O objetivo deste trabalho é discutir as histórias como experiência cultural facilitadora do desenvolvimento infantil e suas ressonâncias através do próprio processo em sala de aula: relação com o professor, interação no grupo, produções, histórias trazidas pelas crianças. Para tanto vamos considerar transicionalidade e espaço potencial no espaço institucional. A pesquisa parte de uma investigação psicanalítica que está para além dos muros do consultório e da escola regular e que considera como referência o conceito de espaço transicional, trazido por D. W. Winnicott, pediatra e psicanalista inglês (1896-1971). As indagações e as reflexões aqui levantadas visam contribuir para a prática de todos aqueles que trabalham com crianças, buscando novos olhares que contemplem o interrelacionamento e a posição estruturante do outro no desenvolvimento humano e na constituição da experiência cultural. As aventuras de Alice no País das Maravilhas são utilizadas como fio condutor. O tripé psicanálise, educação e cultura implica o encontro com outros autores/pensadores/interlocutores nesta caminhada. O material foi coletado em dois semestres, em dois grupos de 12 crianças da Escola Municipal de Iniciação Artística EMIA, sendo o primeiro uma classe de crianças de seis anos e o segundo uma classe de crianças de 9/10 anos. Observações in loco, anotações, registros em vídeo, fotos, gravações em fita cassete, registros escritos; coleta de desenhos, de histórias e outros materiais produzidos pelas crianças; encontros com os pais, além da experiência vivida são os instrumentos fundamentais deste processo de pesquisa. / The aim of this study is to discuss stories as cultural experience, facilitating childrens development and their effect in the process itself in the classroom -relationship with the teacher, interaction in the group, productions, stories brought by the children. Therefore let us consider transitionality and potential space in the institutional space. The research starts from a psychoanalytic investigation which is beyond the consulting office walls and the regular school. According to D. W. Winnicott, the English pediatrician and psychoanalyst (1896-1971), the concept of transitional space should be considered. The doubts and reflections brought up here aim to contribute to the practice of those who work with children, seeking new eyes that contemplate the interrelation and the structural position of others in human development and in constitution of cultural experience. The adventures of Alice in Wonderland are used as a consulting wire. The tripod psychoanalysis, education and culture, need to have other authors, thinkers, interlocutors in this process. The material was collected in two semesters from two groups of 12 children each, studying at Escola Municipal de Iniciação Artística EMIA. One class had 6-year-old children and the other had 10-year-old children. In loco observations, notes, records on video, photos, recordings on tape, written registers, drawing collections, stories and other materials (produced by the children), parents meetings, besides the experience are the fundamental tools of this research process.

As reflexões que compõem este estudo partem de inquietações geradas a partir da prática clínica com crianças, especialmente aquelas com distúrbios graves no desenvolvimento, como autismo e psicose. Seguindo as coordenadas oferecidas pela psicanálise, o analista tem a sua disposição uma extensa fundamentação teórica em torno do tema da constituição subjetiva, revelando múltiplos contornos conforme a filiação teórica-clínica adotada e impasses decorrentes da resistência em dialogar com perspectivas de compreensão distintas. A partir da discussão sobre os sentidos do processo de subjetivação para a psicanálise, esperamos demonstrar como é possível encontrar diferentes modelos de compreensão referentes ao que é o bebê, a relação primordial, o papel integrador do outro, a cultura e, por fim, o cuidado. Ao promover o diálogo entre múltiplas perspectivas, aponta-se para a necessidade de impulsionar a reflexão sobre o trabalho do analista, apostando que, por meio da interlocução entre Winnicott e Lacan, autores considerados tão distantes a um primeiro olhar, possam emergir giros teóricos significativos. Seguindo o percurso que ambos dedicaram ao tema da constituição subjetiva, apoiados na relação entre o bebê e o outro, vislumbra-se uma proposta de articulação entre a noção de dependência absoluta dos primeiros estágios da vida humana e a capacidade de o analista valorizar as diversas possibilidades de conceber a prática clínica. O espaço reflexivo promovido permitirá alcançar algumas conclusões, em especial, sobre uma concepção frente à prática psicanalítica orientada pela heterogeneidade e maleabilidade teórica. É preciso esclarecer que a proposta de dialogar não configura uma tentativa de converter uma teoria na outra, apoiada em comparações que visam localizar pressupostos comuns e eliminar as diferenças em função de uma pretensa harmonia. Por outro lado, não se trata também de exultar as diferenças a ponto de cunhar limites intransponíveis, o que só pode resultar em exposições reducionistas e estéreis. O desafio aqui enfrentado implica não ceder à tentação de simplificar o complexo, mas preservar a heterogeneidade produtiva tanto para uma teoria quanto para a outra, preservando um modelo de compreensão, a partir dos estágios precoces da subjetivação, suficientemente sensível às diferentes estratégias e demandas clínicas. Ao final do percurso, encontramos como ponto de convergência entre as teorias de Lacan e Winnicott a ênfase dada à função do outro no processo de constituição subjetiva e à resistência frente ao entendimento da psicanálise como uma prática de interiorização, o que se pode testemunhar pelo privilégio atribuído por ambos à situação de descentramento radical que inaugura a aventura subjetiva. Parece evidente, assim, que não se nasce sujeito, mas que uma subjetividade se instala pela garantia de algumas condições originárias e que, nesse encadeamento, transitamos incessantemente pela tênue linha entre aquilo que assegura que o sujeito possa advir, ou seja, sua possibilidade de subjetivação, até aquilo que passa a configurar o ponto de aprisionamento do ser ao desejo do outro / This study gathers some concerns borne from clinical practice with children, especially those with severe disturbances in development, such as autism and psychosis. Following the coordinates provided by psychoanalysis, the analyst works with an extensive theoretical framework around the theme of subjectivity, revealing multiple contours according with his clinical orientation, where the theoretical impasses usually arise from the resistance to dialogue with different perspectives of understanding the subject. Discussing the meanings of subjective constitution for psychoanalysis, we hope to demonstrate how you can find different models of understanding what the infant is, the primordial relation, the integrative role of the other, the culture and, finally, the concern. By promoting a dialogue among multiple perspectives, we expects to encourage reflection on the work of the analyst, betting that, through the dialogue between Winnicott and Lacan, authors whose are considered so far at first sight, a theoretical renewing could appear. Following the route that both devoted to the topic of subjective constitution, supported by the relationship between the baby and the other, the aim propose of this study is to articulate the notion of absolute dependence of early stages of human life and the ability of the analyst to deal with different possibilities to develop clinical practice. The reflections promoted some conclusions, especially on the perspective of a psychoanalytic practice guided by heterogeneity and plasticity theory. We must clarify that the proposed dialogue does not constitute an attempt to transform a theory into another one, based on comparisons that aim to find common understanding and to eliminate differences due to a false harmony. On the other hand, it is not also worried to establish a point of coining insurmountable limits by increasing the differences between them, which may result in exposures reductionist and sterile. The challenge faced here means not yielding to the temptation to simplify the complex, but to preserve the productive heterogeneity of both theory, preserving a model of understanding, from the early stages of subjectivity, sufficiently sensitive to different strategies and clinical demands. At the end of the journey, we find a point of convergence between the theories of Lacan and Winnicott focus on the function of the other in the process of subjective constitution and the resistance against the understanding of psychoanalysis as a practice of internalization, which on both theories we can recognize the privilege of a radical decentralization on the relations. It seems clear, therefore, that subject does not comes with birth, it is installed under warranty of some original conditions, where we are constantly moving on the thin line between what ensures that the subject could arise to the point of imprisoning the subjective into other\'s desire

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2017-09-25T13:16:54Z No. of bitstreams: 1 John Londerry Batista.pdf: 1663439 bytes, checksum: cba1b0998a6c5b880c6b77d8ac869ad3 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-25T13:16:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 John Londerry Batista.pdf: 1663439 bytes, checksum: cba1b0998a6c5b880c6b77d8ac869ad3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-09-15 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / This work aims to understand the capacity to be alone from the psychoanalytic perspective of D. Winnicott, thus seeking the importance of this theoretical formulation for human maturation and, consequently, showing its relevance to the clinic. In our clinical experience, we find many people who fear being alone and are always in search of someone or something to do. And very often we listen to these individuals who, when alone, do not know what to do, feel lost, helpless, so they prefer to work without rest to feel alive. This led us to interest in the study of the capacity to be alone in the light of Winnicottian psychoanalytic thinking. For this, in view of the classical principle of hermeneutics, in which each concept of an author must be elucidated in the totality of his work, one sought the comprehension of the capacity to be alone in the whole psychoanalytic thought of D. W. Winnicott. In this way, we tried to contextualize the starting point of the Winnicottian psychoanalytic vision and global comprehension of its psychoanalytic perspective, emphasizing some concepts, such as: the human animal, the experience animal, the ego and id, his notion of Instinct and drive, that of false and true self, that of ego (egorelatedness), the paradox, that of favorable environment, and especially its fundamental theory of human emotional maturation. We emphasize these concepts, therefore, as they support the understanding of the study theme. From this, we sought to reflect on the ability to be alone and to explain the understanding of this original Winnicottian formulation, served as a clinical case attended and described by Winnicott himself, the so-called case B. From the theory of emotional maturity of DW Winnicott, the ability to be alone is associated with an important initial moment of human development: the essential solitude. With evolving from the integrative process of the individual, five fundamental themes need to be established for him to experience being alone, as ability: first, the status of a unitary identity; Acquisition of a personality and a personal identity (true self); Third, the organization of the egoic nucleus that makes possible to experience a personal environment; Fourth, personal development facilitated by the maternal environment and, finally, the recognition and incorporation of maternal (mother-environment) care as a good object. Thus, in Winnicott's perspective, being alone as a capacity is a highly sophisticated phenomenon, in which the individual enjoying emotional health can experience, with all confidence in himself and in the environment in which he is inserted, being with himself, calmly, Being able to rest, relax without losing contact with shared reality and, moreover, live their interpersonal relationships, be it friendship or loving, with personal sense, experiencing them as real and valiant / Este trabalho tem como objetivo compreender a capacidade de estar só desde a perspectiva psicanalítica de D. W. Winnicott, buscando, assim, a importância dessa formulação teórica para o amadurecimento humano e, consequentemente, mostrando a sua relevância para a clínica. Em nossa experiência clínica, encontramos muitas pessoas que temem estar sós e sempre estão em busca de alguém ou de algo para fazer. E, com muita frequência, escutamos desses indivíduos que, quando estão sós, não sabem o que fazer, sentem-se perdidos, desamparados, por isso, preferem trabalhar sem descanso para se sentirem vivos. Isso nos levou a nos interessar pelo estudo da capacidade de estar só à luz do pensamento psicanalítico winnicottiano. Para tanto, tendo em vista o princípio clássico da hermenêutica, no qual cada conceito de um autor deve ser elucidado na totalidade de sua obra, buscamos a compreensão da capacidade de estar só no conjunto do pensamento psicanalítico de D. W . Winnicott. Desse modo, procuramos contextualizar o ponto de partida da visão psicanalítica winnicottiana e compreensão global de sua perspectiva psicanalítica, enfatizando alguns conceitos, tais como: o de animal humano, o de experiência, o de ego e de id, a sua noção de instinto e de pulsão, o de falso e verdadeiro si-mesmo, o de relação de ego (egorelatedness), o paradoxo, o de ambiente favorável, e, especialmente, a sua fundamental teoria do amadurecimento emocional humano. Destacamos tais conceitos, pois, eles sustentam o entendimento do tema do estudo. A partir disso, procuramos refletir sobre a capacidade de estar só e, para explicitar a compreensão desta original formulação winnicottiana, servimos de um caso clínico atendido e descrito pelo próprio Winnicott, o denominado caso B. A partir da teoria do amadurecimento emocional de D. W. Winnicott, a capacidade de estar só se associa a um importante momento inicial do desenvolvimento humano: a solidão essencial. Com evoluir do processo integrativo do indivíduo, cinco temas fundamentais necessitam ser estabelecidos para que ele experimente o estar só como capacidade: primeiro, o estatuto de um identidade unitária, segundo, a aquisição de uma personalidade e uma identidade pessoal (si-mesmo verdadeiro), terceiro, a organização do núcleo egoico, que possibilita experimentar um ambiente pessoal, quarto, o desenvolvimento pessoal facilitado pelo ambiente materno e, por último, o reconhecimento e a incorporação dos cuidados maternos (mãe-ambiente) como um objeto bom. Assim, na perspectiva winnicottiana, o estar só, como capacidade, constitui um fenômeno altamente sofisticado, em que o indivíduo, gozando de saúde emocional, pode experimentar, com toda confiança em si e no ambiente em que está inserido, o estar consigo mesmo, tranquilamente, sendo capaz de descansar, relaxar sem perder o contato com a realidade compartilhada e, além disso, viver as suas relações interpessoais, seja de amizade ou amorosas, com sentido pessoal, experimentando-as como real e valorosas

Thesis (S.M.)--Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 101-107). / Marine mammal whistle calls present an attractive medium for covert underwater communications. High quality models of the whistle calls are needed in order to synthesize natural-sounding whistles with embedded information. Since the whistle calls are composed of frequency modulated harmonic tones, they are best modeled as a weighted superposition of harmonically related sinusoids. Previous research with bottlenose dolphin whistle calls has produced synthetic whistles that sound too "clean" for use in a covert communications system. Due to the sensitivity of the human auditory system, watermarking schemes that slightly modify the fundamental frequency contour have good potential for producing natural-sounding whistles embedded with retrievable watermarks. Structured total least squares is used with linear prediction analysis to track the time-varying fundamental frequency and harmonic amplitude contours throughout a whistle call. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate the capability to accurately model bottlenose dolphin whistle calls and retrieve embedded information from watermarked synthetic whistle calls. Different fundamental frequency watermarking schemes are proposed based on their ability to produce natural sounding synthetic whistles and yield suitable watermark detection and retrieval. / by Jared Severson. / S.M.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 189-191). / Thesis (S.M. in Oceanographic Engineering)--Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2006. / (cont.) To that end, the space-time correlations of the error, turbulence, and wave processes are developed and then utilized to find the extent to which the environmental and internal processing parameters contribute to this error. It is found that the wave-induced velocities, even when filtered, introduce error variances which are of similar magnitude to that of the Reynolds stresses. / The challenge of estimating the Reynolds stress in an energetic ocean environment derives from the turbulence process overlapping in frequency, or in wavenumber, with the wave process. It was surmised that they would not overlap in the combined wavenumber-frequency spectrum, due to each process having a different dispersion relationship. The turbulence process is thought to obey a linear dispersion relationship, as the turbulent flow is advected with the mean current (Taylor's frozen turbulence approximation). However, the Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) looks at radial wavenumbers and frequencies, and finds overlap. Another approach is to exploit the physical differences of each process, namely that the wave induced velocities are correlated over much larger distances than the turbulence induced velocities. This method was explored for current meters by Shaw and Trowbridge. Upon adapting the method for the ADCP, it is found that the resulting Reynolds stress estimates are of the correct order of magnitude, but somewhat noisy. The work of this thesis is to uncover the source of that noise, and to quantify the performance limits of estimating the Reynolds Stress when using ADCP measurements that are contaminated with strong wave-induced velocities. / by Mark Rapo. / S.M.in Oceanographic Engineering

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 313-325). / This thesis presents a stochastic mapping framework for autonomous robotic chemical plume source localization in environments with multiple sources. Potential applications for robotic chemical plume source localization include pollution and environmental monitoring, chemical plant safety, search and rescue, anti-terrorism, narcotics control, explosive ordinance removal, and hydrothermal vent prospecting. Turbulent flows make the spatial relationship between the detectable manifestation of a chemical plume source, the plume itself, and the location of its source inherently uncertain. Search domains with multiple sources compound this uncertainty because the number of sources as well as their locations is unknown a priori. Our framework for stochastic mapping is an adaptation of occupancy grid mapping where the binary state of map nodes is redefined to denote either the presence (occupancy) or absence of an active plume source. A key characteristic of the chemical plume source localization problem is that only a few sources are expected in the search domain. The occupancy grid framework allows for both plume detections and non-detections to inform the estimated state of grid nodes in the map, thereby explicitly representing explored but empty portions of the domain as well as probable source locations. / (cont.) However, sparsity in the expected number of occupied grid nodes strongly violates a critical conditional independence assumption required by the standard Bayesian recursive map update rule. While that assumption makes for a computationally attractive algorithm, in our application it results in occupancy grid maps that are grossly inconsistent with the assumption of a small number of occupied cells. To overcome this limitation, several alternative occupancy grid update algorithms are presented, including an exact solution that is computationally tractable for small numbers of detections and an approximate recursive algorithm with improved performance relative to the standard algorithm but equivalent computational cost. Application to hydrothermal plume data collected by the autonomous underwater vehicle ABE during vent prospecting operations in both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans verifies the utility of the approach. The resulting maps enable nested surveys for homing-in on seafloor vent sites to be carried out autonomously. This eliminates inter-dive processing, recharging of batteries, and time spent deploying and recovering the vehicle that would otherwise be necessary with survey design directed by human operators. / by Michael V. Jakuba. / Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2006. / Includes bibliographical references. / South American climate has undergone dramatic changes since the last glacial period, as evidenced from Cariaco Basin (Venezuelan coast) and Peru Margin marine sediment biomarker records. Compounds derived from vascular plant leaf waxes and delivered to the marine sedimentary environment, including long-chain (C24-C32) n-alkanoic acids, were used as proxies for terrestrial vegetation type, aridity, and atmospheric circulation. Marine biomarkers, such as sterols and phytol, were used to reconstruct productivity in the Peru Margin upwelling zone, where sedimentary conditions are not conducive to the preservation of foraminifera. Through the use of organic molecular isotopic techniques and multi-molecular stratigraphy, a great deal can be learned about communities of marine organisms and terrestrial plants that existed in the past and the environments in which they lived. Vascular plant leaf wax carbon and hydrogen isotopic records were generated from n-alkanoic acids preserved in Cariaco Basin marine sediments. These records were compared to previously established pollen and climate records and were found to parallel local millennial-scale climate changes between the late Glacial and Preboreal periods, which were characterized by migrations of the inter-tropical convergence zone. / (cont.) Differences in 6D between C,6-C18 and C24-C30 n-alkanoic acids suggest a marine source for the shorter chain lengths and a terrestrial source for the longer chains. Stacked 6D and 613C records both exhibited isotopic enrichment during the late Glacial and Younger Dryas periods and depletion during the B011ing-Aller0d and Preboreal periods. If interpreted as an aridity proxy, the 6D record is in agreement with Cariaco Basin sediment grey scale records, suggesting that the late Glacial and Younger Dryas were more arid than the B011ing-Aller0d and Preboreal periods. n-Alkanoic acid 613C, which is a proxy for C3 versus C4 plant type, indicates that C3 plants predominated in this area of the tropics during warm and wet periods, such as the Bolling-Aller0d and the Holocene, and C4 plants proliferated during cooler and more arid periods, such as the Glacial and Younger Dryas. The biomarker 613C record agrees with pollen data previously developed from Cariaco Basin sediments, confirming that leaf wax compounds preserved in marine sediments can accurately record terrestrial vegetation changes. Analytical methods utilizing stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) and thermal desorption were developed and applied to investigate lipid organic matter in a suite of alpine ice cores. / (cont.) These methods permit use of small volume (10-30 ml) samples, as would be required for high-resolution down-core analyses. SBSE involves using a polymer coated stir bar to extract organic matter from aqueous samples, after which it is loaded directly into a thermal desorption unit and the organic matter transferred in its entirety to a gas chromatograph inlet. To test these methods and the organic content of tropical ice, post-industrial samples from two South American, two Asian, and one African ice core were analyzed. Compounds identified in the modem ice core samples included natural and anthropogenic biomarkers such as n-alkanes, n-alkanoic acids, n-alkyl amides and nitriles, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and diterpenoids. Variability in the distributions of these compounds between different cores demonstrated that the lipid organic fraction in each core was representative of mostly local inputs. To further investigate natural inputs, several pre-industrial samples were analyzed from the Sajama ice core in the Andes and The Puruogangri core on the Tibetan Plateau. Inputs of terrestrial vegetation combustion biomarkers such as PAHs, diterpenoids, and alkyl amides were consistent with periods of enhanced aridity in each core. / (cont.) The results of this investigation demonstrate the utility of the methodology, which could now be applied to generate very high-resolution biomarker records from tropical ice cores. Gas chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC/TOF-MS) was used to generate a high-resolution, multi-molecular organic biomarker record from Peru Margin sediments (-110S, 252 m water depth) for the last 15 ka. Because of their position beneath the oxygen minimum zone of a productive upwelling region, these sediments contain a wealth of compounds that can be exploited as paleoclimate indicators. TOF-MS and fast GC techniques allowed me to generate this record in a short amount of time and without employing the traditional suite of purification techniques. Before about 9 ka, organic carbon and biomarker concentration records exhibited similar variability, implying a forcing mechanism that affected input and/or preservation of both marine and terrestrial organic matter, such as large-scale climate change. ... / by Matthew C. Makou. / Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2009. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 264-277). / The lateral line system on fish has been found to aid in schooling behavior, courtship communication, active and passive hydrodynamic imaging, and prey detection. The most widely used artificial prey stimulus has been the vibrating sphere, which some fish are able to detect even when the signal velocities to its lateral line are orders of magnitude smaller than background current velocities. It is not clear how the fish are able to extract this signal. This thesis uses a series of computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations, matched with recent experiments, to quantify the effects of 3D fish body parts on the received dipole signals, and to determine signal detection abilities of the lateral line system in background flow conditions. An approximation is developed for the dipole induced, oscillatory, boundary layer velocity profile over the surface of a fish. An analytic solution is developed for the case when the surface is a wall, and is accurate at points of maximal surface tangential velocity. Results indicate that the flow outside a thin viscous layer remains potential in nature, and that body parts, such as fins, do not significantly affect the received dipole signal in still water conditions. In addition, the canal lateral line system of the sculpin is shown to be over 100 times more sensitive than the superficial lateral line system to high frequency dipole stimuli. Analytical models were developed for the Mottled Sculpin canal and superficial neuromast motions, in response to hydrodynamic signals. When the background flow was laminar, the neuromast motions induced by the stimulus signal at threshold had a spectral peak larger than spectral peaks resulting from the background flow induced motions. / (cont.) When the turbulence level increased, the resulting induced neuromast motions had dominant low frequency oscillations. For fish using the signal encoding mechanisms of phase-locking or spike rate increasing, signal masking should occur. / by Mark Andrew Rapo. / Ph.D.

Thesis (S.M.)--Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2009. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 85-87). / Mode filtering is most commonly implemented using the sampled mode shape or pseudoinverse algorithms. Buck et al [1] placed these techniques in the context of a broader maximum a posteriori (MAP) framework. However, the MAP algorithm requires that the signal and noise statistics be known a priori. Adaptive array processing algorithms are candidates for improving performance without the need for a priori signal and noise statistics. A variant of the physically constrained, maximum likelihood (PCML) algorithm [2] is developed for mode filtering that achieves the same performance as the MAP mode filter yet does not need a priori knowledge of the signal and noise statistics. The central innovation of this adaptive mode filter is that the received signal's sample covariance matrix, as estimated by the algorithm, is constrained to be that which can be physically realized given a modal propagation model and an appropriate noise model. The first simulation presented in this thesis models the acoustic pressure field as a complex Gaussian random vector and compares the performance of the pseudoinverse, reduced rank pseudoinverse, sampled mode shape, PCML minimum power distortionless response (MPDR), PCML-MAP, and MAP mode filters. The PCML-MAP filter performs as well as the MAP filter without the need for a priori data statistics. The PCML-MPDR filter performs nearly as well as the MAP filter as well, and avoids a sawtooth pattern that occurs with the reduced rank pseudoinverse filter. The second simulation presented models the underwater environment and broadband communication setup of the Shallow Water 2006 (SW06) experiment. / (cont.) Data processing results are presented from the Shallow Water 2006 experiment, showing the reduced sensitivity of the PCML-MPDR filter to white noise compared with the reduced rank pseudoinverse filter. Lastly, a linear, decision-directed, RLS equalizer is used to combine the response of several modes and its performance is compared with an equalizer applied directly to the data received on each hydrophone. / by Joseph C. Papp. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 145-149). / Benthic shells can contribute greatly to the scattering variability of the ocean bottom, particularly at low grazing angles. Among the effects of shell aggregates are increased scattering strength and potential subcritical angle penetration of the seafloor. Sand dollars (Dendraster excentricus) occur commonly in the ocean and have been shown to be significant scatters of sound. In order to understand more fully the scattering mechanisms of these organisms, the scattering from individual sand dollars was studied using several methods. Using an approximation to the Helmholtz-Kirchhoff integral, the Kirchhoff method gives an analytic integral expression to the backscattering from an object. This integral was first solved analytically for a disk and a spherical cap, two high aspect ratio oblate shapes which simplify the shape of an individual sand dollar. A method for solving the Kirchhoff integral numerically was then developed. An exact three dimensional model of a sand dollar test was created from computed tomography scans. The Kirchhoff integral was then solved numerically for this model of the sand dollar. The finite element method, a numerical technique for approximating the solutions to partial differential equations and integral equations, was used to model the scattering from an individual sand dollar as well. COMSOL Multiphysics was used for the implementation of the finite element method. Modeling results were compared with published laboratory experimental data from the free field scattering of both an aluminum disk and a sand dollar. Insight on the scattering mechanisms of individual sand dollar, including elastic behavior and diffraction effects, was gained from these comparisons. / by Gregory C. Dietzen. / S.M.