Submitted by PPG Ci?ncia da Computa??o (ppgcc@pucrs.br) on 2018-08-22T17:04:33Z No. of bitstreams: 1 LETICIA_SANTOS_MACHADO_TES.pdf: 7715415 bytes, checksum: 7658ad49d27e7fdfea1a76aeee1ca834 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Sheila Dias (sheila.dias@pucrs.br) on 2018-08-24T18:53:57Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 LETICIA_SANTOS_MACHADO_TES.pdf: 7715415 bytes, checksum: 7658ad49d27e7fdfea1a76aeee1ca834 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-24T19:23:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 LETICIA_SANTOS_MACHADO_TES.pdf: 7715415 bytes, checksum: 7658ad49d27e7fdfea1a76aeee1ca834 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-28 / Software Crowdsourcing (SW CS) ? uma estrat?gia emergente de desenvolvimento de software onde um grande n?mero de pessoas tem se engajado para contribuir em v?rias atividades de software. Tal estrat?gia (baseada na multid?o), tem sido utilizada pelas empresas que est?o buscando aumentar a velocidade de seus esfor?os em desenvolvimento de software. SW CS est? geralmente estruturado em torno de plataformas que permitem que um solicitante submeta uma tarefa e conecte-a com uma multid?o de pessoas que ir? pr?ver solu??es para a tarefa. Essas plataformas geralmente exploram uma abordagem competitiva para realiza??o da tarefa: membros da multid?o, independentemente, criam uma solu??o para a tarefa enquanto competem uns contra os outros em busca de uma premia??o financeira ao final da tarefa entregue. Uma vez que a competi??o pode reduzir a colabora??o, recentes estudos, surpreendentemente, indicam que a colabora??o existe em plataformas de SW CS. Estes estudos t?m focado em dois aspectos. O primeiro, em problemas de colabora??o entre plataforma e solicitante com rela??o a atribui??o da multid?o e as tarefas a serem desenvolvidas nos desafios de competi??o (aloca??o e submiss?o de tarefas) e, o segundo aspecto, relacionado ao impacto da colabora??o entre membros da multid?o e a qualidade das solu??es submetidas. Outros aspectos referentes a colabora??o entre os membros da multid?o ainda s?o amplamente inexplorados. Nessa tese, nosso objetivo ? identificar barreiras e caracter?sticas de colabora??o enfrentadas pelos membros da multid?o em SW CS competitivo. Para alcan?ar este objetivo, n?s conduzimos m?ltiplos estudos utilizando diferentes m?todos de pesquisa divididos em duas fases: explorat?ria e avaliatoria. Para a fase explorat?ria, os dados coletados foram obtidos a partir de: (i) partes envolvidas em projetos de SW CS (solicitante, multid?o e plataforma) atrav?s de entrevistas semi-estruturadas com profissionais e empresas, (ii) estudos selecionados atrav?s da revis?o da literatura e; (iii) estudo emp?rico sobre como desenvolvedores colaboram entre si em uma plataforma de SW CS competitivo ? TopCoder. A barreira de colabora??o mais frequente encontrada est? associada a falta de comunica??o apropriada entre as partes. Baseado nessa barreira decidimos na fase avaliat?ria conduzir uma (iv) an?lise qualitativa do principal canal de comunica??o utilizado pela multid?o: f?rums hospedados na plataforma TopCoder e, finalmente, (v) realizamos um survey destinado aos desenvolvedores que competiram na TopCoder para avaliar a influ?ncia da colabora??o no desempenho da tarefa. Os resultados obtidos nos estudos avaliat?rios sugerem que a colabora??o entre os membros da multid?o est? correlacionada com a entrega de solu??es de software vencedoras nos desafios de SW CS. / Software Crowdsourcing (SW CS) is an emergent software development strategy where a large number of people have been engaged to contribute in several software activities. Such strategy (based on the crowd), has been used for companies who are seeking to increase the speed of their software development efforts. This strategy is usually structured around platforms that allow a requester submit a task to be performed and connect with the crowd that assigned and provide a solution for the task. These platforms usually explore a competitive approach: members of the crowd independently create a solution while compete against each other by monetary rewards for task completion. While competition usually reduces collaboration, some recent studies surprisingly indicate that there is collaboration in SW CS platforms. These studies have focused on two aspects. First, collaboration concerns between platform and requester in terms of crowd?s assignment to the challenges (task allocation and submission) and second, the impact of the collaboration among crowd members in the quality of the submitted solutions. Other aspects of the collaboration among crowd members have been largely unexplored. In this thesis, our goal is to identify collaboration?s characteristics and barriers faced by crowd members in competitive software crowdsourcing. To achieve this goal, we have conducted multiple studies, using mixed research methods divided in two phases: one exploratory and one evaluatory. For the exploratory phase, we used data collected from: (i) the three involved parties in SW CS projects (requester, crowd and platform) through semi structured interviews with practitioners and companies, (ii) studies selected via literature review; and (iii) an empirical study about how developer collaborated with each other in a SW CS competitive platform ? TopCoder. The most frequent collaboration barrier was associated to lack of proper communication among the parties. Based on this barrier we decided, in the evaluatory phase, to conduct a (iv) qualitative analysis of the main communication channel used by the crowd: forums hosted on TopCoder platform and (v) a survey aimed at developers who had competed on TopCoder to assess the influence of collaboration in task performance. Our results from these evaluatory studies suggest that collaboration among crowd members is correlated with delivering winning solutions in SW CS challenges.

O ChipCflow é o projeto de uma ferramenta para execução de algoritmos utilizando o modelo a fluxo de dados dinâmico em hardware reconfigurável. Tem como principal objetivo utilizar o modelo de arquitetura a fluxo de dados, associado ao conceito de arquiteturas reconfiguráveis, para acelerar programas de aplicação escritos em C. Essa aceleração vai acontecer nas partes mais intensas de processamento (exemplo: loops), através da execução direta em hardware, aproveitando ao máximo o paralelismo considerado natural do modelo a fluxo de dados. O módulo de conversão C em grafo a fluxo de dados, desenvolvido neste trabalho de doutoramento, é parte fundamental no desenvolvimento do projeto ChipCflow e se trata de um pré-compilador C que gera código VHDL para os operadores a fluxo de dados a partir de módulos do programa de aplicação escrito originalmente em C. É possível considerar como principal resultado dessa tese, a implementação de algoritmos a partir de uma linguagem C em grafo a fluxo de dados no modelo proposto no projeto ChipCflow, onde os operadores a fluxo de dados são os já tradicionalmente conhecidos, e até mesmo a forma de interconexão também, entretanto a forma de abordar essa implementação, em VHDL, e na forma de fluxo de dados dinâmico, torna o modelo proposto, tanto para o hardware como para o compilador, uma característica única existente até o momento. / ChipCflow is a tool for algorithms execution using a data dynamic flow in reconfigurable hardware. The main purpose of the work is to use the data flow architecture model, associated to the concept of reconfigurable architectures, to speed up C written applications. The program acceleration happens in the most intensive processing parts (example: loops), through direct hardware execution, using to advantage of the natural parallelism of the data flow model. The C conversion module in data flow graph is the basic part in the development of the ChipCflow project and the specific objective of the developed work. In this work we present detais of the C precompiler that generates VHDL code for the data flow operators modules of the written program of the original application in C. It is possible to consider as the main result of this thesis, the implementation of algorithms from a C language in the data flow graph model proposed in the project ChipCflow, where the operators to the data stream are typically already known, and even the way interconnection too, but how to approach the implementation in VHDL, and as a dynamic data flow, makes the proposed model for both the hardware and the compiler, a feature only available so far.

Cloud computing is a computing paradigm where large numbers of devices are connected through networks that provide a dynamically scalable infrastructure for applications, data and storage. Currently, many businesses, from small scale to big companies and industries, are changing their operations to utilize cloud services because cloud platforms could increase company’s growth through process efficiency and reduction in information technology spending [Coles16]. Companies are relying on cloud platforms like Amazon Web Services, Google Compute Engine, and Microsoft Azure, etc., for their business development. Due to the emergence of new technologies, devices, and communications, the amount of data produced is growing rapidly every day. Big data is a collection of large dataset, typically hundreds of gigabytes, terabytes or petabytes. Big data storage and the analytics of this huge volume of data are a great challenge for companies and new businesses to handle, which is a primary focus of this paper. This research was conducted on Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and Microsoft Azure platforms using the HiBench Hadoop Big Data Benchmark suite [HiBench16]. Processing huge volumes of data is a tedious task that is normally handled through traditional database servers. In contrast, Hadoop is a powerful framework is used to handle applications with big data requirements efficiently by using the MapReduce algorithm to run them on systems with many commodity hardware nodes. Hadoop’s distributed file system facilitates rapid storage and data transfer rates of big data among the nodes and remains operational even when a node failure has occurred in a cluster. HiBench is a big data benchmarking tool that is used for evaluating the performance of big data applications whose data are handled and controlled by the Hadoop framework cluster. Hadoop cluster environment was enabled and evaluated on two cloud platforms. A quantitative comparison was performed on Amazon EC2 and Microsoft Azure along with a study of their pricing models. Measures are suggested for future studies and research.

<p><a>The quick, reliable, and sensitive detection of bacterial contamination is desired in areas such as counter bioterrorism, medicine, and food/water safety as pathogens such as<i> E. coli</i> can cause harmful effects with the presence of just a few cells. However, standard high sensitivity techniques require laboratories and trained technicians, requiring significant time and expense. More desirable would be a sensitive point-of-care device that could detect an array of pathogens without sample pre-treatment, or a continuous monitoring device operating without the need for frequent operator intervention.<br> <br> Optical microring resonators in silicon photonic platforms are particularly promising as scalable, multiplexed refractive index sensors for an integrated biosensing array. However, no systematic effort has been made to optimize the sensitivity of microrings for the detection of relatively large discrete analytes such as bacteria, which differs from the commonly considered cases of fluid or molecular sensitivity. This work demonstrates the feasibility of using high finesse microrings to detect whole bacterial cells with single cell resolution over a full range of potential analyte-to-sensor binding scenarios. Sensitivity parameters describing the case of discrete analyte detection are derived and used to guide computational optimization of microrings and their constituent waveguides, after considering a range of parameters such as waveguide dimension, material, modal polarization, and ring radius. The sensitivity of the optimized 2.5 µm radius silicon TM O-band ring is experimentally demonstrated with photoresist cellular simulants. A multiplexed optimized ring array is then shown to detect <i>E. Coli</i> cells in an experimental proof of concept.</a></p>

This research analyzed three Latina social media celebrities’ self-presentations on Instagram and focused on whether or not the content they published potentially challenges or simply perpetuates stereotypical tropes of Latinas found in mainstream media. This qualitative study took an Ideological Critical approach through a textual analysis that was informed by Feminist Theory. More specifically the research focused on: What were Latina social media celebrities self-presentations on Instagram that characterize what a Latina is? How were Latina social media celebrities self-presentations different from or similar to, mainstream stereotypical tropes for Latinas? Lastly, how do the Latina social media celebrities’ self-presentations compare and contrast, what type of themes emerged?

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to identify and describe how consumer perceptions regarding information quality, sender credibility and effect of eWOM-communication differ between Facebook and Prisjakt. Approach – Based on previous research an analytical model was designed. The parts in the model were the aspects of the problem which the present study aimed to examine. An experimental design was applied in which ten students at Örebro University were exposed to a scenario where they took part of eWOM-communication concerning a specific product on Facebook and Prisjakt and then had to answer questions in an interview. The analytical model formed the base of the interview guide used in the interview and the specific product was chosen with help from a focus group. Implication – The study illustrates that consumers may perceive the quality higher on Prisjakt while the sender credibility can be perceived higher on Facebook. Despite this conclusion the effect of eWOM-communication in this study is that the information on Facebook is adopted to a greater degree than the information on Prisjakt. The reason for this is that the sender credibility appeared to be more important in the process of information adoption. / Syfte – Syftet med denna studie är att identifiera och beskriva hur konsumenters uppfattning skiljer sig mellan Facebook och Prisjakt gällande informationens kvalitet, avsändarens trovärdighet och effekten av eWOM-kommunikation. Tillvägagångssätt – Utifrån tidigare forskning utformades en analysmodell vars delar var de aspekter av problemet som studien syftade till att undersöka. En experimentell design tillämpades där tio studenter vid Örebro universitet fick sätta sig in i ett scenario där de tog del av eWOM-kommunikation gällande en specifik produkt på Facebook respektive Prisjakt och sedan fick svara på frågor i en intervju. Analysmodellen låg till grund för en intervjuguide som användes vid intervjun och den specifika produkten diskuterades fram med hjälp av en fokusgrupp. Slutsats – Studien illustrerar att konsumenter kan uppfatta informationens kvalitet högre på Prisjakt medan avsändarens trovärdighet kan uppfattas högre på Facebook. Trots detta är slutsatsen gällande effekten av eWOM-kommunikation i studien att informationen på Facebook tenderar att anammas till en större grad än informationen på Prisjakt. Anledningen till detta är att avsändarens trovärdighet visade sig vara av större betydelse i processen av informationsanammande.

Determining the relative importance of processes that control the generation and preservation of continental margin stratigraphy is fundamental to deciphering the history of geologic, climatic and oceanographic forcing imprinted on their sedimentary record. The Northern Carnarvon Basin (NCB) of the North West Shelf of Australia has been a site of passive margin sedimentation throughout the Neogene. Cool-water carbonate sedimentation dominated during the early-middle Miocene, quartz-rich siliciclastics prograded over the shelf during the late-middle Miocene, and carbonate sedimentation resumed in the Pliocene. Middle Miocene to Pliocene siliciclastics were deposited as clinoform sets interpreted as delta lobes primarily based on their plan-view morphology and their relief of 40-100 m. Shelf-edge trajectory analysis suggests that part of this stratigraphic succession was built during a long-term, third order, regressive phase, producing shelf-edge deltas, followed by an aggradational episode. These trends appear to correlate with third-order global eustatic cycles. Slope incisions were already conspicuous on the slope before deltas reached the shelf-break. Nevertheless, slope gullies immediately downdip from the shelf-edge deltas are wider and deeper (>1 km wide, ~100 m deep) than coeval incisions that are laterally displaced from the deltaic depocenter (~0.7 km wide, ~25 m deep). This change in gully morphology is likely the result of greater erosion by sediment gravity flows sourced from shelf-edge deltas. Total late-middle to late Miocene margin progradation increased almost three times from 13 km in the southwest to 34 km in the northeast, where shelf-edge deltas were concentrated. Flat-topped carbonate platforms seem to have initiated on subtle antecedent topographic highs resulting from these deltaic lobes. A reduction of siliciclastic supply to the outer paleo-shelf during the Pliocene combined with the onset of a southwestward-flowing, warm-water Leeuwin Current (LC) most likely controlled the initiation of these carbonate platforms. These platforms display marked asymmetry, likely caused by an ancestral LC, which created higher-angle, upcurrent platform margins, and lower-angle, downcurrent clinoforms. The along-strike long-term migration trend of the platforms could be the result of differential subsidence. These platforms constitute the first widespread accumulation of photozoan carbonates in the Northern Carnarvon Basin. They became extinct after the mid-Pleistocene when the LC weakened or became more seasonal. / text

This thesis provides background information on the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET), HET Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX), Gough-Stewart platforms (GSP), the Prime Focus Instrument Package (PFIP) support structure, and the design methodology used to design said support structure. Each component is analyzed from the point of view of Professor Alex Slocum’s FRDPARRC design methodology. Each aspect of the design is shown to have been derived by following the steps of Slocum’s design method. Material selection, manufacturing techniques, and integration of off-the-shelf components into the support system are also discussed in reference to FRDPARRC. The assembly procedure for the PFIP structure is outlined. Finally, using specific examples from the detailed design, the FRDPARRC method itself is analyzed and its ability to drive innovation in design is evaluated. / text

網路社群媒體平台可能是數位發行的年代中至目前為止最具有威力的媒體平台。整合Facebook、部落格、微網誌、影音社群、SNS（Social Networking Service ），即時通訊等的網路社群媒體平台，可與真實資料的他人免費、不受時空限制的合作、共同參與、分享彼此資源資訊，使得訊息發送、情感聯繫不但更加緊密並快速營造如朋友社群般的關係影響力，再加上無線網路環境和數位化載具的快速進展，智慧型手機IPAD等滿足了大家的多元即時性，網路社群媒體平台串聯出的威力和影響力，已成為傳統媒體之外的另一個發聲利器，其威力甚至有時要比傳統媒體還要強烈，影響還要深遠！ 本研究旨在探討網路社群媒體平台之於表演藝術團體的價值，表演藝術團體如何運用網路社群媒體平台來進行營運，以及其關鍵的成功因素等議題，盼能引起大眾及表演藝術團體對網路社群媒體平台的了解與重視。研究選擇國內已經在網路社群媒體平台上活躍使用的表演藝術團體個案進行深度訪談及觀察探究，並輔以國外表演藝術團體網絡上的實地觀察和研究，以及次級文獻資料的蒐集佐證，進行分析探討。 本研究將「網路社群媒體平台」的角色定位為「表演藝術團體營運推展的有力夥伴，以體驗經濟形式共同創建表演藝術團體的營運產值」，研究問題及研究發現如下： 研究問題一：網路社群媒體平台之於表演藝術團體之價值為何？ 對應結論一：其價值有二點，包括： 一、網路社群媒體平台與表演藝術團體是虛擬的A型團隊合作關係。 二、網路社群媒體平台是表演藝術團體另一個微型的線上舞台，也是體驗經濟的延伸實踐。 研究問題二：網路社群媒體平台如何幫助表演藝術團體營運？ 對應結論二：其營運協助有五點，包括： 一、網路社群媒體平台讓表演藝術團體有更多的自主性及主導權來宣傳其創作作品，如同自己開了一家不用成本的二十四小時專屬媒體頻道。 二、網路社群媒體平台可協助表演藝術團體擴展精準觀眾群，並讓彼此之間關係互動更即時熱絡和緊密。 三、網路社群媒體平台可以協助本土的表演藝術團體更容易國際知曉增加國外粉絲。 四、網路社群媒體平台的免費及低學習門檻特性，讓非營利組織的表演藝術團體節省了大部分網路軟硬體設備及網路專業訓練的成本，甚至行銷宣傳經費。 五、網路社群媒體平台已成功協助表演藝術團體販售周邊商品，票券和募款。 研究問題三：表演藝術團體運用網路社群媒體平台營運的關鍵成功因素？ 對應結論三：關鍵成功因素，包括： 一、表演藝術團體運用五感體驗及說故事的力量鼓動並掌握群眾的互動和黏著度。 二、創意、主題策畫、知識涵度並以觀眾服務角度勤發布的真誠內容仍是吸引群眾擴充增加、協同、分享並每日追隨的重要因素。 三、明星偶像效應勢不可擋，表演藝術團體中靈魂級人物的訊息和親自上陣互動仍是令群眾瘋狂黏著並串聯分享的主因。 四、表演藝術團體對社群網路媒體平台的媒體特性、功能及操作技巧的了解以及主事者的全力支持是其推展營運最重要成功關鍵。 / In the digital publishing era, the media platforms of social networking websites have probably been the most powerful figure by far. By integrating the social networking websites of Facebook, blogs, microblogs, video-sharing websites, SNS (Social Networking Service), people can join and share resources and information and get from people their substantial cooperation that is free and unlimited by time and space.The delivery of messages can be speedier, and relation closer; moreover, the effect as that produced within a community of friends can thus be developed.Due to the highly advanced WiFi and digital devices, smartphones and tablet computers meet the need for diversity and instantaneity.The power and influence gained by integrating media platforms of social networking websites has become efficiently instrumental for one to be heard, and its force can reach far greater and deeper than the traditional media! The research aims at exploring issues concerning what the value media platforms of social networking websites can have on performing arts groups, how to run the groups through those platforms, and the key factors of success, in order to draw the attention from and increase the understanding of the public. The subjects chosen in this study are performing arts groups that have been active in media platforms of social networking websites in Taiwan. In-depth interview and observation will be used in exploring each case. Foreign performing arts groups will also be observed at the scene and studied; besides, the documentation of secondary materials will be collected, analyzed and discussed. Topic 1 What is the value of media platforms of social networking websites to performing arts groups? Conclusion 1 There are two valuable facts: 1.The relation between media platforms of social networking websites and performing arts groups belongs to virtual "Type A" cooperation. 2.Media platforms of social networking websites function as an alternative micro "online stage" of performing arts groups, and that is also the realization of the extension of experience economy. Topic 2 In what ways can media platforms of social networking websites help operate performing arts groups? Conclusion 2 There are five ways: 1.Media platforms of social networking websites allow greater independence and control for performing arts groups in promoting their works, as if they own a channel exclusive for themselves, broadcasting non-stop and without cost. 2.Media platforms of social networking websites can help broaden the targeted audience, and make the interaction between them closer. 3.Media platforms of social networking websites can help local performing arts groups increase their visibility overseas and thus the number of foreign fans. 4.The free-of-charge feature and highly accessibility of media platforms of social networking websites allows the non-profit performing arts groups to save much of the cost of hardware, software and training, even the promotion. 5.Media platforms of social networking websites have successfully assisted performing arts groups to sell merchandise and tickets, and to raise funds. Topic 3 What are the KSF (Key Success Factors) in the employment of media platforms of social networking websites by performing arts groups? Conclusion 3 The KSF are: 1.The force created by performing arts groups using sensory experience to tell stories can encourage and control the interaction and attachment of the audience. 2.Creativity, theme planning, knowledge imparted, and the sincere and diligent posting of messages that are service-based, audience-centered, still serve essentially to attract the public that may increase in number and be willing to cooperate and share with each other day after day. 3.Stars are invincible! The messages and presence of, and the interaction with the key figures of performing arts groups can make the audience crazy and thus get closer to share. 4.The understanding of the characteristics, functions, operating skills of media platforms of social networking websites by performing arts groups, plus the full support from the person in charge, is the crucial factors of success.

Este trabalho apresenta uma arquitetura geral para evolução de circuitos eletrônicos analógicos baseada em algoritmos genéticos. A organização lógica privilegia a interoperabilidade de seus principais componentes, incluindo a possibilidade de substituição ou melhorias internas de suas funcionalidades. A plataforma implementada utiliza evolução extrínseca, isto é, baseada em simulação de circuitos, e visa facilidade e flexibilidade para experimentação. Ela viabiliza a interconexão de diversos componentes aos nós de um circuito eletrônico que será sintetizado ou adaptado. A técnica de Algoritmos Genéticos é usada para buscar a melhor forma de interconectar os componentes para implementar a função desejada. Esta versão da plataforma utiliza o ambiente MATLAB com um toolbox de Algoritmos Genéticos e o PSpice como simulador de circuitos. Os estudos de caso realizados apresentaram resultados que demonstram a potencialidade da plataforma no desenvolvimento de circuitos eletrônicos adaptativos. / This work presents a general architecture of an evolutionary system for electronic analog circuits based on genetic algorithms. The platform design enables interoperability of its main components including module substitution or functionality improvement. In the current version it implements the extrinsic model, that means, circuit simulation aiming the flexibility and easy experimentation. It enables free interconnection on a number of nodes of a circuit to be synthesized or adapted. The evolutionary technique Genetic Algorithms is used to search for the best interconnection solution on the desired circuit or circuit function. In the current version it makes use of the MATLAB with a genetic algorithm toolbox and the PSpice to simulate circuits. The case studies presented demonstrate the potential of the platform to adapt electronic circuits.