The on-line condition monitoring of turbomachinery blades is of utmost importance to ensure the long term health and availability of such machines and as such has been an area of study since the late 1960s. As a result a number of on-line blade vibration measurement techniques are available, each with its own associated advantages and shortcomings. In general, on-blade sensor measurement techniques suffer from sensor lifespan, whereas non-contact techniques usually have measurement bandwidth limitations. One non-contact measurement technique that yields improvements in the area of measurement bandwidth is laser Doppler vibrometry. This thesis presents results and findings from utilizing laser Doppler vibrometry in an Eulerian fashion (i.e. a fixed reference frame) to measure on-line blade vibrations in axial-flow turbomachinery. With this measurement approach, the laser beam is focussed at a fixed point in space and measurements are available for the periods during which each blade sweeps through the beam. The characteristics of the measurement technique are studied analytically with an Euler-Bernoulli cantilever beam and experimental verification is performed. An approach for the numerical simulation of the measurement technique is then presented. Associated with the presented measurement technique are the short periods during which each blade is exposed to the laser beam. This characteristic yields traditional frequency domain signal processing techniques unsuitable for providing useful blade health indicators. To obtain frequency domain information from such short signals, it is necessary to employ non-standard signal processing techniques such as non-harmonic Fourier analysis. Results from experimental testing on a single-blade test rotor at a single rotor speed are presented in the form of phase angle trends obtained with non-harmonic Fourier analysis. Considering the maximum of absolute unwrapped phase angle trends around various reference frequencies, good indicators of blade health deterioration were obtained. These indicators were verified numerically. To extend the application of this condition monitoring approach, measurements were repeated on a five-blade test rotor at four different rotor speeds. Various damage cases were considered as well as different ELDV measurement positions. Using statistical parameters of the abovementioned indicators as well as time domain parameters, it is shown that with this condition monitoring approach, blade damage can successfully be identified and quantified with the aid of artificial neural networks. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering / unrestricted

El presente trabajo de investigación trata sobre el proyecto de “Qampack”, el cual es un aplicativo móvil que brinda diseños atractivos y personalizados de empaques a los emprendedores con poco tiempo en el mercado, para ello se emplea la inteligencia artificial que recopila información sobre diseños acorde al rubro del negocio y las tendencias actuales, creando así un diseño único para el cliente. Asimismo, ofrece el servicio de impresión y entrega en físico del packaging, trabajando de la mano con proveedores calificados y confiables para la elaboración de los empaques. En primer lugar, se realizó una investigación de tipo cualitativa, con el fin de validar los principales obstáculos a los que se enfrentan los emprendedores, a la hora de elegir el empaque de su producto. De esta manera, se determina que actualmente en la industria del diseño y elaboración de empaques no existe una aplicación que emplee la inteligencia artificial para el desarrollo de sus operaciones. En segundo lugar, se efectuaron diferentes experimentos, teniendo como objetivo la validación del modelo de negocio y el interés de compra de los emprendedores. En tercer lugar, se realizó el plan financiero, abarcando los siguientes puntos: Proyección de ventas, Egresos proyectados, Presupuestos, Inversión, Flujo de caja e Indicadores; además, se determinó la mejor alternativa de financiamiento para el presente proyecto. Por último, se concluye que resulta viable invertir en Qampack, debido a que se asegura la rentabilidad del modelo de negocio. / This research work deals with the "Qampack" project, which is a mobile application that provides attractive and personalized packaging designs to entrepreneurs with little time in the market, using artificial intelligence that collects information on designs according to the business category and current trends, thus creating a unique design for the customer. It also offers the service of printing and physical delivery of packaging, working hand in hand with qualified and reliable suppliers for the development of packaging. First, a qualitative research was carried out in order to validate the main obstacles faced by entrepreneurs when choosing the packaging for their product. In this way, it was determined that currently in the packaging design and development industry there is no application that uses artificial intelligence for the development of its operations. Secondly, different experiments were carried out with the objective of validating the business model and the purchasing interest of the entrepreneurs. Thirdly, the financial plan was prepared, covering the following points: Sales Projection, Projected Expenses, Budgets, Investment, Cash Flow and Indicators; in addition, the best financing alternative for the present project was determined. Finally, it is concluded that it is viable to invest in Qampack, since the profitability of the business model is assured. / Trabajo de investigación

Bakgrund: Urbaniseringen som har skett under lång tid har skapat en stor bostadsbrist i svenska stora städer. I takt med att hållbarhet och miljö har blivit allt viktigare, har detta lett till att företag och marknaden har fått upp intresse för delningsekonomi ochnya boendeformer. Paralleller kan dras mellan det nya fenomenet co-living och de kollektivboenden som växte fram redan på 60- och 70-talet där människor med liknande intressen bodde tillsammans. Boendeformen co-living har fått mycket uppmärksamhet de senaste åren då den är yteffektiv, ekonomisk och mer social än traditionella hyresrätter. Fastighetsföretagens incitament för att investera i detta kan vara av olika anledningar och det är därför intressant att undersöka vilken strategi de har när de väljer att involvera sig i co-living.Syfte: Arbetet syftar till att undersöka vilken strategisk roll co-living har för fastighetsföretagen? För att kunna besvara syftet har det brutits ned till följande frågeställningar:- Varför investerar fastighetsföretag i co-living?- Hur bedrivs co-living?- Vad krävs för att bedriva co-living?Metod: Arbetet är utformat som en kvalitativ studie där empiriinsamling skett genom semistrukturerade intervjuer.Resultat: Det som har framkommit i arbetet är att fastighetsföretagens strategi inom co-living varierar. Intresset för co-living är stort i Sverige och det visade sig att företagen ser möjligheter i att utöka och bredda variationen i sitt utbud av boendeformer samt att behålla sina kunder inom företaget. Företagens interna förmågor och resurser har visat sig vara viktiga vid valet av strategi vid co-living. Företag som anser sig besitta rätt kunskaper väljer att starta co-living i egen regi, medan ett företag i studien ansåg att det var en bättre strategi att bli delägare i ett annat ledande företag inom co-living och på så sätt få in rätt kunskaper. Vidare visade det sig att företagen såg co-living som ett sätt att hitta nya innovativa produkter och tjänster till sin organisation. / Background: The urbanization that has taken place for a long time has created a majorhousing shortage in big cities in Sweden. As sustainability and the environment havebecome increasingly important, this has led to a gained interest in sharing economy andin new forms of housing from the market and the real estate companies. Parallels canbe observed between the new phenomenon co-living and the collectiveaccommodations that emerged in the 1960s and 70s where people with similar interestslived together. Co-living is a form of housing that has received a lot of attention inrecent years as it is surface efficient, economical and includes more social interactionsthan in traditional rental properties. Real estate companies’ incentives to invest in thissegment can be manifested in different ways. Therefore, it is interesting to investigatewhat strategy they use when choosing to involve themselves in co-living.Purpose: The study aims to examine what strategic role co-living plays for the real estate companies? In order to answer the purpose, it has been broken down in to three issues:- Why does real estate companies invest in co-living?- How is co-living conducted?- What does it require to conduct co-living?Methodology: The study was conducted as a qualitative examination where data is gathered through semi-structured interviews.Conclusion: What has emerged in the study is that the real estate companies' strategy in co-living varies. Interest in co-living is great in Sweden and it turns out that companies see opportunities in expanding and broadening the variety in their range of housing types and in keeping their customers within the company. The companies' internal capabilities and resources have proven to be important factors when deciding a strategy for investment in co-living. Companies that consider themselves to have the right capabilities and resources choose to start co-living on their own, while one company in the study thought it was a better strategy to become part-owner of another leading co-living company and thus gain the right knowledge. Furthermore, it turned out that the companies saw co-living as a way to find new innovative products and services for their organization.

Les aérosols carbonés, qui incluent les aérosols organiques (AO) et le carbone suie (BC), jouent un rôle majeur sur la qualité de l’air et sur le climat. Il est donc primordial de pouvoir quantifier leurs sources, ainsi que celles de leurs précurseurs gazeux, pour la mise en œuvre de plans d’action appropriés. Les études de tendance sur la composition chimique de l’atmosphère sont également nécessaires afin d’améliorer les connaissances de l’impact des particules sur le réchauffement climatique, actuel et à venir. Ce travail de thèse a permis d’exploiter les mesures automatiques et in situ des aérosols carbonés réalisées au SIRTA (Site de Recherche par Télédétection Atmosphérique) depuis plus de 6 ans. Cet observatoire appartient au programme européen ACTRIS (infrastructure de recherche européenne sur les aérosols, nuages, et espèces gazeuses réactives). Il est situé à 25 km au sud-ouest de Paris et est représentatif de la pollution de fond en région Ile de France. Les principales sources d’AO ont été discriminées à l’aide de l’outil Positive Matrix Factorization appliqué aux données issus d’un Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM). Les propriétés d’absorption de la lumière de BC et du brown carbon (BrC) ont été mesurées à l’aide d’un aethalomètre multi-longueurs d’onde. L’ensemble des résultats obtenus indiquent des cycles saisonniers, hebdomadaires et journaliers spécifiques aux différentes fractions des aérosols primaires et secondaires. Ils ont confirmé que l’AO primaire (AOP), provenant essentiellement de la combustion de biomasse et du transport routier, est prépondérant sur la période froide (de novembre à février), alors que le reste de l’année est dominé par des aérosols organiques oxygénés. Parmi ces derniers, une fraction moins oxydée, provenant probablement de façon majeure de précurseurs biogéniques, est prépondérante en été (60% de l’AO en moyenne estivale). Les études de tendance ont montré une légère diminution des concentrations (de l’ordre de 0.05-0.20 µg/m3 par an) de toutes les fractions d’AO identifiées au cours de la période étudiée, hormis pour cette fraction d’AO moins oxydée qui ne présente pas de tendance significative. Concernant les propriétés optiques, une contribution moyenne globalement équivalente à celle de BC a été observée pour le BrC dans le proche ultraviolet en hiver. Par ailleurs, il a été mis en évidence une augmentation significative des propriétés d’absorption du BC liée à des interactions avec les aérosols secondaires en mélange interne, en particulier en été (avec une valeur moyenne de 1.6 pour le paramètre Eabs). La fraction organique la plus oxydée a pu être identifiée comme principale responsable de ce phénomène, faisant des aérosols organiques secondaires l’une des fractions des particules les plus importants à considérer par les modèles climatiques. / Carbonaceous aerosols, including organic aerosols (OA) and black carbon (BC), are playing important roles on air quality and climate change. Therefore, quantifying contribution of their emission sources, as well as the sources of their gaseous precursors, is needed to implement efficient mitigation measures. Investigating trends in atmospheric composition is also essential to a better knowledge of present and future impacts of airborne particles on global warming. This work aimed at investigating on-line and in situ carbonaceous aerosol measurements performed for more than 6 years at the SIRTA facility (Site Instrumental de Recherche par Télédétection Atmosphérique). This observatory platform is part of the ACTRIS (Aerosols, Clouds, Trace gases Research InfraStructure). It is located 25 km southwest of Paris city center and is representative of background air quality in the Ile de France region. The main sources of submicron OA were discriminated through Positive Matrix Factorization applied to Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) data. Light absorption properties of BC and brown carbon (BrC) were obtained from multi-wavelength Aethalometer measurements. Converging results illustrated well-marked seasonal, weekly, and diel cycles of the various primary and secondary carbonaceous aerosol fractions. Primary OA (POA), mainly from wood burning and traffic emissions, were confirmed to dominate submicron OA concentrations during the coldest months (November to February), while Oxygenated OA (OOA) were shown as the major contributors during the rest of the year. Less Oxidized OOA (LO-OOA), possibly with predominant biogenic origins, were found to contribute up to about 60% of total submicron OA on average in summer. Trend analyses indicated slight decreasing features (in the range of 0.05-0.20 µg m-3 yr-1) for every OA fractions over the 6+-year investigated period, except for this LO-OOA factor which showed no significant trend. Regarding absorption properties, BrC - with overwhelming biomass burning origin - was found to have equivalent light absorption impact than BC at near-ultraviolet wavelengths during the winter season. In summer, a mean value of 1.6 was obtained for BC absorption enhancement (Eabs) due to secondary aerosol lensing effect, supporting possible higher BC-related radiative impact than currently expected. Last but not least, More Oxidized OOA (MO-OOA) were shown as the main agent for this Eabs and then appeared as one of the most critical aerosol fraction to be considered within near-future climate models.

Xestospongia muta, the giant barrel sponge, is a key component of coral reef benthic communities in Southeast Florida and the Caribbean. Xestospongia muta increases habitat complexity and stability, and filters large volumes of water, enhancing water quality and facilitating nutrient cycling. Therefore, it is important to investigate trends in the X. muta population on Southeast Florida reefs in response to anthropogenic stressors, changing environmental conditions and acute disturbances and how these events affect its ecological role in the benthic community. This study identified trends in X. muta population density, volume, and size class distribution over time and across reef habitats on the Southeast Florida Reef Tract (SEFRT). Density and volume changes were also investigated following acute physical disturbance caused by Hurricane Irma in September of 2017. Images and demographic data collected at 41 permanent sites from two long-term monitoring projects, The Southeast Florida Coral Reef Evaluation and Monitoring Project (SECREMP) and the Broward County Biological Monitoring Project (BC BIO), were used to evaluate the X. muta population trends. My analysis of the data from 2003 to 2018 shows that Xestospongia muta densities and volume increased over time regionally on the SEFRT and increased on the nearshore, middle, and outer reefs of the SEFRT. Xestospongia muta was found to be more abundant on the SEFRT compared to other locations including the Bahamas, the Florida Keys, Colombia, Belize and Saba. Highest mean density on the SEFRT was 0.35 individuals m-2 ±0.04 SEM, which was higher than the mean densities between 0.21 and 0.29 individuals m-2 at the Caribbean sites previously mentioned. Xestospongia muta individuals were categorized into size classes by volume to investigate density distribution of size classes on the SEFRT. Greater abundances in the smallest of five size classes (≤143.13 cm3) drove the increasing density trends. Despite the increasing trends from 2003 to 2017 with a peak in density and volume in 2017, Hurricane Irma caused a region-wide decline in population density and volume as well as a loss of individuals within the largest size class by volume (>17383.97 cm3). These results indicate that the X. muta population is exhibiting increasing long-term trends on the SEFRT, but also demonstrate that acute physical disturbances have a significant impact on the demographics of the population. Because of this sponge’s multiple roles in the reef communities, these trends have implications for structural complexity, nutrient cycling, water filtration, as well as carbon sequestration on the SEFRT.

La pandemia del Covid-19 ha tenido un fuerte impacto en la hotelería y el turismo, es por ello que, en la actualidad, afrontan una de las crisis más importantes de los últimos años. Si bien el sector hotelero está acostumbrado a enfrentarse a diferentes crisis, nunca a esta gran escala. Los cambios repentinos como cierre de aeropuertos, restricciones de viajes, disminución de turistas, caídas del nivel de ocupación, entre otros, hicieron que diferentes hoteles alrededor del mundo formulen e implementen estrategias de recuperación, para poder hacer frente a esta situación. Teniendo en cuenta que desde inicio del 2020 existen diversas publicaciones acerca de la forma en que los hoteles alrededor del mundo están enfrentando la actual crisis sanitaria, existe la necesidad de poder integrarlas con la finalidad de aportar conocimiento que contribuya a la reactivación económica del sector hotelero. Por ello, el presente trabajo de investigación tiene como propósito analizar y organizar la información relevante del impacto del Covid-19 en el sector hotelero e identificar y dar a conocer las estrategias empleadas, y las nuevas tendencias en el sector hotelero durante la actual crisis sanitaria mundial. La metodología empleada fue la revisión de literatura de tipo integrador, tomando en cuenta fuentes académicas como: tesis y artículos de revistas científicas. / The Covid-19 pandemic has had a strong impact on the hotel and tourism industry, and is currently facing one of the most important crises in recent years. Although the hotel sector is used to facing different crises, never on this large scale. Sudden changes such as airport closures, travel restrictions, decrease of tourists, drops in occupancy levels, among others, made different hotels around the world formulate and implement recovery strategies in order to cope with this situation. Taking into account that since the beginning of 2020 there are several publications on how hotels around the world are facing the current health crisis, there is a need to integrate them in order to provide knowledge that contributes to the economic recovery of the hotel sector. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to analyze and organize the relevant information on the impact of Covid-19 on the hotel sector and to identify and publicize the strategies employed and the new trends in the hotel sector during the current global health crisis. The methodology used was an integrative literature review, taking into account academic sources such as theses and scientific journal articles. / Trabajo de investigación

Los sectores turismo y hotelería son industrias que se encuentran relacionadas y en constantes cambios respecto a su oferta de servicios frente a las nuevas tendencias del mercado. Una reciente tendencia que ha surgido es el turismo wellness. Algunos hoteles están adaptándose a esta tendencia e implementando servicios wellness en sus instalaciones, especialmente en Asia, donde el turismo wellness está más desarrollado, ofreciendo diversas experiencias wellness en hoteles, muchas de ellas basadas en prácticas ancestrales o con el uso de recursos naturales. Los hoteles que ofrecen servicios wellness contribuyen con el desarrollo personal y la salud integral de los huéspedes que buscan este tipo de bienestar emocional. Sin embargo, la información acerca del turismo wellness aplicado en la hotelería no es ampliamente accesible en el idioma español a pesar de que se tienen oportunidades de crecimiento en países hispanohablantes, especialmente en Latinoamérica donde se cuenta con los recursos de aplicar servicios wellness. Debido a ello, la presente investigación sintetiza y analiza información relevante sobre la reciente tendencia del turismo wellness aplicado en la hotelería, las características de los hoteles que ofrecen servicios wellness y las actividades que realizan los hoteles en relación al turismo wellness. La metodología aplicada en el desarrollo de la investigación es la revisión de literatura con un enfoque integrador. Se obtuvo como hallazgo principal que el turismo wellness es una industria que se encuentra en fuerte crecimiento a nivel mundial y apunta al bienestar propio con un enfoque holístico. / The Tourism and Hospitality industry are strongly related and in constant change with respect to their supply and trends. Wellness tourism is a recent trend that has emerged in the last few years. Some hotels are adapting to this trend, especially in Asia, where this kind of tourism is more developed, which is why they offer a variety of wellness experiences in their hotels. Many of these are related to ancient practices or the use of host-countries’ natural resources. The wellness services contribute to the personal development and integral health of the guests, but also to their emotional wellbeing. Nevertheless, the information related to this kind of tourism applied in the hospitality industry is not wide open in the Spanish language, even though countries in Latin America have plenty of resources that may serve for the development of wellness hotels. Therefore, the research analyzes and synthesizes relevant information related to this new trend such as the characteristics and activities that are carry out by hotels in relation to wellness tourism. The methodology used in this research is the literature review with an integrative approach. The main finding is that wellness tourism is an industry that is in strongly growing worldwide and focuses on the well-being of the customers with a holistic approach. / Trabajo de investigación

The aim of the diploma thesis is based on a theoretical framework and with the help of typology to explain the importance of social tourism and its relationship to bound tourism and to find out, how social (bound) tourism displays itself as a specific form in the shape of summer children's camps. The work introduces and compares the definitions of social and bound tourism, there is performed the typology of social tourism and there are also mentioned current trends in social and bound tourism and the specifics of the development of bound and social tourism in the Czechia. After defining and characterizing the territory of the Jindřichův Hradec district, the search for information about children's camps and the methodology of my own research are explained in detail in the text, which consists in the content analysis of a structured interview with open questions. Within the analysis, keywords are selected, and a mix of quantitative and qualitative evaluation is performed, in which both the frequency of keywords and the content of individual statements are evaluated. Gradually, the geographical factors of camp location, their program factors, general characteristics and organizational factors of camps, their technical parameters and limitations of the coronavirus pandemic, social and demographic...

This thesis is based on critical analysis of office development to determine the development potential of this real estate segment and therefore also predict the future evolution of market characteristics (supply, demand, vacancy rates, investments, rents, yields and prices) and a model scenarios of development towards an optimistic, realistic or pessimistic. The work includes a theoretical part, which defines the basic concepts needed to understand the problem. Furthermore, the development and current situation related to that topic and the actual forecast of the market for office space.

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