På grund av den globalt snabba tillväxten av mänskliga samhällen har mängden artificiellt ljus ökat. Artificiella ljuset hotar fladdermössens överlevnad på grund av de störningar som ljuset orsakar i fladdermössens födosökande, parning, habitat samt deras cirkadianska system. Syftet med denna studie är att se om det finns ett samband mellan förekomsten av fladdermöss och ljusföroreningar i Stockholms län samt om förekomsten av ljusopportunistiska respektive ljuskänsliga fladdermöss skiljer sig vid olika grader av ljusföroreningar. I studien delades Stockholm i tre stycken zoner: zon 1 har mest ljusföroreningar, zon 2 har mindre, och zon 3 har minst. Styrkan på ljusföroreningar mättes med Sky Quality Meter version L vid 15 stycken fladdermusinventeringar i vardera zonen. Fladdermusarterna delades in i två grupper, ljusopportunistiska och ljuskänsliga. Resultatet av studien visar ingen signifikant interaktion mellan fladdermusgrupp och zonindelningens påverkan på fladdermusandel. Ljusföroreningarna indikerar ingen signifikant påverkan på fladdermössantal. Variablerna ljusförorening, avstånd till väg och järnväg samt molnighet har ingen signifikant påverkan på fladdermössantalet.

The purpose of our thesis is to investigate the incentive mechanisms that may be used for a timely and successful implementation of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects. This purpose is achieved by investigating challenges and success factors within one of the largest Public-Private Partnership projects in Europe, the SESAR programme which stands for Single European Sky ATM Research and that aims at modernising the European air traffic management (ATM) system. The categories of SESAR actors that we investigated include: stakeholders (airspace users such as Air France, KLM, SAS; ANSPs from Sweden,Finland, Netherlands and the CANSO organisation; airport representatives including Swedavia, Zürich Airport and Guernsey Airport); as well as manufacturers (e.g. Airbus, Frequentis, Thales); international organisations as principals (e.g. European Commission – SESAR Joint Undertaking-, EUROCONTROL) and advisers (e.g. Helios UK). Referring to our contribution to the theory, we identify four categories of incentive mechanisms for timely implementation of large PPP projects: i. Financial incentives such as loans, proportionate with the level of risks the implementer bears; the deduction of loan fees or reduction of service charges can motivate stakeholders to implement earlier, once they identify a positive business case. ii. Operational incentives can refer to certain preferential treatment to those who comply and detrimental treatment to those who do not comply. iii. Legal incentives such as mandates can force commitment and have an impact on the timely implementation of PPP projects within a certain time-frame. iv. Intangible incentives, such as transparent communication, collaboration and less political behaviour, are seen as major factors contributing to the commitment and trust level among the actors involved, thus, enabling the success of the PPP project implementation.

Ett mycket högexploaterat förslag utformas där en egen identitet skapas åt Arenastaden i Växjö. Solens gång, bullerkällor, brandrisker, kulturhistoriska värden och många mål i kommunens visionsbild för Arenastaden väger in vid utformning av förslaget. Förslagets nya upplevelsevärden och andra kvalitéer analyseras med hjälp av en solstudie, bullerkällsundersökning och analysmetod av Kevin Lynch. Projektuppgiften är baserad på att en mycket hög exploatering drar ner på områdets upplevelsevärden. Då analysens resultat föll annorlunda erhölls ett annat resultat – metoden; att bygga på höjden besparar grönytor och de värden som mäts vid en Lynchanalys.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T12:09:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 parte1.pdf: 2882635 bytes, checksum: dafad94be8cc6806663fad3a0017cf4c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-03-05 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The present research determines and verifies the efficiency of obstructed sky angles due to occupation of the actual area and those related to three other settlements suggested by Peregrino (2005) to a segment of the districts of Cabo Branco and Tambaú on João Pessoa PB. We used the methodology developed by Pereira (1994), based in the scheduled balanced radiation of Aroztegui (1980) and softwares to calculate direct and diffuse radiations together with masks of solar blockage. The research concluded that the law used to conduct the settlement of urban areas of the city of João Pessoa is totally mistaken in relation to the obstructed sky angles because they not only compromise the intra-urban ventilation but significantly rise the local temperature due to prolonged exposition of vertical and horizontal surfaces located in the urban area. / O presente trabalho determina e verifica a eficiência dos ângulos de céu obstruídos decorrentes da ocupação atual do solo e os relativos aos adensamentos propostos por Peregrino (2005) para um trecho dos bairros de Cabo Branco e Tambaú, João Pessoa PB, utilizando-se da metodologia desenvolvida por Pereira (1994), com base no método das radiações ponderadas horárias de Aroztegui (1980), além de softwares para cálculo das radiações diretas e difusas e para a confecção de máscaras de obstrução solar. A pesquisa concluiu que a Lei que rege a ocupação do solo urbano da cidade de João Pessoa está totalmente equivocada no que se refere aos ângulos de céu obstruídos, que não só comprometem à ventilação intra-urbana, mas notadamente os níveis de temperatura locais pela exposição prolongada das superfícies verticais e horizontais na malha urbana da cidade.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T13:57:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 JulianaSA_DISSERT.pdf: 4368174 bytes, checksum: 1c4f744379fc80dd647cde4951df73f8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-02-27 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico / This master thesis introduces assessment procedures of daylighting performance in office rooms with shaded opening, recommendations for Natal-RN (Latitude 05,47' S, Longitude 35,11' W). The studies assume the need of window exterior shading in hot and humid climate buildings. The daylighting performance analyses are based on simulated results for three levels of illuminance (300,500 e 1000 lux) between 08h00 e 16h00, in rooms with 2,80 m height, 6 m large and 4 m, 6 m e 8 m depths, with a centered single opening, window wall ratio (20%, 40% e 60%), four orientations (North, East, South and West), and two types of sky (clear and partially cloudy). The sky characteristics were statistically determined based on hourly data from INPE-CRN solar and daylighting weather station. The lighting performance is resulted from dynamic computer simulation of 72 models using Troplux 3.12. The simulation results were assessed using a new parameter to quantify the use of interior daylighting, the useful percentage of daylight (PULN), which corresponds to the time fraction with satisfactory light, in accordance with the illuminance design. The passive zone depths are defined based on the PULN. Despite the failures of illuminance data from the weather station, the analyses ratified the high potential of daylighting for shaded rooms. The most influential variables on the lighting performance are the opening size and the illuminance of design, while the orientation is a little influential / A pesquisa prop?e procedimentos de an?lise do desempenho de ilumina??o natural em salas de escrit?rio com aberturas sombreadas, para caracter?sticas de c?u de Natal/RN (Latitude 05,47' S, Longitude 35,11' W). Os estudos partem da premissa que aberturas em edifica??es localizadas em clima quente e ?mido devem ser sombreadas. As caracter?sticas de c?u se baseiam em tratamento estat?stico dos registros da esta??o climatol?gica e de ilumina??o natural do INPE-CRN, em Natal/RN. As an?lises se baseiam no comportamento luminoso dos modelos entre 08h00 e 16h00, com caracter?sticas de p? direito de 2,8 m, largura de 6,0m e com profundidades de 4,0 m, 6,0 m e 8,0 m, com uma abertura ?nica com tr?s fra??es de tamanho (20%, 40% e 60% de Paf). Foram desenvolvidos dois m?todos de simula??o din?mica no programa Troplux (vers?o 3.12 e vers?o 5.0), sendo o primeiro com dados monitorados de c?u e outro com dados da IES presentes no sistema do programa. S?o considerados, para o primeiro m?todo de simula??o, tr?s n?veis de ilumin?ncias (300, 500 e 1000 lux), quatro orienta??es (Norte, Leste, Sul e Oeste), e duas condi??es de c?us (claro e parcial). Para as simula??es com dados da IES s?o considerados os tr?s n?veis de ilumin?ncias (300,500 e 1000 lux), duas orienta??es (Norte e Sul), e tr?s condi??es de c?us (claro, parcial e encoberto). S?o gerados 72 modelos e 18 modelos respectivamente. Os resultados das simula??es foram analisados por meio de um par?metro de quantifica??o do aproveitamento de luz natural no ambiente constru?do denominado percentual ?til de luz natural (PULN), que corresponde ? fra??o de tempo com luz suficiente para atender uma determinada ilumin?ncia de projeto. A caracteriza??o da profundidade da zona passiva de ilumina??o natural se baseia no PULN para atendimento das ilumin?ncias de projeto. Os resultados entre os dois m?todos de simula??o foram comparados sendo identificado que os dados monitorados de c?u coletados na esta??o solarim?trica apresentam falhas operacionais que limitam a caracteriza??o do tipo de c?u. A proposta gr?fica de determina??o de recomenda??es empregou os dados de simula??o troplux/IES. As vari?veis mais influentes no desempenho luminoso s?o o tamanho da abertura e o n?vel de ilumin?ncia de projeto, enquanto que a orienta??o da abertura pouco influenciou

Submitted by TELMA CRISTINA DIAS FERNANDES (telcfernandes@gmail.com) on 2018-09-21T00:57:17Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese - Telma Fernandes - UNESP - 2018 - Final (01).pdf: 2716654 bytes, checksum: 68a2a12813597f09ec02704feb553094 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Lucilene Cordeiro da Silva Messias null (lubiblio@bauru.unesp.br) on 2018-09-24T17:08:24Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 fernandes_tcd_dr_bauru.pdf: 2716654 bytes, checksum: 68a2a12813597f09ec02704feb553094 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-24T17:08:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 fernandes_tcd_dr_bauru.pdf: 2716654 bytes, checksum: 68a2a12813597f09ec02704feb553094 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-29 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Esta pesquisa constitui-se de um estudo voltado à formação de professores em Astronomia. Insere-se dentre as investigações que vêm sendo conduzidas no âmbito do Grupo de Pesquisa em Ensino de Ciências (GPEC), UNESP, Campus de Bauru, São Paulo (Brasil). que têm se preocupado em reduzir o distanciamento entre a produção acadêmica da área e os saberes e práticas de licenciandos e professores em exercício da Educação Básica. No caso específico do ensino de Astronomia, estudos realizados no domínio do GPEC mostram que este distanciamento negligencia a presença dos estudos de Astronomia nas salas de aula do ensino básico, quase sempre comprometendo a atuação do professor, em termos de qualidade do ensino ministrado nesse nível escolar. Esta pesqusia busca, assim, estudar os saberes docentes mobilizados durante a formação de um grupo de professores em exercício na Educação Básica, da rede pública de ensino de Bauru/SP, a partir do uso de uma estratégia de ensino de Astronomia centrada na obra Il Diario del Cielo (O Diário do Céu). Neste estudo, o referido material didático, concebido e desenvolvido originalmente para estudantes italianos e, portanto, para o Hemisfério Norte, foi traduzido e adaptado para a realidade da zona tropical do Hemisfério Sul, a fim de proporcionar a um grupo de professores em exercício na Educação Básica oportunidades de envolverem-se na exploração de elementos da observação ativa e sistemática do céu, do entorno e de atividades educativas. Para tanto, foram considerados modelos didáticos voltados para a Astronomia, explorando temas sobre o reconhecimento do horizonte local e a orientação espaço-temporal, os horários do nascer, culminância e pôr do Sol e da Lua, a duração do dia de acordo com o período do ano e da latitude do local de observação, equinócios, solstícios e as estações do ano, fases da Lua, dentre outros, e suas relações com a Didática da Astronomia. Analisados à luz da teoria e procedimentos da Análise de Discurso, de linha francesa, os dados constituídos revelaram, dentre os resultados alcançados, que embora os docentes possuam, por vezes, incipiente formação para o trabalho com a temática, a metodologia utilizada proporcionou novos conhecimentos à formação científica e pedagógica dos professores, tornando mais acessível o seu encontro com a Astronomia; os alunos sentiram-se mais seguros em dar explicações para o resultado de suas ações e interações, ao relacionar o objeto de estudo com o cotidiano. / This research consisted of a study aimed at teacher training in Astronomy. It is part of the research carried out within the scope of the Research Group on Science Teaching (GPEC), UNESP, Campus de Bauru, São Paulo (Brazil), which have been concerned with reducing the gap between the academic production of the area and the knowledge and practices of graduates and teachers in basic education. In the specific case of Astronomy teaching, studies carried out in the GPEC field show that this distance neglects the presence of Astronomy studies in the classrooms of basic education, almost always compromising the performance of the teacher, in terms of the quality of teaching taught at that level school. This research aims, therefore, to study the teachers' knowledge mobilized during the formation of a group of teachers in exercise in Basic Education, of the public school of Bauru / SP, from the use of an astronomy teaching strategy centered in the work Il Diario del Cielo (The Diary of the Sky). In this study, the didactic material originally conceived and developed for Italian students, and therefore for the Northern Hemisphere, has been translated and adapted to the reality of the tropical zone of the Southern Hemisphere in order to provide a group of practicing teachers in the Basic Education opportunities to engage in the exploration of elements of active and systematic observation of the sky, environment and educational activities. To do so, they were considered didactic models aimed at Astronomy, exploring themes about the recognition of the local horizon and the space-time orientation, the time of the birth, culmination and sunset of the Moon, the duration of the day according to the period of the year and latitude of the place of observation, equinoxes, solstices and the seasons of the year, phases of the Moon, among others, and its relations with the Didactics of Astronomy. Analyzed in the light of the theory and procedures of French Speech Analysis, the data show that, among the results achieved, although the teachers sometimes have incipient training to work with the subject, the methodology used provided new knowledge to the scientific and pedagogical formation of teachers, making their encounter with Astronomy more accessible; the students felt more confident in explaining the results of their actions and interactions by relating the object of study to everyday life. / CAPES: 156064-8

Submitted by Fabiana Benevenuto Faustini null (fab_bf@hotmail.com) on 2018-09-26T04:31:37Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTAÇAO FINAL_ULTIMA CORREÇÃO.pdf: 4446072 bytes, checksum: f8eb255af14f0286951d1f51ea8e76bb (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Lucilene Cordeiro da Silva Messias null (lubiblio@bauru.unesp.br) on 2018-09-26T16:43:56Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 faustini_fb_me_bauru.pdf: 4446072 bytes, checksum: f8eb255af14f0286951d1f51ea8e76bb (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-26T16:43:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 faustini_fb_me_bauru.pdf: 4446072 bytes, checksum: f8eb255af14f0286951d1f51ea8e76bb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-10-20 / A sensação de conforto térmico experimentada pelos usuários de espaços abertos de lazer, como praças, parques, bosques, entre outros, pode afetar positiva ou negativamente a quantidade de usuários, atividades desenvolvidas, além do tempo de permanência das pessoas. No entanto, essa relação entre conforto térmico e tempo de permanência ainda é pouco estudada, fato que justifica a importância desta pesquisa, que busca investigar essa relação em um espaço aberto de lazer. O estudo foi desenvolvido em um parque Zoológico, na cidade de Bauru-SP, através da coleta de dados objetivos (medições microclimáticas e quantificação de pessoas), e subjetivos (aplicação de questionários) em dois subespaços com mesma atratividade (área de felinos) e diferentes Fatores de Visão do Céu (FVC), em duas condições de tempo, quente e ameno. Esses dados permitiram identificar os Votos de Sensação Real (ASV), calcular o índice PET (Temperatura Equivalente Fisiológica), verificar a preferência térmica dos usuários e registrar o tempo de permanência em cada subespaço, nas condições de tempo analisadas. Os resultados evidenciam a estreita relação entre FVC e o tempo de permanência em determinado espaço. Destaca-se ainda: 1. Maior frequência de sensação térmica de conforto dos usuários na área com maior sombreamento, nas condições de tempo quente, e frequências de sensação térmica equivalentes nos dois subespaços em condições de tempo ameno. 2. Nas condições de tempo quente, permanência de curta duração dos usuários nas áreas de alta incidência de radiação solar direta e faixa de neutralidade do índice PET variada em relação aos dois subespaços. 3. Em situações de desconforto por calor, o tempo de permanência é reduzido em função do FVC, e a atração passa a ser um aspecto secundário, ou seja, o maior interesse se torna a busca por um local mais confortável. / The sensation of thermal comfort experienced by the users of leisure open places, such as squares, parks, woods, among others, may positively or negatively affect the amount of users, developed activities, and permanency time of people. However, this relation between thermal comfort and exposure time is still poorly studied, fact that justifies the importancy of this research, that seeks to investigate this relation in an leisure open place. The study was developed in a Zoo Park, in Bauru-SP, trough objective data collect (microclimatic measurements and quantification of people), and subjective data collect (questionnaires application) in two subspaces with the same attractiveness (feline area) and different Sky View Factors (SVF), under two weather conditions, hot and mild. These data allowed to indentify the Actual Sensation Votes (ASV), to calculate the PET index (Physiological Equivalent Temperature), verify the thermal preference of the users and record the exposure time in each subspace, under the microclimatic conditions analyzed. The results show the narrow relation between SVF and the exposure time in a given space. It also shows: 1. Higher frequency of thermal sensation of comfort of the users in the area with greater shading, in hot weather conditions, and equivalent thermal sensation frequencies in the two subspaces in mild weather conditions. 2. In hot weather conditions, permanency of short duration of the users in the areas of high incidence of direct solar radiation and neutrality range of the PET index varied in relation to the two subspaces. 3. In situations of heat discomfort, the permanecy time is reduced in function of the SVF, and the attraction turns into a secondary aspect, that is, the greater interest becomes the search for a more comfortable place.

A atividade de se observar o Céu é de suma importância para a obtenção de informações sobre a grande maioria dos objetos celestes, particularmente os de fora do Sistema Solar: não existem ainda meios tecnológicos que nos permitam obter tais informações in loco, seja por meio de sondas robóticas, seja por meio de naves tripuladas. Sob este ponto de vista, é então relevante oferecer a crianças e jovens a oportunidade de participarem de atividades didáticas de Observação do Céu, propiciando, assim, o estabelecimento de um primeiro contato sistemático deles com o Céu e, consequente e essencialmente, com todo o Universo que existe fora de nosso planeta. Neste trabalho estamos preocupados, particularmente, com o ensino sobre a Observação do Céu: estamos interessados em tratar sobre propostas didáticas, nas quais se ensine sobre como observar o Céu. Nosso principal objeto de estudo é o atual Currículo do Estado de São Paulo, mais especificamente os chamados Cadernos do Professor, que integram o conjunto de materiais didáticos vinculados a esse Currículo. Nesta dissertação nos propusemos a avaliar as atividades didáticas de Observação do Céu que são propostas junto aos Cadernos do Professor para as disciplinas de Ciências do Ensino Fundamental e Física do Ensino Médio. Essa avaliação foi feita a partir de dois pontos de vista. No primeiro, a análise se deu a respeito dos conteúdos presentes nas atividades, os quais foram comparados, por meio de Mapas Conceituais, com aqueles presentes nos Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais. O segundo ponto de vista para a avaliação se deu a respeito da estrutura das atividades. Para subsidiar tal análise foi feito um estudo junto a pesquisas da área de Ensino de Astronomia a partir da qual foram elencadas 6 dimensões ligadas à proposição de atividades didáticas de Observação do Céu - \"Objetos e fenômenos observáveis\"; \"Condições de observação, planejamento e preparação\"; \"Público alvo, contexto e interatividade do público\"; \"Objetivos maiores da observação\"; \"Registros das observações\"; e \"Tipos de observação e instrumentos\" -, as quais foram tratadas como parâmetros importantes na construção de propostas dessa natureza, sendo então utilizadas como categorias de análise daquelas presentes nos Cadernos do Currículo do Estado. Os principais resultados mostram que os conteúdos ligados à prática de Observação do Céu, tanto nos PCN quanto nos Cadernos do Currículo do Estado são significativamente semelhantes, inclusive a presença restrita ao Ensino Fundamental. Além disso, as atividades de Observação do Céu dos Cadernos parecem apresentar coerência interna e tendem a contemplar os resultados de pesquisas em Educação em Astronomia. / The activity of observing the Sky is very important to obtain information about the vast majority of celestial objects, particularly those from outside our Solar System: there are no technological means nowadays that allow us to obtain such information on-site, whether through robotic probes or by manned spacecraft. Under this view, it is therefore important to offer children and teenagers the opportunity to participate in didactic activities of the Sky Observation, thus allowing them to have a first systematic contact with the Sky, consequently and essentially with the whole Universe that exists outside our planet. In this work we are concerned particularly with the teaching about the Sky Observation: we are interested in dealing with proposals about teaching, in which one teaches \'how to observe the Sky\'. Our main object of study is the current Curriculum of the State of São Paulo, more specifically the Teacher\'s textbooks, which constitute the set of educational materials related to such Curriculum. In this dissertation we propose to evaluate the didactic activities of Sky Observation that are proposed in the Teacher\'s textbooks for the discipline of Science in Elementary School and for Physics in High School. This evaluation was made from two viewpoints. First, the analysis was about the content present in the activities, which were compared with the National Curriculum Parameters by means of Concept Maps. The second point of the evaluation was made regarding the structure of activities. To support this analysis, a study was done with some research of the area of Astronomy Teaching from which we listed 6 dimensions related to the proposition of didactic activities about Sky Observation - \"Objects and observable phenomena\"; \"Conditions of observation, planning and preparation\", \"Audience, context and audience interactivity\", \"Main objectives of observation\"; \"Records of observations\"; and \"Types of observation and instruments\" - which were treated as important parameters in building such proposals, then being used as analytical categories of those present in the textbooks of the Curriculum of the State. The main results show that the contents linked to the practice of Sky Observation, both the PCN and the Curriculum of the State are significantly similar, even the restricted theme of Sky Observation to elementary schools. Moreover, the activities of the Sky Observation in the textbook seem to have internal consistency and tend to contemplate the results of research in Astronomy Education.

Plusieurs méthodes existent pour évaluer de manière opérationnelle l'éclairement solaire au sol à partir d'images acquises par satellite. Durant sa thèse soutenue en 2009 à MINES ParisTech, Oumbe a conçu une nouvelle méthode, Heliosat-4, faisant appel à des modèles numériques du transfert radiatif et à des approximations d'exécution rapide. La présente thèse vise à consolider ces résultats et à effectuer la validation complète de la méthode Heliosat-4. Elle s'inscrit dans une collaboration scientifique internationale dans les projets européens MACC (Monitoring Atmosphere Composition and Climate) et MACC-II.Oumbe a proposé une approximation de l'équation de transfert radiatif s'écrivant alors comme un produit de l'éclairement par ciel clair par un terme d'extinction dû aux nuages. Nous avons établi que les erreurs liées à cette approximation sont très faibles dans les conditions usuelles et qu'elle peut donc être utilisée dans Heliosat-4, ce qui en facilitera l'implémentation informatique ainsi que son fonctionnement opérationnelle.La méthode Heliosat-4 est donc ainsi composé de deux modèles composés d'abaques : McClear pour l'éclairement par ciel clair et McCloud pour l'extinction cet éclairement due aux nuages. A l'aide de mesures in-situ d'éclairements direct et diffus de référence, nous avons analysé finement les performances de Heliosat-4 selon différentes conditions. La qualité de la première version pré-opérationnelle de Heliosat-4 est jugée satisfaisante car elle permet des estimations d'éclairement global avec une précision de l'ordre de celles des méthodes existantes mais des estimations des composantes directe et diffuse sensiblement de meilleure qualité. / Several methods have been developed to assess operationally the surface solar irradiance from satellite images. During his PhD thesis presented in 2009 at MINES ParisTech, Oumbe has designed a new method using numerical radiative transfer model and fast approximations. The present PhD thesis aimed at consolidating these results and validating Heliosat-4. This work is the international scientific collaboration framework of the European-funded projects MACC (Monitoring Atmosphere Composition and Climate) and MACC-II.As a foundation of Heliosat-4, Oumbe has proposed an approximation of the radiative transfer equation by a product of clear-sky irradiance and a term describing the cloud extinction. We have established that estimation errors due to this approximation are very small in usual conditions and that this approximation may be adopted. It allows a convenient modular development of Heliosat-4 and eases its future operational use.The Heliosat-4 method is then composed of two abacus-based models: McClear for the irradiance under clear-sky and McCloud for the irradiance extinction due to clouds. With in-situ reference measurements of direct and diffuse irradiance, we have carried out deep performance analysis of Heliosat-4, under different conditions. The quality of this first preoperational version of Heliosat-4 is judged satisfactory as it enables estimations of global irradiance with the same level of quality of other existing methods in literature but also estimations of direct and diffuse irradiances with a noticeable better quality.

More than half a decade of X-ray astronomy with various balloon borne and space orbiting X-ray instruments, have led to discoveries and detailed studies of X-ray binaries. An important property of X-ray binaries is intensity variations of different magnitudes in a wide range of timescales from milliseconds (quasi-periodic oscillations, millisecond pulsations), to a few weeks (orbital and super-orbital modulations) or longer (outbursts etc). In this thesis, different types of variabilities of X-ray binaries are considered in X-ray binary population studies and to investigate certain aspects of some individual systems. In Chapter 1, we provide an introduction to various types of variabilities seen in different classes of X-ray binaries. We mention in detail the various periodic and aperiodic variabilities seen in X-ray binaries. In Chapter 2, we describe, in some detail, the various X-ray all sky monitors and X-ray observatories, data from which has been utilized in the work carried out in this thesis. We also describe the various data analysis techniques that we have used. The rest of the thesis is divided into two major sections: Variability studies of indi-vidual systems and X-ray binary population studies Variability studies of individual systems In Chapter 3, we report results from an investigation of energy resolved orbital in-tensity pro les and from exhaustive orbital phase resolved spectroscopic measurements of GX 301{2 with MAXI{GSC . The orbital variation of the spectral parameters, es-pecially the relation between the equivalent width of Fe line and the column density of absorbing matter are then utilized to examine the models for the mode of accretion onto the neutron star in GX 301{2: circumstellar disk model by Pravdo & Ghosh (2001), and the accretion stream model by Leahy & Kostka (2008). A very large equivalent width of the iron line along with a small value of the column density in the orbital phase range 0.10-0.30 after the periastron passage indicates an asymmetry in the distribution of the matter around the neutron star, strongly favoring the accretion stream model by Leahy & Kostka (2008). Presence of an eclipse in an X-ray binary can be useful in determining orbital param-eters like inclination and in estimating the orbital evolution by eclipse timing method, which is reported in Chapter 4. For the HMXB system IGR J16393{4643, we found a short eclipse in the Swift{BAT light-curve and utilized it to constrain the orbital in-clination of the system. We have also studied, for the rst time, broad-band pulsation and spectral characteristic of the system with a Suzaku observation, showing sub-orbital intensity variations. For another eclipsing and non-pulsing HMXB 4U 1700{37, the orbital evolution is studied using mid-eclipse times from observations with narrow eld instruments as well as from long term light-curves of X-ray all sky monitors. The orbital period decay rate is estimated to be 5 10 7 /yr, an order slower than a previous measurement by Rubin et al.(1996). Since no pulsations are detected in this system, it is difficult to estimate its orbital parameters, especially its eccentricity. Using mid-eclipse times from 10 years of Swift{BAT data, we have independently constrained the eccentricity of the binary system. X-ray binary population studies In Chapter 5, we report results from an analysis of the 16 years light-curves of X-ray binaries in 2-10 keV energy band of RXTE{ASM , used to construct the differential and integral probability distributions of count-rates. These distributions are then employed to construct multiple snapshots of X-ray binary luminosity functions of the Milky Way instead of averaging the luminosities, an improvement over previous analysis by Grimm et al. (2002). We found that the averaged luminosities of highly variable X-ray binaries do not represent their true positions in XLFs and the variability of X-ray binaries do indeed signi cantly affect the luminosity functions. In Chapter 6, the measurements of the averaged spectra of X-ray binaries using MAXI{GSC data are reported and are used for constructing the composite X-ray spec-trum. These composite X-ray binary spectra are useful in estimating the contribution of X-ray binaries in extra-galactic SEDs constructed from the simultaneous Chandra / XMM{Newton and NuSTAR observations of these galaxies. These SEDs will also serve as a useful input in estimating the contribution of X-ray binary heating at high redshift IGM during the Epoch of Re-ionization. In Chapter 7, we summarize the main conclusions of the work carried out in this thesis and discuss some future prospects related to this thesis.