"Fading is one of the most fundamental impairments to wireless communications. The standard approach to combating fading is by adding redundancy - or diversity - to help increase coverage and transmission speed. Motivated by the results in multiple-input multiple-output technologies, which are usually used at base stations or access points, cooperation commutation has been proposed to improve the performance of wireless networks which consist of low-cost single antenna devices. While the majority of the research in cooperative communication focuses on flat fading for its simplicity and easy analysis, in practice the underlying channels in broadband wireless communication systems such as cellular systems (UMTS/LTE) are more likely to exhibit frequency selective fading. In this dissertation, we consider a frequency selective fading channel model and explore distributed diversity techniques in broadband wireless relay networks, with consideration to practical issues such as channel estimation and complexity-performance tradeoffs. We first study a system model with one source, one destination and multiple decode-and-forward (DF) relays which share a single channel orthogonal to the source. We derive the diversity-multiplexing tradeoff (DMT) for several relaying strategies: best relay selection, random relay selection, and the case when all decoding relays participate. The best relay selection method selects the relay in the decoding set with the largest sum-squared relay-to-destination channel coefficients. This scheme can achieve the optimal DMT of the system at the expense of higher complexity, compared to the other two relaying strategies which do not always exploit the spatial diversity offered by the relays. Different from flat fading, we find special cases when the three relaying strategies have the same DMT. We further present a transceiver design and prove it can achieve the optimal DMT asymptotically. Monte Carlo simulations are presented to corroborate the theoretical analysis. We provide a detailed performance comparison of the three relaying strategies in channels encountered in practice. The work has been extended to systems with multiple amplify-and-forward relays. We propose two relay selection schemes with maximum likelihood sequential estimator and linear zero- forcing equalization at the destination respectively and both schemes can asymptotically achieve the optimal DMT. We next extend the results in the two-hop network, as previously studied, to multi-hop networks. In particular, we consider the routing problem in clustered multi-hop DF relay networks since clustered multi-hop wireless networks have attracted significant attention for their robustness to fading, hierarchical structure, and ability to exploit the broadcast nature of the wireless channel. We propose an opportunistic routing (or relay selection) algorithm for such networks. In contrast to the majority of existing approaches to routing in clustered networks, our algorithm only requires channel state information in the final hop, which is shown to be essential for reaping the diversity offered by the channel. In addition to exploiting the available diversity, our simple cross-layer algorithm has the flexibility to satisfy an additional routing objective such as maximization of network lifetime. We demonstrate through analysis and simulation that our proposed routing algorithm attains full diversity under certain conditions on the cluster sizes, and its diversity is equal to the diversity of more complicated approaches that require full channel state information. The final part of this dissertation considers channel estimation in relay networks. Channel state information is vital for exploiting diversity in cooperative networks. The existing literature on cooperative channel estimation assumes that block lengths are long and that channel estimation takes place within a fading block. However, if the forwarding delay needs to be reduced, short block lengths are preferred, and adaptive estimation through multiple blocks is required. In particular, we consider estimating the relay-to-destination channel in DF relay systems for which the presence of forwarded information is probabilistic since it is unknown whether the relay participates in the forwarding phase. A detector is used so that the update of the least mean square channel estimate is made only when the detector decides the presence of training data. We use the generalized likelihood ratio test and focus on the detector threshold for deciding whether the training sequence is present. We also propose a heuristic objective function which leads to a proper threshold to improve the convergence speed and reduce the estimation error. Extensive numerical results show the superior performance of using this threshold as opposed to fixed thresholds."

Magister Artium - MA / This research uses the Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) approach, more specifically, the appraisal theory to analyse the online message postings by fans of the popular music artist, Beyoncé Knowles. Through their online writings, insight into their evaluative discourses is gained. This research focuses on the emotional, judgemental and evaluative stance in their writings, especially; the linguistic choices that the online fans use in order to convey their attitudes: appreciation and judgement and affect towards Knowles. In order to do such an analysis, the study considers the different Systemic Functional Linguistic (SFL) levels of meaning (interpersonal, textual and experiential metafunctions). Several questions become pertinent: What kinds of interpersonal relations and identities are implicated on the message boards? (Interpersonal metafunction). How are these expressed textually? (Textual metafunction). What kinds of experiences/fields are implicated in the messages? (Experiential metafunction). The research concludes that in terms of identity, fans tend to latch onto a Hip-Hop culture in order to create and maintain a connection to Knowles. Fans display this linguistically by writing certain words out phonetically as they would be pronounced orally. Gender boundaries are transgressed irrespective of the fans' gender. Posts also demonstrate colourful expressive responses in relation to Knowles. Whether the fan is male or female, both feel comfortable in using emotive language to demonstrate the impact which she has on their lives. In terms of appreciation fans tend to express that she has inspired and changed their lives. Attitudes explored demonstrated that a number of Knowles' fans hold positive viewpoints and therefore they would align themselves positively towards her. The element of judgement was explored from different perspectives in relation to Knowles. One, being a website which suggested that Knowles had undergone an evil transformation. For evidence, these fans used her lyrics, gestures and images selectively as a way to "prove" their arguments. As a contribution to knowledge, this research is useful in the sense that when individuals log online and leave their posts on message boards, they do not always realise the impact of the message that they leave behind. Using SFL and the appraisal theory, one is able to establish the attitudes: judgements, appreciation and affect individuals hold towards a particular topic or person (in this case towards Knowles). Through linguistically analysing message boards, one is able to connect individuals to possible identity options. In essence, the letters and words which individuals have strung together create a greater picture than what was possibly intended. Linguistically, it opens more avenues for exploration.

Recently there has been a call to disrupt the continuous cycle of (re)production from within university-based programs through the development of transformative approaches rooted in the cultural norms of traditionally marginalized populations. This study aimed to explore how one such approach, critical hip-hop pedagogy (CHHP), manifests within the formal university-based teacher education setting. Focusing on one specific course in a prestigious, Northeastern university, this study explores how the course was conceptualized, enacted, experienced and interpreted by both the professor and twelve enrolled teachers in the Spring 2017 semester. Through qualitative case study methodology the purpose of this study was to: (1) document the ways that one CHHP teacher educator carves out space for his work amidst the politically charged teacher education space; (2) document and analyze the pedagogical moves embedded in the praxis of one teacher educator who teaches a university-based course designed to prepare teachers to utilize hip-hop cultural artifacts and aesthetics to critical educational ends; and (3) document and analyze the ways in which enrolled pre-service teachers experience, conceptualize, and interpret these practices. Four key findings are presented: (1) the professor conceptualized and enacted the course as a means of disrupting dominant narratives about acceptable and effective approaches to teaching and learning; (2) his enactments of CHHP embodied hip-hop cultural practices and aesthetics through his (re)conceptualization of teacher as MC; (3) the course’s structure through the aesthetics and rules of engagement of the hip-hop cypher provided a variety of ways for students to actively participate in the processes of knowledge production; (4) enrolled teachers reported new understandings of hip-hop as culture, resulting in shifts in perspectives on key issues impacting education and their visions for themselves as educators. Given these findings, this study suggests that the professor’s construction and enactment of the course resulted in an immersive experience in which he taught through a CHHP framework rather than about it, as is often seen in courses claiming similar critical multicultural and culturally relevant approaches, creating a dynamic immersive cultural experience for the enrolled teachers.

This dissertation is a qualitative case study exploring the understandings, beliefs, and practices of Youth Spoken Word Poetry (YSW) educators who work within the field of Hip Hop-Based Education (HHBE) and have grown from youth participants to adult professionals within an international YSW Network. This study examines how current YSW practitioners describe and understand their work, along with the multiple literacy practices they utilize related to spirituality and race. This study is framed by a sociocultural lens of education, includes a blend of qualitative research methods related to narrative approaches, and is inspired by literature grounded in Hip Hop-Based Education; Race and Education; and Spirituality and Education. It is a hope of this study that the findings lead to a more nuanced understanding of how HHBE functions within the landscape of education and impact how we approach HHBE moving forward. Major findings revealed that the participants describe themselves as racialized and spiritual beings in implicit and explicit ways. YSW participants in this study described the field of YSW as grounded in African American lineages and acknowledged that the field currently functions as pluralistic and multicultural. YSW participants describe spirituality as personal, collective, and transcendent experiences. Though participants defined spirituality differently, they described it as something that is present, naming it as an important factor to be considered when examining YSW practice. Core literacy practices participants engaged with and enacted within the YSW community related to race and spirituality included acknowledging their voice as something that was expressed individually, collectively, and universally and across time (past, present, and future). These findings highlight the value of communities that support: (1) Reflection, or honoring individual identities; (2) Refraction, or honoring Communities of Practice that shape our paths; and (3) Dispersion, or the use of stories to support dreaming, sharing, and revolutionizing the world as we know it.

Tese de Doutorado - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Antropologia Social, Florianópolis, 2009. Orientadora: Carmen Silvia Rial. 2009 / Submitted by Nilson Junior (nilson.junior@unila.edu.br) on 2016-05-24T00:22:08Z No. of bitstreams: 2 272935.pdf: 37161829 bytes, checksum: 98e90b477b95d1753c05d0bb128de615 (MD5) Recibo Deposito Legal_TESE_Angela Maria de Souza.pdf: 222708 bytes, checksum: 34d136a7bdaf34efa719b584514c820c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-24T00:23:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 272935.pdf: 37161829 bytes, checksum: 98e90b477b95d1753c05d0bb128de615 (MD5) Recibo Deposito Legal_TESE_Angela Maria de Souza.pdf: 222708 bytes, checksum: 34d136a7bdaf34efa719b584514c820c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Busco nesta tese intitulada "A caminhada é longa ... e o chão tá liso: O Movimento hip hop em Florianópolis e Lisboa" refletir sobre a complexidade estruturante da produção musical de grupos de rap no Brasil e em Portugal que refletem sobre os espaços (geográficos e sociais) ocupados, por homens e mulheres, nos centros urbanos de cidades como Florianópolis e Lisboa em suas produções musicais. Desta forma, busco analisar as práticas estético musicais dos rappers dentro do Movimento hip hop, principalmente a partir das relações construídas com as cidades nas quais estão e sobre a qual buscam refletir a partir de suas vivências nestes espaços urbanos. Além das relações estabelecidas em trabalho de campo, e que me oportunizaram uma observação mais detalhada, utilizo as músicas produzidas por estes rappers como importantes referências para minhas análises, principalmente a partir das narrativas que estas músicas contêm. Estas práticas musicais me possibilitaram: (1) refletir sobre a relevância da produção musical na determinação dos fluxos que os rappers estabelecem a partir de suas cidades, Florianópolis e Lisboa; (2) identificar as diferentes formas de compreensão do processo de alargamento do espaço ocupado pelo Movimento hip hop; (3) perceber aspectos que unem ou distanciam a produção musical do rap no Brasil e em Portugal; (4) analisar as formas de representação da cidade para refletir sobre a formação de diferentes estilos de rap. Perceber a produção e circulação destes grupos na cidade é refletir sobre a própria cidade a partir das diferentes coletividades que a povoam e dos usos que fazem dela. Me amparando nesta Etnografia defino quatro estilos de rap: rap de quebra, rap floripa e rap gospel - Florianópolis eo rap crioulo - Lisboa com os quais interagi no trabalho de campo e com eles procurei melhr perceber os usos e apropriações do espaços urbanos a partir de suas práticas estético-musicais, bem como das representações que controem sobre estes espaços a partir de suas vivências.

This dissertation explores the context of urban science education as it relates to the achievement and engagement of urban youth. This study provides a framework for Hip-Hop Pedagogy, an approach to teaching and learning anchored in the creative elements of Hip-Hop culture, in STEM as an innovative approach to teaching and learning demonstrates the effect that Hip-Hop Pedagogy, as a culturally relevant approach to teaching has on teaching and learning in an urban science classroom. This study establishes practical tools and approaches, which were formed from by theory and research that transcend the traditional monolithic approaches to teaching science. Participants in this study are middle school students who attend an urban school in one of the largest school systems in the country. This research showed that as result of utilizing Hip-Hop pedagogical practices, students reported that they developed a deeper understanding of science content, students were more likely to identify as scientists, and students were provided a space and opportunities to deconstruct traditional classroom spaces and structures.

Submitted by Kenia Bernini (kenia.bernini@ufpel.edu.br) on 2018-03-01T22:20:21Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Diogo_Raul_Zanini_Dissertação.pdf: 2385150 bytes, checksum: bf42e5827a0b0220d90095e8b3357c2f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Aline Batista (alinehb.ufpel@gmail.com) on 2018-03-05T21:40:29Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Diogo_Raul_Zanini_Dissertação.pdf: 2385150 bytes, checksum: bf42e5827a0b0220d90095e8b3357c2f (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Aline Batista (alinehb.ufpel@gmail.com) on 2018-03-05T21:41:05Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Diogo_Raul_Zanini_Dissertação.pdf: 2385150 bytes, checksum: bf42e5827a0b0220d90095e8b3357c2f (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-03-05T21:41:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Diogo_Raul_Zanini_Dissertação.pdf: 2385150 bytes, checksum: bf42e5827a0b0220d90095e8b3357c2f (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-27 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / A presente Dissertação propõe se debruçar sobre o Movimento Hip Hop em Porto Alegre/RS a partir do bairro Mário Quintana e da circulação dos ativistas do bairro pela cidade, abordando-o a partir dos estudos das diásporas negras. A criação do Fórum Permanente do Hip Hop em Porto Alegre resultou da necessidade do movimento em participar da formulação e implementação de políticas públicas específicas voltadas para promoção da igualdade racial, geração de renda, educação, cultura, autoafirmação, entre outras demandas sociopolíticas. Tais políticas se contrapõem à lógica da periferização da população negra e pobre e do racismo estrutural.Tendo como ponto de partida o Movimento Hip Hop do Bairro Mário Quintana, a proposta deste trabalho é acompanhar os ativistas do movimento em sua relação com o bairro, com os territórios em que residem e atuam, os eventos que eles constroem no bairro e com grupos e coletivos de outros bairros da cidade e do Estado do RS. Analisando, nessa perspectiva, a mobilidade desses ativistas pelo bairro Mário Quintana e para outros pontos da cidade e a relação com a construção de políticas públicas para o bairro, a cidade e o movimento Hip Hop / This dissertation proposes to focus on the Hip Hop Movement in Porto Alegre / RS from the neighborhood Mário Quintana and the movement of the activists of the neighborhood through the city, approaching it from the studies of black diasporas. The creation of the Hip Hop Permanent Forum in Porto Alegre resulted from the movement's need to participate in the formulation and implementation of specific public policies aimed at promoting racial equality, income generation, education, culture, selfassertion, among other sociopolitical demands. Such policies contradict the logic of the peripherization of the black and poor population and of structural racism. Starting from the Hip Hop Movement of the Mário Quintana Neighborhood, the purpose of this work is to accompany the movement's activists in their relationship with the neighborhood, the territories in which they reside and act, the events they build in the neighborhood and with groups and collectives from other districts of the city and the State of RS. Analyzing, from this perspective, the mobility of these activists in the neighborhood of Mário Quintana, and to other parts of the city, and the relation with the construction of public policies for the neighborhood, the city and the Hip Hop movement

Submitted by JOÃO OLAVO FIGUEIREDO QUELHAS null (olavofq@gmail.com) on 2017-03-29T23:13:49Z No. of bitstreams: 1 João Olavo Quelhas.pdf: 2589215 bytes, checksum: 6917db55e488c1ded8443d00719d55c9 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luiz Galeffi (luizgaleffi@gmail.com) on 2017-03-30T18:36:37Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 quelhas_jof_me_sjrp.pdf: 2589215 bytes, checksum: 6917db55e488c1ded8443d00719d55c9 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-30T18:36:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 quelhas_jof_me_sjrp.pdf: 2589215 bytes, checksum: 6917db55e488c1ded8443d00719d55c9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-17 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / O crescimento da produção de cerveja artesanal no Brasil e a consequente utilização de antigas técnicas de produção, como a lupulagem a frio (dry-hopping), esquecida pelas grandes empresas e pouco estudadas, abrem espaço para estudos sobre o melhoramento destas técnicas. Considerando a importância do lúpulo na produção de cerveja, principalmente seu alto teor de compostos considerados bioativos, por exemplo as procianidinas, a lupulagem a frio pode ser uma notável fonte de melhoramento nos aspectos sensoriais da cerveja, assim como no conteúdo de compostos com possíveis benefícios à saúde. Primeiramente, foi analisada a atividade antioxidante, pelos métodos de DPPH e ABTS, de sete variedades de lúpulo (Cascade, Fuggle, Tradition, Saaz, Centennial, Herkules e Magnum), com a finalidade de escolher uma para ser utilizada na lupulagem a frio. O Cascade foi selecionado para utilização na lupulagem a frio, principalmente por ser o atualmente o lúpulo mais produzido e consumido mundialmente. A produção das cervejas se diferenciou apenas na etapa da maturação, onde ela foi dividida em 17 recipientes. Cada cerveja maturou sob diferentes temperaturas (de 0 a 10°C), tempos de contato do lúpulo com a cerveja (de 0 a 20 dias) e concentrações de lúpulo (de 1,5 a 3 gL-1), seguindo um delineamento composto central rotacional, com três repetições do ponto central. As 17 cervejas foram analisadas físico-quimicamente em relação ao extrato original/primitivo, extrato aparente, atenuação aparente, teor alcoólico, amargor, cor, pH, turbidez, compostos fenólicos totais e atividade antioxidante (DPPH e ABTS). Foi realizada também uma análise sensorial, avaliando aceitação pela cor, aroma, sabor e amargor, além da aceitação global. As variáveis analisadas durante a lupulagem a frio não apresentaram influência no produto final em relação as analises físico-químicas e a aceitação sensorial. / The growth of craft beer production in Brazil and the consequent use of old production techniques, such as dry-hopping, forgotten by the large companies and little studied, open space for studies to improve these techniques. Considering the importance of hops in beer production, especially their high content of compounds considered bioactive, for example procyanidins, dry-hopping might be a notable source of improvement in the sensorial aspects of beer, as well as in the content of possible healthy compounds. Firstly, the antioxidant activity of seven hop varieties (Cascade, Fuggle, Tradition, Saaz, Centennial, Herkules e Magnum) was analized by DPPH e ABTS, in order to choose one to be used in the dry-hopping. Among the analyzed hops, the Cascade type was selected and, therefore, used during the dry-hopping process, mainly because it is currently the most produced and consumed hop worldwide. The brewing process was the same until the maturation, when the beer was divided into 17 containers. Each beer matured under different temperatures (from 0 to 10°C), time of contact between beer and hop (from 0 to 20 days) and hop concentration (from 1,5 to 3 gL-1), following a central rotational design, with three replicates of the central point. The 17 beers submitted to physicochemical analysis as original/primitive extract, apparent extract, apparent attenuation, alcohol content, bitterness, color, pH, turbidity, total phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity (DPPH and ABTS). A sensory analysis was also implemented, evaluating the attributes: color, aroma, flavor, bitterness and global acceptance. The variables analyzed during dry-hopping did not show any influence on the final product in the physical-chemical analysis and sensory acceptance.

In this dissertation, I examine the articulation of hip-hop in the mid-1980s as it emerged onto the national stage of American popular culture. Using Articulation Theory, I weave together an argument explaining how and why hip-hop went from being articulated as a set of multicultural and inclusive practices, organized around breaking, graffiti, and DJing, to being articulated to a violent, misogynistic, and homophobic hyper-masculine representation of blackness as essentially rap music culture. In doing so I also argue that there are real political, social, racial, cultural, and ideological implications to this shift in articulation; that something is at stake in defining hip-hop as both black and rap music culture. I put forward this argument by making three distinct steps over the course of this dissertation. First, I identify a change in how hip-hop was represented and thus articulated in popular media. Through an intertextual analysis of the hip-hopsploitation genre films I show that early hip-hop was being represented primarily as a set of cultural practices cohering around breaking, graffiti, and DJing rather than the now dominant articulation as rap music culture. Next I set forth one possible reason for this shift within the limiting conditions set by the available media technologies and means of commodification. The visual nature of hip-hop's early articulation coupled with the economic inaccessibility of consumer home video made breaking and graffiti difficult to commodify compared to rapping as an aural element. Using "technological determinist" theorists like McLuhan, Innis, and Kittler, I argue that understanding how hip-hop as been historically constructed requires analyzing the limiting effect that the material conditions of media technologies have on the production of hip-hop. Finally, I offer a second, racial and cultural reason for this shift in articulation, and begin identifying some of the significance of this shift. A key aspect of the articulation of hip-hop as rap music is the further connection to blackness. This connection may function to maintain white patriarchal hegemony by displacing it on the black body via rap music: a complex dynamic of disidentification and appropriation.

Orientador: Dagoberto José Fonseca / Banca: Claudete Camargo Pereira Basaglia / Banca: Valquíria Pereira Tonório / Resumo: Essa dissertação tem como objetivo compreender de que modo as mulheres negras atuam no mundo do graffiti e quais as possíveis transformações presentes nesse campo majoritariamente ocupado por representações masculinizadas. Buscamos verificar como as relações de gênero se apresentam na prática de graffiti, sob a perspectiva das categorias de raça/etnia, a fim de compreender o lugar das mulheres negras nesse universo. Para tanto, nos atemos à produção cultural de duas grafiteiras negras: a Negahamburguer, de São Paulo/SP e a NeneSurreal, de Diadema/SP. Ambas são referências no universo do graffiti e iniciaram a prática por meio de afinidades com o Movimento Hip-Hop. Orientada pelas reflexões dos Estudos de Gênero, partimos do referencial teórico proposto pela historiadora e pesquisadora brasileira Lélia Gonzalez, que se constitui no desenvolvimento de estudos debruçados a compreender as mulheres negras enquanto agentes do processo de construção e transformação cultural. / Resumen: Esta disertación tiene como objetivo comprender cómo actúan las mujeres negras actúan en el mundo del graffiti y cuáles son las posibles transformaciones presentes en ese campo mayoritariamente ocupado por representaciones masculinizadas. Buscamos verificar cómo las relaciones de género se presentan en la práctica de graffiti, bajo la perspectiva de las categorías de raza/etnia, a fin de comprender el lugar de las mujeres negras en este universo. Nos atemos a la producción cultural de dos grafiteras negras: la Negahamburguer, de São Paulo / SP y la NeneSurreal, de Diadema / SP. Ambas son referencias en el universo del graffiti y iniciaron la práctica por medio de afinidades con el Movimiento Hip-Hop. Orientada por las reflexiones de los Estudios de Género, partimos del referencial teórico propuesto por la historiadora e investigadora brasileña Lélia González, que se constituye en el desarrollo de estudios dedicados a comprender a las mujeres negras como agentes del proceso de construcción y transformación cultural. / Mestre