e águas de trabalho. A expressão material dessa rede de articulação política é a gestão cibernética, que reaproveita a exergia por meio de processos produtivos neguentrópicos. As estratégias de conservação e de adaptação humana são orientadas pelo saber ambiental camponês, que estabelece modos específicos de exploração dos recursos naturais, centrados no respeito à resiliência ecossistêmica e na manutenção da autopoiese do sistema ambiental varzeano. A governança isomórfica e a gestão cibernética foram conceitos criados após um longo processo de sistematização e análise dos dados, configurados no processo de artesanato intelectual desta tese.

Partindo da hipótese de que as tecnologias digitais são simultaneamente meios e ambientes capazes de influenciar e viabilizar a emergência de um pensamento arquitetônico pronto a incorporar a complexidade, o objetivo do presente trabalho é ampliar a compreensão acerca das interfaces entre complexidade e processos de design em arquitetura. No percurso de construção dessa abordagem, buscamos entender a abrangência da mudança colocada pela complexidade, seu histórico, e seus princípios fundamentais, obtendo subsídios para definir critérios de seleção e análise de exemplos da emergência da complexidade em arquitetura, focalizando os processos de design. Utilizamos um recorte temporal em dois períodos – décadas de 1960 e 1970, e décadas de 1990 e 2000 –, distinguindo dois momentos específicos intrinsecamente conectados. A intenção é contribuir para uma compreensão efetiva da arquitetura não apenas, ou principalmente, como objeto, mas como um sistema complexo–organizado e, sobretudo, organizante. / Assuming digital technologies simultaneously as media and environment that influence and make feasible the emergence of an architectural thought ready to incorporate the complexity, the goal of this work is to increase the understanding circa interfaces between complexity and architectural design processes. This approach draws on understanding the scope of the change brought by complexity, its historical, and its fundamental principia, aiming to achieve subsides for defining criteria to analyze and select examples of complexity emergence in architecture, focusing on design process. Two periods of time were selected – from 1960s to 1970s and, from 1990s to 2000s –, distinguishing two specific moments closed related. The intention is to contribute for an effective understanding of architecture not merely or specifically as object, but as a complex system, simultaneously organized and organizer.

Advances in cybernetic and nanotechnological body modifications currently allow for enhancements to human physical and mental function which exceed human species-based norms. This thesis examines body modification and human enhancement from two perspectives—Roman Catholicism and Transhumanism— in order to contribute to bioethical deliberations regarding enhancement technologies. Roman Catholicism has a longstanding tradition of bioethical discourse, informing the healthcare directives of Roman Catholic institutions. Transhumanism is more recent movement that endorses body modifications and human enhancements as a means of individual betterment and social evolution. The thesis first considers definitions of human enhancement and levels of normalcy in connection to cybernetic and nanotechnological bionic implants, and outlines a series of criteria to assess a technology’s potential bioethical acceptability: implantability, permanency, power, and public interaction. The thesis then describes Roman Catholicism’s response to non-enhancing decorative body modifications (cosmetic surgeries, common decorative modifications such as tattoos and piercings, and uncommon modifications such as scarifications and brandings) in order to establish a basis for possible Roman Catholic responses to enhancing cybernetic and nanotechnological modifications. This is followed by an analysis from a Roman Catholic perspective of the major social issues brought forward by enhancement technologies: commodification, eugenics, vulnerability, and distributive justice. Turning to Transhumanism, the thesis describes the origins and philosophy of the movement, and then discusses the bioethical principles it advances with regard to human enhancement. The thesis concludes by locating points of convergence between Transhumanism and Roman Catholicism that could be the basis of more widely accepted ethical guidelines regarding modification technologies.

This thesis describes the design of a perimeter security solution of an organisation. In the first part of this thesis I am describing some theoretical basics and since chapter six I start describing the main topic of this thesis. In the first logical part of the main topic part I am describing a present situation of an organisation and starting the planning of the solution. In the second logical part of the main topic part I am describing the router Turris Omnia. In that part I am describing this device from different angles. Then next logical part describes the final solution of a perimeter security solution of an organisation. And finally after that there is the part of the evaluation and benefits of this thesis and the conclusion of this thesis.

Dans cette thèse nous nous intéressons à la problématique de la construction de l'esthétiquechez les humains. Nous proposons d'utiliser un robot comme modèle pour étudier les briquesde bases qui participent au développement des préférences esthétiques. Nous utilisons le termed'esthétique artificielle (E.A ) pour désigner les préférences du robot.Plusieurs travaux de recherche tentent d'établir des théories de l'esthétique que nous séparons icien deux approches. D'une part, les approches empiriques qui étudientles préférences esthétiques d'un point de vue expérimental. Nous nous intéressons notamment àune branche plus radicale des approches empiriques, nommée la neuroesthétique. Celle-ci postulel'existence de structures cérébrales dédiées à l'appréciation des scènes visuelles en général et de l'art en particulier.D'autre part, les approches sociales qui avancent que les préférences esthétiques se transmettent de générationen génération et se construisent selon l'historique de l'individu et de ses interactions avec les autres.Le contextualisme historique est une branchedes approches sociales qui établit un lien entre le contexte dans lequel une œuvre est observée et son appréciation.Sans remettre en cause l'approche neuroscientifique, nous avons choisi de nous positionner dans une approche sociale et développementaleen utilisant des méthodes expérimentales telles que celles utilisées en esthétique empirique.Nous étudions l'émergence du sens esthétique dans le cadre de la référenciation sociale.On appelle référenciation sociale la capacité à attribuer des valences émotionnelles à des objets a priori neutre.Nous testons nos hypothèses sur robot mobile dans un cadre d'interaction triadique : homme-robot objet.Ceci dans un milieu naturel centré sur des humains non initiés à la robotique.Les humains jouent le rôle d'enseignants (professeur) du robot. Ils ont la tâche de suivre le robot dans son développementet de lui enseigner leurs préférences pour lui permettre de développer son propre "goût".Nous avons choisi de mener nos expériences dans des milieux dominés par l'esthétique comme les musées ou les galeries d'art.Toutefois, ces expériences peuvent être menées en tout lieu où des humains et des objets seraient disponibles.Notre robot, nommé Berenson en référence à un célèbre historien de l'art du 19ème siècle, est un outilpour comprendre d'une part comment s'installent des interactions sociales et comment les humainsprêtent des intentions aux machines, et d'autres part il permet d'étudier les briques minimalesd'intelligence artificielle à mettre en place pour construire une esthétique artificielle. / In this thesis we propose a robot as tool to study minimal bricks that helps human develop their aesthetic preferences. We refer to the robot preference using the term Artificial Esthetics (A.E).Several research work tries to establish a unified theory of esthetics. We divide them into two approaches. In one side, the empirical approaches which study esthetic preferences in an experimental manner. We mainly discuss the more radical branch of those approaches named "Neuroesthetic". Neuroesthetic advocates the existence of neural structures dedicated to visual scene preference and particularly to art appreciation. In another side, the social approaches which advocate that esthetic preferences are transmitted generation after generation, and they are built according to the individual historic and his interaction with others. Historical contextualism is a branch of the social approaches of art that draws a link between the appreciation of an artwork and the context where the artwork is observed.Without rejecting the neuroscientific approach, we choose a social and developmental way to study artificial esthetic using experimental methods from the empirical esthetic. We study the esthetic preferences development in the social referencing framework. Social referencing is the ability to attribute emotional values to à priori neutral objects. We test our hypothesis on a mobile robot in a triadic interaction : human-robot-object. This in a natural human centered environment. Humans play the role of the teachers. They have to fololow the robot in his development and teach it their preferences in order to help it develop its own "taste".We chose to conduct our experiment in places dominated by art and esthetics like museums and art galleries, however, this kind of experiment can take place anyway where human and objects are present.We named our robot Berenson in reference to a famous art historian of the 19th century. Berenson is a tool to understand how human project intentions into machines in one hand, and in the other hand the robot helps scientist build and understand minimal artificial intelligence bricks to build an artificial esthetic.

This diploma thesis is concerned with simulating information security management within a university environment. It is divided into three parts. The theoretical part focuses on describing the assets which could be part of a faculty network, attacks that could target it, security processes which could protect it and users that are active within it. The analytical part then applies these segments on a real faculty network. Based on this analysis, a set of specific assets, attacks, security processes and other tasks is created in order to simulate a simplified version of the analyzed network using a sophisticated cybernetic polygon. The security of the network is then assessed after several iterations of the simulations. Its parameters are adjusted in the effort to increase its security and the module is tested on an academic employee in order to assess its effectiveness. The conclusion evaluates the possibilities of increasing the security of the simulated network as well as the usability of the cybernetic polygon in practice.

Sustainability is becoming increasingly more important for companies as the public demands that companies are more transparent and act in a responsible manner. This thesis researches what role management control systems play when implementing and working with sustainability. This was done by interviewing CSO’s and controllers as well as examining annual financial and sustainability reports at three large Swedish firms, all praised for their sustainability work. The data was compared between the case companies and analysed by using the management control systems framework by Malmi and Brown (2008). The findings show that the cultural controls coupled with the administrative controls have the most important role to play when implementing sustainability, as they provide the basis for the other control systems. These other control systems have currently a much smaller role to play as there are still challenges connected to sustainability that hinder the use of these control systems to their full potential. The findings further show that the key to implementing sustainability lies in the company’s ability to find and create business cases concerning sustainability as this help aligning the sustainability goals with the business goals and overall strategy.