This collection of two short stories and one novella seeks to express and embody concepts of narrative form and technique developed over the course of this graduate program with regards to the formulation of believable, nonrealist fictional realities in an American idiom which can enter into the global critical conversation of similarly-purposed international literature.

Die Oberflächeneigenschaften eines Festkörpers können mit Hilfe dünner, durch Selbstorganisation gebildeter Molekülschichten aus Alkoxysilan-Molekülen gezielt verändert werden. Mikrostrukturierte selbstangeordnete Monolagen (SAM) können für die Anwendung in Bauelementen aus organischen Halbleitern von großem Interesse sein. Mikrokontaktdruck und Photolithographie sind zwei etablierte Verfahren, die jedoch Vorlagen und Masken zur Strukturierung benötigen. Dadurch entstehen bei häufig wechselnden Strukturen nicht zu vernachlässigende Rüstzeiten und Kosten. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird die Erzeugung lateral strukturierter Schichten von Octadecyltrichlorsilan (OTS) auf Siliziumoxidoberflächen am konkreten Beispiel zweier alternativer, sowohl maskenloser als auch kontaktloser Methoden demonstriert: (i) Tintenstrahlverfahren als rein additive Strukturierung, und (ii) laserinduzierte, photothermische Desorption als subtraktive Strukturierung einer OTS-SAM . Für das Tintenstrahldruckverfahren wird an einem Kontaktwinkelmessgerät eine Methode zur Beobachtung und Auswertung der Tropfenverdampfung implementiert und ein Modell für kleine Tropfen entwickelt. Für die subtraktive Strukturierung werden an einem selbst entwickelten Versuchsaufbau die leistungs- und geschwindigkeitsabhängige Strukturbreite untersucht. Die Ergebnisse der beiden Technologieansätze werden verglichen. / With help of thin layers of alkoxysilane molecules formed by self-assembly, the surface properties of solids can be controlled. Microstructured self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are interesting for applications in components based on organic semiconductors. Two established technologies for the structuring of molecular monolayers are microcontact printing and photolithography, for which templates and masks need to be structured. In this way, setting times and costs are high if variable patterns have to be structured. In this work, the fabrication of laterally structured monolayers from octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) is demonstrated for two examples of alternative, both template-free and maskless technologies: (i) inkjet as a purely additive method, and (ii) photothermal laser desorption as a subtractive structuring of an OTS-SAM. For the inkjet technology, a method for the observation and analysis of the evaporation of a droplet is implemented at a goniometer and a mathematical model for small inkjet droplets is extrapolated, For the subtractive laser structuring, the achievable patterning resolution is investigated as a function of laser intensity and scanning speed. The results of both technological approaches are compared.

By today’s date there are a lot of companies that are in great need of restructuring their paperwork in a more organized way. This can be excellent arranged with the help of properly constructed computer software. The aviation industry is no exception, but actually a good example of this. Täby Air Maintenance (TAM) is a company which is situated in Örebro. Their main business is aircraft maintenance on a variety of aircraft models. TAM has so far handled their work by hand or with the help of a majority of small computer programmes. The information has now become too abundant and the different kinds of software being used are no longer a working tool for the company. There is therefore a demand for an exhaustive programme which has the capacity to take care of all parts in logistics and production. The purpose is to examine and evaluate three different makes of software and form a recommendation to TAM of which one suits their needs the best. The software was Airsoft, MX System and System Airline Management (SAM). The evaluation has been performed with the help of demo versions of the programmes, manuals and support from contacts at the different manufacturers. The programmes were initially dealt with one at a time and then compared towards each other and towards the demands from TAM. The software which in the end was recommended was SAM, and the decision was based on a number of reasons. The main reason was the user friendliness of the software - the fact that its logical structure makes it easy for its user to swiftly understand the concept and thus learn how to use it quickly. This results in profits, both in time and money. / Idag är många företag i trängande behov av att strukturera upp sitt pappersarbete på ett mer ordnat sätt. Detta kan ske på ett effektivt sätt med ett anpassat och ändamålsenligt strukturerat datorprogram. Flygbranschen är inget undantag, snarare ett bra exempel på detta. Täby Air Maintenance (TAM) är ett företag som är beläget i Örebro och utför underhåll på flygplan i varierande storlek. TAM har hittills skött arbetet för hand och med hjälp av ett flertal mindre datorprogram. Informationen har dock blivit alldeles för omfångsrik och de olika programmen är inte längre ett fungerande instrument för verksamheten. Det krävs därför ett heltäckande program som har kapaciteten att ta hand om alla delar, såväl logistik som produktion. Syftet är att undersöka tre olika program och ge en rekommendation på det som passar företaget bäst. Programmen är Airsoft, MX System och System Airline Management (SAM). Undersökningen har utförts med hjälp av demoversioner, manualer och stöd från kontaktpersoner hos tillverkarna. Programmen undersöktes först var för sig och därefter jämfördes de mot varandra och mot TAMs krav. Det program som rekommenderades var SAM. Detta beror på en mängd orsaker, där den främsta orsaken var programmets användarvänlighet - det faktum att dess logiska uppbyggnad gör det lätt för användaren att snabbt kunna sätta sig in i strukturen och därmed lättare kunna lära sig att använda det. Detta i sin tur ger vinster i både tid och pengar.

Introduction: A mercury fact sheet that contains essential information and can be clearly understood by majority of adults is needed. In Fiscal Year 2009, EPA responded to more releases related to mercury than any other release. Since 2003, EPA has responded to more than 200 mercury releases. The American Association of Poison Control Centers estimate more than 50,000 people have been exposed to mercury vapors from 2003 to 2008, and 19,000 mercury cleanups have occurred from 2006 to 2008. Purpose: To determine what information needs to be included in a mercury fact sheet and how it should be created to inform adults who may be important in preventing and limiting exposure during accidental mercury release in the United States. Methods: The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Formula Data and the Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAM) tool were used to determine readability and appropriateness of twelve fact sheets related to elemental mercury. Length of fact sheets and illustration coverage percentage were also assessed. In addition, surveys were performed with four people who were involved in response to mercury releases in 2007 to 2009. The information they provided was also summarized to determine important elements that should be included in the fact sheets. Results: Information in a fact sheet should include the background of mercury, procedures in the event of a release, and ways to prevent releases. Based on the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, the literacy levels required to comprehend the 12 facts sheets was 11.4 on average. The majority of adults cannot comprehend the twelve fact sheets evaluated. Based on the evaluation of the material using SAM, none of the fact sheets scored higher than adequate with SAM. Only two fact sheets were written on one page and none of the fact sheets used relevant, simple illustrations with captions. Discussion: An effective mercury fact sheet needs to be about one page long and focuses on background, procedures, and prevention of exposure during a mercury release. Information obtained from interviews found that people focused the majority of their attention on the first page only. The fact sheet needs to be written at a sixth grade reading and to be able to receive a superior rating when assessed with SAM. This will ensure that the fact sheet is readable and comprehendible by the majority of adults and include the necessary information that the public must know regarding mercury. A new fact sheet was developed and assessed using both Flesch-Kincaid level and SAM and was found to have a 6.6 reading grade level and received a superior score under SAM. This fact sheet will be used by EPA along with the existing more comprehensive fact sheets at state agencies, and poison control centers for future releases and will be given to schools to educate and prevent future releases.

Les centres FeS sont un des cofacteurs protéiques majeurs, ils se trouvent aussi bien chez les bactéries que chez les eucaryotes. Ils ont des rôles essentiels de transfert d'électron, liaison de substrat et son activation, régulation d'expression de gènes, donneur de soufre etc. Leur agencement est très varié, allant du centre [2Fe-2S] à l'agrégat plus complexe MoFe7S9X (X = C, N ou O) de la nitrogénase. L'assemblage de ces centres se fait par des machineries protéiques. Nous avons étudié le système ISC (Iron-Sulfur Cluster) chez les bactéries, qui fabrique des centres [2Fe-2S] et [4Fe-4S]. Il est composé des protéines IscS, IscU, IscA, HscA, HscB et d'une ferrédoxine. Deux de ces protéines, IscS, qui est une cystéine désulfurase et IscU, protéine dite échafaudage, sont le cœur de la machinerie puisque IscS apporte le soufre sur la protéine IscU, qui, avec le fer qu'elle aura obtenu d'une autre protéine (non clairement identifiée à ce jour), fabriquera le centre fer-soufre et le transfèrera à une apoprotéine. Nous avons isolé un complexe stable (IscS-D35A-IscU)2 contenant un centre [2Fe-2S] dans des conditions anaérobie. Différentes formes du complexe ont été obtenues et cristallisées afin d'obtenir leurs structures, résolues par remplacement moléculaire. Ces structures nous ont permis de proposer un mécanisme d'assemblage des centres [2Fe-2S] à l'échelle atomique et électronique. Nous avons d'autre part étudié la protéine HmdB probablement impliquée dans la maturation de l'hydrogénase à fer. HmdB fait partie de la superfamille des protéines à radical SAM. Des cristaux de l'apoprotéine ont été obtenus et sa structure a été résolue par remplacement moléculaire. Même si une partie de la structure n'est pas visible du fait de l'absence de centre [4Fe-4S], elle donne une première vue du site actif de la protéine.

Depuis plusieurs années dans les laboratoires UTINAM et FEMTO-ST, des études sont réalisées sur les propriétés tribologiques des monocouches auto-assemblées (SAMs). Ces travaux ont permis la création de la start-up AFUludine SAS en septembre 2016 proposant l’utilisation d’acides phosphoniques comme lubrifiant pour l’emboutissage de tôle d’acier inoxydable. En conséquence, il a fallu développer de nouvelles méthodes permettant l’élaboration de ces films organiques. Les substrats ainsi traités ont montré, en plus de la formation d’une monocouche sur la surface, l’apparition d’agrégats d’acides phosphoniques visibles à l’œil nu.Cette thèse a pour objectif de chercher à mieux comprendre le greffage et les propriétés tribologiques de ces revêtements, ainsi que d’anticiper et de répondre à certaines problématiques industrielles. Les effets des ultrasons haute fréquence (575 kHz) sur le greffage des SAMs sont observés, en s’intéressant dans un premier temps, à un modèle (thiols/or) puis au système d’intérêt. Les US activent le greffage des thiols sur or en diminuant le temps nécessaire pour obtenir un film compact et bien organisé. Les mêmes résultats sont constatés pour les acides phosphoniques sur acier inoxydable.Une seconde partie de ce travail est consacrée à l’étude des agrégats. Leur formation est divisée en plusieurs étapes qui dépendent de la concentration en molécules actives au sein de la solution de modification. Le caractère viscoélastique des agrégats indique une dépendance à cette concentration. L’un des risques industriels du greffage de ces films réside dans la nécessité d’utiliser un solvant organique, comme l’éthanol. Le remplacement de ce solvant par de l’eau pour la modification par des acides phosphoniques de petites chaines alcanes sera donc étudié. La désorption des molécules est également investiguée. En effet, une fois l’emboutissage réalisé, les finitions de la pièce demandent un état de surface spécifique. Pour se faire, l’utilisation d’ultrasons basse fréquence, de soude ou la combinaison des deux, est mise à profit, afin de nettoyer les tôles d’acier à divers degrés : élimination des agrégats redonnant l’aspect visuel d’origine à l’acier inoxydable, désorption des espèces présentes dans le film organisé (agrégats, multicouches et espèces physisorbées) et désorption complète des molécules. / For several years, UTINAM and FEMTO-ST laboratories studied tribological properties of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). These works enabled the creation of the start up AFULudine SAS on September 2016 offering the use of phosphonic acids as lubricants for stainless steel sheets stamping. Consequently, new methods for the elaboration of such organic films had to be developed. The treated substrates showed formation of phosphoric acid aggregates on the surface, along with the grafting of a monolayer.This thesis aims to better understand the grafting and the tribological properties of these films, as well as to anticipate and answer some industrial issues. The effects of high frequency ultrasound (575 kHz) on the grafting of the films were observed. First, a reference system (thiols/gold) was studied before getting started with the system of interest. Ultrasound activates the grafting of thiols on gold by diminishing the necessary time for obtaining a compact and organized film. Same results were observed for phosphonic acids on stainless steel.The second part of this work is dedicated to the study of aggregates. Their formation is divided into several steps depending on the concentration of active molecules within the modification solution. Viscoelastic properties of the aggregates indicate a dependence to this concentration. The use of an organic solvent, such as ethanol, is one of the industrial drawbacks. The replacement of this solvent with water for the grafting of short chains phosphonic acids is studied. Desorption of these molecules is investigated as well. Indeed, after stamping, specific surface state is required for piece finishing. In order to do so, use of low frequency ultrasound, caustic soda or use of both is carried out to clean steel sheets at several levels: removal of the aggregates giving back the original visual aspect, desorption of the species present in the organic film (aggregates, multilayers and physisorbed species) and complete removal of the molecules.

Submitted by Bruno Andre Lima Ribeiro (brunolr@gmail.com) on 2016-01-08T11:20:05Z No. of bitstreams: 1 sistemas-informacao-ribeiro-dissertação_revisadovCompleta.pdf: 2464510 bytes, checksum: c31ebc1a415da52986041178a31c2af0 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Luiza Holme (ana.holme@fgv.br) on 2016-01-08T11:23:40Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 sistemas-informacao-ribeiro-dissertação_revisadovCompleta.pdf: 2464510 bytes, checksum: c31ebc1a415da52986041178a31c2af0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-01-08T11:27:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 sistemas-informacao-ribeiro-dissertação_revisadovCompleta.pdf: 2464510 bytes, checksum: c31ebc1a415da52986041178a31c2af0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-12-07 / Nos últimos 30 anos os executivos têm consistentemente identificado o alinhamento estratégico entre TI e negócio como uma das suas principais preocupações ainda não devidamente endereçadas. Existem diversos conceitos definidos sobre o significado deste alinhamento e suas consequências na performance das empresas, mas os estudos ainda são vagos em relação a como ele pode ser atingido e focam principalmente no alinhamento entre executivos, explorando pouco o nível operacional nas organizações. O objetivo deste estudo foi aprofundar-se no alinhamento entre TI e unidades de negócio na dimensão operacional, através de um estudo de caso avaliando o impacto na percepção de alinhamento entre as áreas após a criação de uma área dedicada ao relacionamento entre TI/Negócio, composta por profissionais de TI especializados e com conhecimentos específicos das unidades de negócio que atendem, visando um melhor entendimento dos objetivos da organização. Para tanto, foi aplicada uma abordagem multi-metodológica utilizando-se de Insider Action Research, que investiga um fenômeno partindo de uma intervenção no ambiente (em que o pesquisador faz parte), em conjunto com Design Research, que realiza o estudo de forma qualitativa centrada na construção e avaliação cíclica de um artefato. Para este estudo de caso, o artefato criado foi o método de trabalho utilizando-se de uma área responsável pela gestão do relacionamento entre TI/Negócio e a intervenção foi a implantação deste artefato na organização. As percepções foram capturadas através de reuniões com gestores da organização. As avaliações de efetividade foram apoiadas no framework de Luftman que mede o nível de alinhamento entre TI/Negócio em seis dimensões (Comunicação, Mensuração, Governança, Parceria, Escopo/Arquitetura e Competências). Os resultados mostraram que a criação da área de relacionamento TI/Negócios teve um claro impacto positivo na percepção de alinhamento entre as áreas, principalmente nas dimensões de comunicação e parceria. O estudo mostra que este tipo de abordagem gera uma maior sensação de confiança e proximidade e, portanto, pode ser utilizada para evoluir o alinhamento operacional entre as áreas. / Over the past 30 years, strategic alignment of information technology (IT) and business strategy has always been among the top concerns not properly addressed by executives. Although there are many studies about the meaning of this alignment and its consequences regarding the company´s performance, they often focus on the alignment between executives and few explore the operational level alignment and how it can be achieved. The main goal of this study is to approach the alignment between IT and business units from the operational level´s point of view. A case study is used in order to evaluate the impact on the perception of alignment after the creation of a dedicated team, responsible for managing the relationship between IT and business units, consisting of IT professionals with specific knowledge of the business units they are responsible for, in order to have a better understanding of the organizational objectives. In order to achieve that, a multi-methodological approach has been used, combining Insider Action Research, a methodology that investigates a phenomenon by evaluating the effects of an intervention on the environment (in which the researcher is a part of) with Design Research, another methodology that enables the study to be based upon the creation and cyclic evaluation of an artifact. In this study, the artifact created was a working method using a centralized unit responsible for the management of the IT and business unit´s relationship and the intervention was the implementation of this method on the organization. The perceptions were captured through meetings with the organization managers and directors. The evaluations were based on Luftman´s framework for measuring IT/Business alignment and had six dimensions (Communication, Metrics, Governance, Partnership, Scope/Architecture and Competences). The results shows that the creation of the unit dedicated to managing the IT/Business relationship had a positive impact on the alignment perception, mainly on the communication and partnership dimensions. The study also shows that this kind of structure results in a greater feeling of trust and, so, can be used to increase the operational alignment among the units.

Submitted by Automa??o e Estat?stica (sst@bczm.ufrn.br) on 2017-11-01T22:37:28Z No. of bitstreams: 1 RaimundoNazarenoDaSilvaConceicaoFilho_DISSERT.pdf: 12242083 bytes, checksum: 01e4da6c38f0cf877f871a80f9e59811 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Arlan Eloi Leite Silva (eloihistoriador@yahoo.com.br) on 2017-11-14T00:09:04Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 RaimundoNazarenoDaSilvaConceicaoFilho_DISSERT.pdf: 12242083 bytes, checksum: 01e4da6c38f0cf877f871a80f9e59811 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-11-14T00:09:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RaimundoNazarenoDaSilvaConceicaoFilho_DISSERT.pdf: 12242083 bytes, checksum: 01e4da6c38f0cf877f871a80f9e59811 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-09-01 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico (CNPq) / Neste trabalho utilizamos o m?todo qu?mico poliol para a prepara??o de nanopart?culas de Sm-Co. As amostras sintetizadas foram nomeadas das seguintes formas: ARS-0%; ARS-5%;ARS-7% e ARS-9%, sendo as porcentagens referente a varia??o do ?cido Ac?tico utilizado na s?ntese. A caracteriza??o estrutural foi realizada via difra??o de raio-X e microscopia eletr?nica de transmiss?o (MET). Os par?metros estruturais foram determinados pelo m?todo de Rietvelt utilizando o software Maud. As seguintes fases foram identificadas: Sm2Co7; Sm2Co17 e Sm5Co19. Para o estudo das propriedades magn?ticas, medidas com o magnet?metro de amostra vibrante foram utilizadas para obten??o de curvas de magnetiza??es em fun??o do campo magn?tico aplicado ? temperatura ambiente. O PPMS foi utilizado para medir curvas de magnetiza??o em fun??o da temperatura. As temperaturas de Curie obtidas est?o de acordo com as fases obtidas pelos m?todos de caracteriza??o estrutural. Foram obtidas imagens das amostras atrav?s do MEV e MET para estudo morfol?gico e determina??o do tamanho das nanopart?culas das amostras. Nossos resultados mostram a viabilidade do m?todo poliol para obten??o de nanopart?culas de Sm-Co e a influencia do ?cido Ac?tico no processo de s?ntese. / In this work we used the chemical polyol method for the preparation of Sm-Co nanoparticles. The synthesized samples were named in the following forms: ARS-0%; ARS-5%, ARS-7% and ARS-9%, being the percentages referring to the variation of Acetic Acid used in the synthesis. The structural characterization was performed by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The structural parameters were determined by the Rietvelt method using the Maud software. The following phases were identified: Sm2CO7; Sm2Co17 and Sm5Co19. For the study of magnetic properties, measurements with the vibrating sample magnetometer were used to obtain magnetization curves as a function of the magnetic field applied at room temperature. The PPMS was used to measure magnetization curves as a function of temperature. The Curie temperatures obtained are in accordance with the phases obtained by the structural characterization methods. Images of the samples were obtained through the SEM and MET for morphological study and determination of the size of the nanoparticles of the samples. Our results show the feasibility of the polyol method to obtain Sm-Co nanoparticles and the influence of Acetic Acid in the synthesis process.

By conducting an experiment involving interviews with successful video game music composers about the emotions they wish to convey to the players with their music, and a survey questioning consumers about what emotions they actually experienced while listening to these musical pieces, this bachelor's thesis tries to provide a deeper understanding for music in games and the impact it has on the player and whether or not the three composers that has been interviewed has succeeded with conveying the emotions they wished to convey to their consumers. The results showed that each composer that has participated has been able to convey the music's intended emotions to their consumers more or less. Almost none of the musical pieces used stood out as wrongly perceived by the survey participants. The preconceptions we have about emotions in music, both generally and in video games, has become so deeply rooted that by only listening to a musical piece one can determine its emotive state and character.

This thesis describes and investigates different approaches to indoor mapping and navigation. A system capable of mapping large indoor areas with a stereo camera and/or a laser camera mounted to e.g. a robot or a human is developed. The approaches investigated in this report are either based on Simultaneous Lo- calisation and Mapping (SLAM) techniques, e.g. Extended Kalman Filter-SLAM (EKF-SLAM) and Smoothing and Mapping (SAM), or registration techniques, e.g. Iterated Closest Point (ICP) and Normal Distributions Transform (NDT).In SLAM, it is demonstrated that the laser camera can contribute to the stereo camera by providing accurate distance estimates. By combining these sensors in EKF-SLAM, it is possible to obtain more accurate maps and trajectories compared to if the stereo camera is used alone.It is also demonstrated that by dividing the environment into smaller ones, i.e. submaps, it is possible to build large maps in close to linear time. A new approach to SLAM based on EKF-SLAM and SAM, called Submap Joining Smoothing and Mapping (SJSAM), is implemented to demonstrate this.NDT is also implemented and the objective is to register two point clouds from the laser camera to each other so that the relative motion can be obtained. The NDT implementation is compared to ICP and the results show that NDT performs better at estimating the angular difference between the point clouds.