Title: Analysis of the World Championships 2005-2017 Objectives: The main aim of this thesis is to analyse the sport performance of solo figure skaters in the World Championships. After that changes in development of these performances of women and men skaters are researched. Another aim is to predict the development of sport performance of figure skaters in the next four years. Methods: In creating this thesis methods of correlation and regression analysis, literature research on the basis of content analysis and personal experience in the field of the research have been used. Results: This thesis confirms the increasing tendency of sport performance in single skating in the World Championships. The greates portion of the increase falls on the increasing difficulty of the included jumping emelent. The prediction of acquired points for the best man in the World Championships ain 2018 is 216 points with probability 83 % and for best lady, it is 153 points with probability 74 %. Keywords: points for elements, figure skating, new judging system, program components, sport performance

My study explores the politics of viewing and the gaze. I argue that the gaze both arrests and objectifies the body, which in turn transforms subjects into objects therefore regulating social behaviour. The basic notion of the gaze will be explored throughout this thesis and thereby contextualizes my sculptures, which are casts of my naked body. My particular concern lies in how the ideas of surveillance have had an influence on architecture and buildings in Grahamstown. Throughout this mini thesis, I will explore a number of architectural spaces of Grahamstown such as the Provost prison, Fort Selwyn and the Camera Obscura which I argue were all designed based on the ideas of surveillance. The entanglement of Grahamstown architecture and the female form as a subject of voyeurism forms an important part of this thesis, as the context of Grahamstown architecture is centered on visibility, which in turn subjects people to a form of discipline. The Provost Prison, the Camera Obscura and the forts of Grahamstown are all good examples of this. Outside of this, the female body is also subjected to the gaze, which in turn suggests that the female body is also under surveillance and as a result also becomes disciplined. My installation is a response to Antony Gormley’s Event Horizon, in which he placed 33 steel and fibreglass casts of his own naked body at an elevated level on buildings around Manhattan and Brazil. In this discussion I have contextualized my work with reference to the ideas of different theorists. The three main theorists I have cited are Michel Foucault, Jonathan Crary and Laura Mulvey. Foucault is specifically cited due to his discussion on Panoptic power, surveillance and docile bodies. Crary makes a number of important points with regards to the ideological operations of the Camera Obscura as well as its history while Laura Mulvey’s writings form the basis of the voyeuristic gaze from the perspective of a feminist.

Wideband, wide-scan antenna arrays are a promising candidate for the future wireless networks and as well as an essential part of experimental radio astrophysics. Understanding the underline physics of the element performance in the array environment is paramount to develop and improve the performance of array systems. The focus of this thesis is to develop novel wideband antenna array technologies and develop new theoretical insights of the fundamental limits of antenna arrays. The developed methodologies have also been extended to include a radio astrophysics application for the global 21cm experiment.   Investigating the fundamental antenna array limits and extracting general performance measures can provide a priori estimates for any application of arrays. In this thesis, a general measure for antenna arrays, the array figure of merit is proposed. This measure couples bandwidth, height from the ground plane and reflection coefficient in a bounded quantity. An extension of the array figure of merit that is able to provide matching, bandwidth and directivity/gain limits is also introduced. The soft Vivaldi array is introduced as a novel wideband, wide-scan angle array technology. Periodic structure loading has been utilized to improve the array's performance and mold the electromagnetic wave behavior to our benefit. The soft condition has been utilized in the same manner as the conventional soft-horn antenna at the Vivaldi element. An integrated matching layer in the form of periodic strip loading is introduced. A single polarized soft Vivaldi array prototype has been developed fabricated and measured. The developed finite array has been loaded with a soft condition in the periphery to mitigate edge effects. The results indicated improved cross-polarization and side-lobe levels. A new class of wideband antenna arrays, the Strongly Coupled Asymmetric Dipole Array (SCADA) was also proposed in this thesis. Exploiting asymmetry in the array element introduces an additional degree of freedom that improves bandwidth and scanning performance. A novel methodology for terminating finite arrays is also proposed. The theory and an experimental antenna array is presented with good agreement between measured and simulated results. An effort to integrate a vertical wide angle matching layer was also addressed and a prototype array with this concept is presented. In the last part of this thesis, a methodology for the detection of the global cosmological 21cm signal from the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) is developed. The main sources of errors in this experiment, the foregrounds and the antenna chromaticity are evaluated. A new algorithmic methodology for extracting the global EoR signal is proposed. The method is based on piecewise polynomial fitting and has successfully been applied and evaluated. An antenna array that is based on the methodologies described in this thesis has been developed and evaluated with the proposed algorithm. / Bredbandiga gruppantenner med stor utstyrningsvinkel är en av de lovande kandidaterna för nästa generations trådlösa kommunikationsnätverk samt en väsentlig del av experimentell radioastrofysik. Att förstå de bakomliggande fysikaliska principerna hos gruppantennens element är avgörande för att kunna utveckla och förbättra prestandan hos ett gruppantennsystem. Denna avhandling är fokuserad på att utveckla nya bredbandstekniker samt nya teoretiska insikter om de grundläggande gränserna för gruppantenner. De här utvecklade metoderna har förutom kommunikationstillämpningar också tillämpats på en radioastrofysik tillämpning i det globala 21cm experimentet. Att undersöka de fundamentala gränserna för gruppantenner och att utröna allmängiltiga mått på deras prestandaegenskaper kan möjliggöra a priori uppskattningar om gruppantenns tillämpbarhet för dess planerade användning. I den här avhandlingen föreslås ett allmänt kvalitetsmått på gruppantenner: gruppantennkvaliten. Detta mått kopplar samman främst bandbredd, reflektionskoefficienten med antennens tjocklek över ett jordplanet. En utvidgning av begreppet gruppantennkvaliten, presenters också i avhandlingen det kopplar samman bandbredd, matchning med antennens direktivitet/förstärkningsfaktor. En Vivaldi-gruppantenn med mjuka ytor introduceras här som en ny sorts bredbandig gruppantenn med stor utstyrningsvinkel. I antennen har en periodisk belastning inkluderats för att förbättra dess egenskaper, och för att forma antennens elektromagnetiska utstrålning till vår fördel. Den mjuka ytan på elementet har används på ett liknande sätt som det välkända korrigerade Vivaldihornets design, och har integrerats direkt i elementets design. Den här utvecklade ändliga gruppantennen har också en mjuk yta på dess yttre delar för att minska kanteffekternas påverkan av antennprestandan. Resultaten indikerade både förbättrad korspolarisations och lägre sidlobsnivåer hos antennen. En ny klass av bredbandiga gruppantenner har utvecklas i denna avhandling, den kallas en Starkt Kopplad Asymmetrisk Dipol-gruppAntennen - SCADA. Genom att utnyttja geometrisk asymmetri i antennelementet introduceras ytterligare en frihetsgrad som möjliggör förbättrad bandbredd och utstyrning. Vidare presenteras här en ny metod för impedansterminering av ändliga gruppantenner. Både SCADA-teorin samt dess verifiering i forma av en experimentell gruppantenn presenteras här. Teori, simulering och experiment visar god överenskommelse, vilket validerar idéerna. En prototyp av ett matchande skikt som stöder stor utstyrbarhet har integrerats med gruppantennprototypen och presenteras i avhandlingen. I den sista delen av avhandling utvecklas också en metod för detektering av den globala kosmologiska 21 cm-signalen från universums rejoniseringsepok - EoR. Huvudkällorna för mätfel i detta experiment utvärderas, de är antennens kromaticiteten och förgrundsstrålningen. En ny algoritmbaserad metod för att extrahera den globala EoR-signalen föreslås. Metoden är baserad på anpassning med multipla polynom och har med framgång tillämpats och utvärderats. En gruppantenn som baseras på de metoder som beskrivs i avhandling har också föreslagits och dess prestanda har utvärderats med den föreslagna metoden. / <p>QC 20171121</p>

The diploma work deals with the paintings of Antonín Hudeček from around 1900, which are viewed from two positions. The first thematic area includes the analysis of selected thought sources (the topic of a soul or a mood in the art), the motives (mirroring) and the themes (bathing boys) of Hudeček's paintings, which are treated with regard to the period art criticism a thought currents. The second part is made by analysis of some art sources which were essential for Antonín Hudeček's paintings around 1900. These were especially Hudeček's training with figuralists in Prague and Munich and the possible foreign inspiration, most importantly from the context of the contemporary art colonies and informal art groups. Fundamental theme of the work is the relationship of figure and landscape in the work of Antonín Hudeček around 1900. The catalogue of Hudeček's paintings from this period and excerpts from selected periodicals serve as the main methodological tool for comparison of Hudeček's work with other artists. Hudeček's schematic biography is also presented in the appendix of the work.

La folie dans la dramaturgie québécoise est davantage une métaphore méta-théâtrale qu’une qualité liée à la maladie mentale. Certes, avec la naissance des sciences humaines, les dramaturges occidentaux ont progressivement fait disparaître les personnages iconographiques au profit de patients (Smadja, 2009). Il n’en demeure pas moins que les manifestations contemporaines de ce « type » de personnage ne cessent de se multiplier, particulièrement dans le corpus dramaturgique québécois. En explorant le traitement réservé aux « fous » de ce même corpus, on découvre une série de chantiers exploratoires voués autant à la remise en question de la structure linéaire ou réaliste qu’à la réflexion ontologique. Ces questionnements quant à l’identité du personnage permettent de les cerner en tant que « figures », la conséquence d’une reconceptualisation du personnage théâtral, tributaire, quant à elle, d’un nouvel ordre dramaturgique (Ryngaert, 2008). Qui plus est, ces figures rappellent explicitement – et parfois ironiquement –, par leur lucidité et leur regard philosophique porté sur l’existence humaine, le traitement dramaturgique que Shakespeare réserve à Macbeth, Hamlet et Lear. Cette thèse propose d’étudier trois personnages de la dramaturgie québécoise – soit Mycroft Mixeudeim (La charge de l’orignal épormyable de Claude Gauvreau), Charles Charles (Provincetown Playhouse, juillet 1919, j’avais 19 ans de Normand Chaurette) et Miriam (Ce que nous avons fait de Pascal Brullemans) –, dans le but de dresser un portrait, aussi sommaire soit-il, des multiples déclinaisons de la figure du fou dans le théâtre québécois depuis les années 60. Cette analyse permettra de nuancer le point de vue de Foucault selon lequel la notion de folie s’est normalisée jusqu’à perdre son caractère a priori imagé ou iconographique (Foucault, 1964). Pour ce faire, elle s’articulera autour de grilles esthétiques empruntées à des courants des arts visuels, soit respectivement le romantisme, l’expressionnisme et le déconstructivisme. En repérant les ressemblances et les dissemblances dans le traitement esthétique des trois figures, nous serons en mesure de prouver que la figure du fou dans le théâtre québécois se veut plutôt un creuset pour se questionner sur l’Art, le langage et le théâtre comme moyens de mieux cerner la réalité.

This thesis introduces, for the first time, a novel 4-bit, metal-oxide-metal (MOM) digital capacitor switching array (MOMDCSA) which has been implemented into a wideband CMOS voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) for 5 GHz WiMAX/WLAN applications. The proposed MOMDCSA is added both in series and parallel to nMOS varactors. For further gain linearity, a wider tuning range and minor phase noise variations, this varactor bank is connected in parallel to four nMOS varactor pairs, each of which is biased at a different voltage. Thus, VCO tuning gain reduces and optimal phase noise variation is obtained across a wide range of frequencies. Based on this premise, a wideband VCO is achieved with low phase noise variation of less than 4.7 dBc/Hz. The proposed VCO has been designed using UMC 130 nm CMOS technology. It operates from 3.45 GHz to 6.23 GHz, with a phase noise of -133.80 dBc/Hz at a 1 MHz offset, a figure of merit (FoM) of -203.5 dBc/Hz. A novel microstrip low-phase noise oscillator is based on a left-handed (LH) metamaterial bandpass filter which is embedded in the feedback loop of the oscillator. The oscillator is designed at a complex quality factor Qsc peak frequency, to achieve excellent phase noise performance. At a centre frequency of 2.05 GHz, the reported oscillator demonstrates, experimentally, a phase noise of -126.7 dBc/Hz at a 100 kHz frequency offset and a FoM of -207.2 dBc/Hz at a 1 MHz frequency offset. The increasing demands have been placed on the electromagnetic compatibility performance of VCO devices is crucial. Therefore, this thesis extends the potential of highly flexible and conductive graphene laminate to the application of electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding. Graphene nanoflake-based conductive ink is printed on paper, and then it is compressed to form graphene laminate with a conductivity of 0.43×105 S/m. Shielding effectiveness is experimentally measured at above 32 dB as being between 12GHz and 18GHz, even though the thickness of the graphene laminate is only 7.7µm. This result demonstrates that graphene has great potential for offering lightweight, low-cost, flexible and environmentally friendly shielding materials which can be extended to offering required shielding from electromagnetic interference (EMI), not only for VCO phase noise optimisation, but also for sensitive electronic devices.

Orientador: Ronei Jesus Poppi / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Química / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-26T13:27:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Souza_AndreMarcelode_D.pdf: 34076641 bytes, checksum: 9b864adff6bf9857ffe47d6b6afee68a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Resumo: As pesquisas atuais apontam que a espectroscopia no infravermelho próximo (NIR) é a técnica alternativa mais promissora para a determinação de carbono orgânico do solo (SOC) nos laboratórios de todo o mundo em substituição total ou parcial aos métodos tradicionais de via úmida. Considerado este fato, foi desenvolvido e validado um método para a determinação de SOC por espectroscopia NIR, visando seu empregado como método de rotina em laboratórios de análise de solos do Brasil. Para este fim, foram construídos modelos de calibração multivariada a partir de um número expressivo de amostras de solos (1490 amostras, 2.980 espectros) que englobam a variabilidade de solos brasileiros. Estes modelos foram validados através da submissão dos valores previstos das concentrações de matéria orgânica do solo (SOM) ao Programa de Análise de Qualidade de Laboratórios de Fertilidade (PAQLF). As questões envolvendo a transferência de calibração entre múltiplos instrumentos também foram abordadas e a regressão por vetores de suporte (SVR) foi avaliada como alternativa à regressão em mínimos quadrados parciais (PLS). Os resultados alcançados comprovaram de maneira contundente a robustez do método proposto e indicaram que o mesmo pode substitui o método de via úmida, superando seu desempenho em alguns casos. No estudo de transferência de calibração, foi demonstrado que quando dois ou mais espectrofotômetros NIR são empregados na aquisição dos dados, recomenda-se que ambos sejam de mesma configuração. Porém, quando instrumentos diferentes foram envolvidos, o método de atualização do modelo através da matriz aumentada apresentou resultados satisfatórios em relação aos demais métodos avaliados. Existem, no entanto, pelo menos dois gargalos da implementação da espectroscopia NIR em análises de rotina: (1) o elevado custo dos instrumentos em relação ao orçamento dos laboratórios de análise de solos no Brasil; e (2) a necessidade do emprego da quimiometria na etapa de modelagem dos dados. Ambas as questões podem ser solucionadas com políticas de subsídios para compra de instrumentos e intensivos treinamentos em quimiometria e espectroscopia NIR, que podem ser oferecidos pela Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária e por instituições de ensino superior do Brasil / Abstract: Current research indicates that near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) is the most promising alternative technique for the determination of soil organic carbon (SOC) in laboratories around the world in total or partial replacement traditional wet chemistry methods. Considering this fact, in this research it was developed and validated a method for determination of SOC by NIR spectroscopy, aiming its use in soils laboratories in Brazil as a routine analysis method. To this end, multivariate calibration models were constructed from a large number of soil samples (samples 1490, 2980 spectra) covering the variability of brazilian soils. These models were validated by the submission of the predicted concentrations of soil organic matter (SOM) in the Quality Program of Analysis of Fertility Laboratories (PAQLF). Issues involving the calibration transfer among several instruments were discussed and the support vector regression (SVR) was evaluated as an alternative to PLS. The results proved in a conclusive way the robustness of the proposed method and indicated that it can replace the wet chemistry method, outperforming it in some cases. Some general recommendations that can be drawn from this work are: when two or more NIR spectrophotometers are involved, it is recommended purchase or apply those of same configuration because the transfer methods evaluated generate better models when compared to those of different configuration. However, when different instruments are involved, the method of model updating through the augmented matrix showed satisfactory results when compared to other methods evaluated. There are at least two bottlenecks of the implementation of the NIR spectroscopy method in routine analysis of soil laboratories: (1) the cost of NIR spectroscopy instruments and their maintenance are considered high in relation to the budget of the laboratories of soil analysis in Brazil and (2) the spectral data treatment, which requires the use of chemometrics. Both aspects that hinder the implantation of NIR spectroscopy as a routine method can be solved, with a policy of subsidies to purchase equipment and intensive training in chemometrics that can be offered by Brazilian Corporation of Agricultural Research (Embrapa) and also by brazilian teaching institutions / Doutorado / Quimica Analitica / Doutor em Ciências

Submitted by Haroudo Xavier Filho (haroudo.xavierfo@ufpe.br) on 2016-04-08T18:59:56Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Dissertação_PatriciaTenório_BC.pdf: 884166 bytes, checksum: 0a78095c224981af6d91420fd610f878 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-08T18:59:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Dissertação_PatriciaTenório_BC.pdf: 884166 bytes, checksum: 0a78095c224981af6d91420fd610f878 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-09-17 / Dissertação resultado da pesquisa de Mestrado em Letras, área de concentração Teoria da Literatura, linha de pesquisa Intersemiose, no Programa de Pós-Graduação em Letras da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, tendo como objetivo relacionar o romance O retrato de Dorian Gray, de Oscar Wilde, com três pilares teóricos: o índice fotográfico de Charles Sanders Peirce, o tempo de Agostinho de Hipona e a prefiguração no conceito de figura de Erich Auerbach. A cada capítulo, outros teóricos são convidados a dialogar, tais como John R. Searle, Susan Sontag, Philippe Dubois, Roland Barthes, Albert Einstein, Henri Bergson, Georges Didi-Huberman e Gaston Bachelard. / Dissertation result of Master’s research in Literature, area of concentration Literary Theory, line of research Intersemiosis, in the Postgraduate Program in Literature from the Federal University of Pernambuco, having as objective order to relate the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, with three theoretical pillars: the photographic index of Charles Sanders Peirce, the time of Augustine from Hippona and the foreshadowing in the concept of figure from Erich Auerbach. Each chapter, other theorists are invited to dialogue, such as John R. Searle, Susan Sontag, Philippe Dubois, Roland Barthes, Albert Einstein, Henri Bergson, Georges Didi-Huberman and Gaston Bachelard.

A década de 90 poderá ficar marcada na história das comunicações pelo estabelecimento em definitivo dos meios interativos. Indubitavelmente, o computador foi o maior responsável por este fato. No entanto, esta máquina, que havia se tornado uma importante ferramenta de trabalho nos anos anteriores, ainda tinha uma grande resistência de uso pela maioria das pessoas. O principal motivo alegado era a sua dificuldade de operação e comunicação, em função de sua linguagem nativa. Por conta disso, a interface passou a ser considerada um elemento chave nas pesquisas nesta área; e, consequentemente, comunicadores entraram neste processo. Afinal de contas é através da interface que o usuário estabelece sua interação com o sistema operado pelo computador. Ela é um espaço tradutor, uma face intermediária entre a linguagem nativa da máquina e as linguagens naturais do homem. É neste ponto que a metáfora tomou seu lugar. Tropo lingüístico por excelência, a metáfora foi agregada à interface gráfica do computador e tornou-se um dos recursos tradutores de maior expressão neste processo. De meio técnico-científico utilizado no ambiente acadêmico, o computador foi se tornando cada vez mais também um aparelho doméstico. Este trabalho pretende demonstrar o papel que a metáfora teve neste período e o modo como uma figura tradicionalmente lingüística pode se manifestar em várias instâncias de sistemas computacionais e principalmente em interfaces de representação gráfica digital. / The '90s may come down into the history of communications as the decade in which interactive media were finally established. Computers were undoubtedly the main driving force behind it. Despite having become an important work tool in previous years, computers still met with great resistance on the part of most people. The primary reason against using computers was that it was not easy to operate and interact with, owing to the source language. As a result, the user interface became a key focus of research in this area; it was then that communication experts were drawn into the process. After all, it is through the interface that users interact with computer-controlled systems. The interface is a translation environment, a transition between the machine's source language and the languages typical of men. It is at this moment that metaphors found their place in this process. A figure of speech by nature, metaphors were added to computer graphic interfaces and became one of the most relevant translation features in this process. From a technical and scientific device used in academic environments, computers were gradually adopted as a household appliance as well. This paper aims to show the role of the metaphor during this period and the way in which what had traditionally been a figure of speech could manifest itself in several instances of system computers and mainly in digital graphic representationointerfaces.

[pt] O editorial de um jornal de grande circulação faz mais do que emitir uma opinião. Ele tem poder de transformação e, muitas vezes, até mesmo de manipulação das massas de leitores. Motivada por este saber intuitivo, esta pesquisa investigou os processos psico-pragmáticos que o poderiam explicar academicamente. Adotou a Lingüística Funcional Cognitiva como abordagem teórica, mais especificamente o Modelo dos Espaços Mentais de Fauconnier (1994; 1997), assim como a Análise do Discurso (Brown e Yule, 1983). Para fazê-lo, analisou um corpus de 20 editoriais publicados nos maiores jornais do Brasil, à luz dos seguintes princípios norteadores: mesclagem, perspectivação e jogo figura-chão e elegeu as orações subordinadas como foco investigativo. Os resultados apontam que as orações subordinadas substantivas são as que mais tipicamente ocorrem no corpus assim como indicam que elas constituem espaços de referenciação nos quais crenças se colam com o espaço da realidade, projetando opiniões como se estas fossem verdades. Apesar de sintaticamente funcionarem como chão, perceptualmente são salientes e funcionam como figuras. Através da análise utilizada, a pesquisa conseguiu mostrar sistematicamente aquilo que muitos leigos apenas intuem e poderá ser ponte para práticas pedagógicas na escola de jornalismo que envolvam um processo de reflexão crítica sobre o processo cognitivo de mesclagem que ancora a produção dos editoriais. / [en] Editorials published by major newspapers project more than facts. Rather, they have the power to transform and, many times, even to manipulate readers. Inspired by common knowledge of such nature, this research aims to investigate the psycho-pragmatic facts that could explain it academically. It adopts the framework of Cognitive Linguistics, mainly Fauconnier s (1994;1997) Mental Spaces Model, as well as Discourse Analysis (Brown and Yule, 1983). To accomplish its aims, it analyzed a corpus of 20 editorials published in major Brazilian newspapers in the light of principles such as blending, figure-ground, and perspectivization and focused on subordinate clauses. Results indicate that nominal subordinate clauses are highly frequent in the genre and that they constitute a space where beliefs blend with reality as if they were one and the same. Although they function as ground syntactically, perceptually they are figure. Therefore, the research succeeded in demonstrating academically some possible psycho-pragmatic roots for the power of editorials. Programs that educate prospective journalists may benefit from its results.