This thesis deals with hydroecological monitoring of watercourses. The HEM – Hydroecological monitoring is part of evaluation of status of watercourses, which is a requirement of the European Water Framework Directive. The content of this thesis is firstly to find out the status monitoring of hydromorphological quality of watercourses in the Czech Republic and a subsequent survey of methodology HEM. The aim of this thesis is comparison with the older methodologies and ways to improve the practical implementation of monitoring on smaller waterways. Measurement and knowledge will be applied to Troubsko creek.

Dissertation / This dissertation proposes a generic methodology for evaluating intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs), and applies it to the evaluation of the SQL-Tutor, an ITS for the database language SQL. An examination of the historical development, theory and architecture of intelligent tutoring systems, as well as the theory, architecture and behaviour of the SQL-Tutor sets the context for this study. The characteristics and criteria for evaluating computer-aided instruction (CAl) systems are considered as a background to an in-depth investigation of the characteristics and criteria appropriate for evaluating ITSs. These criteria are categorised along internal and external dimensions with the internal dimension focusing on the intrinsic features and behavioural aspects of ITSs, and the external dimension focusing on its educational impact. Several issues surrounding the evaluation of ITSs namely, approaches, methods, techniques and principles are examined, and integrated within a framework for assessing the added value of ITS technology for instructional purposes. / Educational Studies / M. Sc. (Information Systems)

Dissertation / This dissertation proposes a generic methodology for evaluating intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs), and applies it to the evaluation of the SQL-Tutor, an ITS for the database language SQL. An examination of the historical development, theory and architecture of intelligent tutoring systems, as well as the theory, architecture and behaviour of the SQL-Tutor sets the context for this study. The characteristics and criteria for evaluating computer-aided instruction (CAl) systems are considered as a background to an in-depth investigation of the characteristics and criteria appropriate for evaluating ITSs. These criteria are categorised along internal and external dimensions with the internal dimension focusing on the intrinsic features and behavioural aspects of ITSs, and the external dimension focusing on its educational impact. Several issues surrounding the evaluation of ITSs namely, approaches, methods, techniques and principles are examined, and integrated within a framework for assessing the added value of ITS technology for instructional purposes. / Educational Studies / M. Sc. (Information Systems)

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Stroke is the main cause of disability in the United States. Individuals with stroke commonly report sensory impairment affects their recovery. Motor recovery and sensory impairment are related and impact individuals’ ability to perform valued occupations. Despite the prevalence of sensation impairment after stroke, many occupational therapists fail to include sensation assessment and intervention in treatment planning. The exclusion of sensation in occupational therapy interventions during stroke rehabilitation may be due to the lack of literature supporting the association between sensation and occupational performance. The current study aimed to determine the relationship between touch sensation of the affected hand and occupational performance and satisfaction in individuals with chronic stroke. Using a cross-sectional study design, this study associated factors related to hand sensation and function in individuals with chronic stroke. Fifty individuals with chronic stroke participated in a one-time testing session in which assessments related to sensation, movement of the hand and engagement in daily activities were administered. Correlation analyses were utilized to determine relationships between touch sensation of the affected hand with individuals’ abilities to engage in valued daily activities, arm and hand disability, and manual abilities. The main finding of the study was that individuals with intact sensation reported greater ability to perform valued occupations and satisfaction with their performance, as compared with individuals with touch sensation impairment. For individuals with impaired touch sensation of the affected hand, impairment of touch sensation of the hand did not correlate with individuals’ performance or satisfaction with valued occupations, arm or hand movement, or manual abilities. Collectively, the results of this study reflect the complex interaction between touch sensation, occupational performance, motor functioning, and manual abilities of the affected hand for individuals’ who have experienced a stroke. This study informs therapists, rehabilitation scientists, and other healthcare professionals that client-centered, individualized approaches, including a wide array of clinical assessments and intervention, including assessment of occupational performance and sensation, remain important components in stroke rehabilitation.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Autophagy is a conserved cellular process that involves sequestration and degradation of cytosolic contents. The cell can engulf autophagic cargo (lipids, long-lived proteins, protein aggregates, and pathogens) through a double bound membrane called an autophagosome that fuses with a lysosome where hydrolases then degrade these contents. This process is one of the main defenses against starvation and is imperative for newborns at birth. Research on this process has increased exponentially in the last decade since its discovery almost a half a century ago. It has been found that autophagy is an important process in many diseases, continues to be at the forefront of research, and is clearly not fully understood. Our preliminary cell culture data in endothelial and epithelial cells show that a blockade of the de novo ceramide synthesis pathway, during treatment with an autophagy stimulus (cigarette smoke extract exposure), does not result in any reduction in autophagy or autophagic flux. Conversely, when acid sphingomyelinase (ASM) is pharmacologically inhibited, which prevents the generation of ceramide from sphingomyelin in an acidic environment, a profound increase in autophagy is observed. In this work, we hypothesize that (ASM) is an endogenous inhibitor of autophagy. ASM has two forms, a secreted form and a lysosomal form. N-terminal processing in the Golgi determines its cellular fate. In the lysosomal form, the phosphodiesterase is bound in the lysosomal membrane. The pharmacological inhibition mechanism is to release ASM from the membrane and allow other hydrolases to actively degrade the enzyme which, in turn, decreases the activity of ASM. This suggests that either the activity of ASM is a regulator of autophagy or that the presence of ASM, activity aside, is required for the lysosomal nutrient sensing machinery (LYNUS) to function properly. Here, we show that ASM is, in fact, an endogenous inhibitor of autophagy in vitro. The phosphorylation status of P70 S6k, a downstream effector of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), which is part of the LYNUS, shows that dissociation of ASM from the membrane regulates mTOR and disturbs the LYNUS in such a manner as to signal autophagy.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Adaptive optics-optical coherence tomography (AO-OCT) is a non-invasive method of imaging the human retina in vivo. It can be used to visualize microscopic structures, making it incredibly useful for the early detection and diagnosis of retinal disease. The research group at Indiana University has a novel multi-camera AO-OCT system capable of 1 MHz acquisition rates. Until this point, a method has not existed to process data from such a novel system quickly and accurately enough on a CPU, a GPU, or one that can scale to multiple GPUs automatically in an efficient manner. This is a barrier to using a MHz AO-OCT system in a clinical environment. A novel approach to processing AO-OCT data from the unique multi-camera optics system is tested on multiple graphics processing units (GPUs) in parallel with one, two, and four camera combinations. The design and results demonstrate a scalable, reusable, extensible method of computing AO-OCT output. This approach can either achieve real time results with an AO-OCT system capable of 1 MHz acquisition rates or be scaled to a higher accuracy mode with a fast Fourier transform of 16,384 complex values.

The aim of this quantitative study was to develop and validate a model to measure the organisational effectiveness of a metropolitan municipality in South Africa. The literature review phase explored the concept of organisational effectiveness and the assessment thereof in both the Public and Private Sectors. The literature review indicated that there is a clear distinction between business performance (operational and financial performance) and the larger concept of organisational effectiveness, and also that the measurement of organisational effectiveness in the Public Sector differed from the measurement thereof in the Private Sector. The literature review also indicated that measures of Public Sector effectiveness could not be directly applied to measure the effectiveness of Private Sector organisations. From the literature review a proposed theoretical model for measuring the organisational effectiveness of a metropolitan municipality in South Africa was proposed. This proposed model included organisational and behavioural variables contained in traditional approaches to organisational effectiveness, variables that were identified in previous organisational effectiveness studies, as well as variables contained in existing assessment models of organisational effectiveness. This model was then validated during the empirical phase by conducting a survey of an existing metropolitan municipality in South Africa (n = 6514) and exposing the results of the survey to Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The confirmatory factor analysis conducted as part of SEM subsequently identified three main and 10 secondary statistically significant organisational and behavioural variables that could be used to measure the effectiveness of a metropolitan municipality in South Africa. The three main variables identified were (1) Healthy Systems, (2) Goal Achievement and (3) Service Delivery, while the 10 secondary variables identified were (1) Diversity, (2) Training & Development, (3) Rewards & Recognition, (4) Management Practices, (5) Internal Functioning, (6) Work Environment, (7) Interpersonal Relations, (8) Workforce Equity, (9) Customer Satisfaction and (10) Vision & Mission. It was thus recommended that metropolitan municipalities in South Africa could use this validated model as an assessment framework to measure their current organisational effectiveness, to identify aspects which need to be rectified to improve effectiveness, and to compare and benchmark their municipality in order to learn from other metropolitan municipalities to improve their effectiveness. / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / D. Admin. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Submitted by JOSIANE SANTOS DE OLIVEIRA (josianeso) on 2018-12-12T13:38:47Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Ricardo da Rocha Duarte Lira Vidal_.pdf: 11776098 bytes, checksum: f28a97dc8e66196e2a29e0d8df1ae004 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-12-12T13:38:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ricardo da Rocha Duarte Lira Vidal_.pdf: 11776098 bytes, checksum: f28a97dc8e66196e2a29e0d8df1ae004 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-06-26 / PROCEMPA - Companhia de Processamento de Dados do Município de Porto Alegre / Este estudo objetiva criar uma proposta metodológica para a avalição de investimentos em ativos de Tecnologia da Informação ligados ao setor de gestão pública através do levantamento e compilação de técnicas, métodos e ferramentas para este fim. Trata-se de uma pesquisa de conceitos que possa apoiar o processo decisório sobre investir ou não em projetos de TI, buscando embasar e agregar transparência aos atos de investimentos feitos com recursos de órgãos governamentais, propondo a criação de padrões e disponibilizando a documentação sobre as decisões tomadas. Mesmo havendo o foco inicial voltado as ações da gestão pública, a metodologia aqui proposta não se limita a este setor, podendo ter sua aplicação estendida ao ambiente da iniciativa privada. Neste contexto de execução do processo decisório, buscam-se conceitos de gestão, intentando agregar qualidade aos serviços entregues, qualificando as decisões sobre os investimentos que possam ser feitos em projetos de criação e atualização de ambiente de informação. Durante o desenvolvimento desta pesquisa houve a interação com agentes executores de serviços públicos, levantando requisitos a serem atendidos e partindo-se destas definições se realizou a busca de referências teóricas que apoiassem as propostas de análise, estudando metodologias, ferramentas e técnicas direcionadas ao processo decisório. Foi definido o caminho de construção das análises aplicando-se os passos da metodologia Design Science Research (DSR), construindo-se artefatos a partir das teorias compiladas, proporcionando a materialização das ações através da utilização dos fluxos e telas desenhadas, criando assim, um processo metodológico que apoia a decisão de execução do investimento e que também padroniza, documenta e agrega agilidade ao seu desenvolvimento. / This study aims to create a methodological proposal for the evaluation of investments in Information Technology assets related to the public management sector through the collection and compilation of techniques, methods and tools for this purpose. It is a concept research that can support the decision-making process about whether or not to invest in IT projects, seeking to base and aggregate transparency on the actions of government agencies, proposing the creation of standards and making documentation available on taken decisions. Even though the initial focus is on public management actions, the methodology proposed here is not limited to this sector, and its application can be extended to the private sector environment. In this context of execution of the decision-making process, management concepts are sought, trying to add quality to the delivered services, qualifying the decisions about the investments that can be made in projects of creation and updating of information environment. During the development of this research there was interaction with public service agents, raising requirements to be met and starting from these definitions, the search for theoretical references was made to support the analysis proposals, studying methodologies, tools and techniques directed to the decision-making process . It was defined the way of construction of the analyzes by applying the steps of the Design Science Research (DSR) methodology, constructing artifacts from the theories compiled, providing the materialization of the actions through the use of the flows and drawn drawings, creating, a methodological process that supports the decision to execute the investment and also standardizes, documents and adds agility to its development.

O crescimento do uso dos aerogeradores de pequeno porte em áreas urbanas em todo o mundo aponta para um mercado em expansão e extremamente promissor, principalmente no brasil, onde o potencial eólico é grande. tratando-se de máquinas pequenas existe interesse dos consumidores residenciais na sua utilização, seja para economia de energia ou por adesão às fontes alternativas. existe uma grande quantidade de fabricantes no mundo incluindo aerogeradores de alta, média e baixa qualidade. com isso surge a necessidade de criar métodos que avaliem estes produtos quanto ao seu rendimento energético, como ocorrem com as geladeiras, lâmpadas, fogões e outros, a fim de resguardar a qualidade deste equipamento ao consumidor. a proposta é criar um ciclo de teste (ou ciclo de ventos) baseado nos perfis de comportamentos diários de ventos urbano obtidos através de medições reais feitos pelo projeto sonda. esse perfil será usado para testar os aerogeradores de até 1 kw em laboratório, com auxílio de um túnel de vento a fim de determinar o rendimento energético do conjunto gerador, servindo como método para o aprimoramento desses aparelhos. outra possibilidade é o uso desta metodologia no programa brasileiro de etiquetagem, que classifica os produtos em função de sua eficiência energética. este trabalho também pode ser usado para acreditação de laboratórios de certificação que avaliam produtos em função de sua eficiência e/ou rendimento, visto que a acreditação é uma ferramenta estabelecida em escala internacional para gerar confiança na atuação de organizações que executam atividades de avaliação da conformidade. / The growing use of small wind turbines in urban areas around the world points to an expanding market and extremely promising, especially in Brazil, where the wind potential is great. In the case of small machines there is consumer interest in residential use, either for energy efficiency or adherence to alternative sources. There is a lot of wind turbines manufacturers in the world including high, medium and low quality. With this comes the need to classify these products as their energy efficiency, as with refrigerators, lamps, stoves and other in order to safeguard the quality of the equipment to the customer. The proposal is to create a test cycle (or cycle of winds) based on daily behavior profiles of urban winds obtained through actual measurements made by the SONDA project. This profile will be used to test wind turbines of up to 1 kW in the laboratory, with the aid of a wind tunnel in order to determine the energy efficiency of the generator set, serving as a method for the improvement of these devices. Another possibility is the use of this methodology in the Brazilian labeling Program, which ranks the products according to their energy efficiency. This job can also be used for certification laboratory accreditation which assesses products on the basis of its efficiency and/or income, since accreditation is a tool established on an international scale to generate confidence in the activities of organizations that perform conformity assessment activities.

The aim of this quantitative study was to develop and validate a model to measure the organisational effectiveness of a metropolitan municipality in South Africa. The literature review phase explored the concept of organisational effectiveness and the assessment thereof in both the Public and Private Sectors. The literature review indicated that there is a clear distinction between business performance (operational and financial performance) and the larger concept of organisational effectiveness, and also that the measurement of organisational effectiveness in the Public Sector differed from the measurement thereof in the Private Sector. The literature review also indicated that measures of Public Sector effectiveness could not be directly applied to measure the effectiveness of Private Sector organisations. From the literature review a proposed theoretical model for measuring the organisational effectiveness of a metropolitan municipality in South Africa was proposed. This proposed model included organisational and behavioural variables contained in traditional approaches to organisational effectiveness, variables that were identified in previous organisational effectiveness studies, as well as variables contained in existing assessment models of organisational effectiveness. This model was then validated during the empirical phase by conducting a survey of an existing metropolitan municipality in South Africa (n = 6514) and exposing the results of the survey to Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The confirmatory factor analysis conducted as part of SEM subsequently identified three main and 10 secondary statistically significant organisational and behavioural variables that could be used to measure the effectiveness of a metropolitan municipality in South Africa. The three main variables identified were (1) Healthy Systems, (2) Goal Achievement and (3) Service Delivery, while the 10 secondary variables identified were (1) Diversity, (2) Training & Development, (3) Rewards & Recognition, (4) Management Practices, (5) Internal Functioning, (6) Work Environment, (7) Interpersonal Relations, (8) Workforce Equity, (9) Customer Satisfaction and (10) Vision & Mission. It was thus recommended that metropolitan municipalities in South Africa could use this validated model as an assessment framework to measure their current organisational effectiveness, to identify aspects which need to be rectified to improve effectiveness, and to compare and benchmark their municipality in order to learn from other metropolitan municipalities to improve their effectiveness. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / D. Admin. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)