Archetypes Library: Design of a Didactic Multimedia Contribute to Improving the Image of Librarianship in Costa Rica Society

This document describes each step of the research conducted to understand the factors that may be influencing the low enrollment of freshmen who have experienced the “Escuela de Bibliotecologia, Documentacion e Informacion de la Universidad Nacional” in recent years. It also raises a didactic - multimedia, in response to identified needs, to help improve the problems encountered by making use of technological tools with an educational foundation that fosters reflection of the population to be targeted by the product. Finally, it presents the conclusions and recommendations drawn from the research.

Designing Happiness: Architecture and urban design for joy and well-being

Scientific studies exploring the environmental and experiential elements that help boost human happiness have become a significant and expanding body of work. Some urban designers, architects and planners are looking to apply this knowledge through policy decisions and design, but there is a great deal of room for further study and exploration. This paper looks at definitions of happiness and happiness measurements used in research. The paper goes on to introduce six environmental factors identified in a literature review that have design implications relating to happiness: Nature, Light, Surprise, Access, Identity, and Sociality. Architectural precedents are examined and design strategies are proposed for each factor, which are then applied to a test case site and building in Baltimore, Maryland. It is anticipated that these factors and strategies will be useful to architects, urban designers and planners as they endeavor to design positive user experiences and set city shaping policy.

PHYSICAL FACTORS IN B CELL ACTIN DYNAMICS AND ACTIVATION

Cells adapt to their changing world by sensing environmental cues and responding appropriately. This is made possible by complex cascades of biochemical signals that originate at the cell membrane. In the last decade it has become apparent that the origin of these signals can also arise from physical cues in the environment. Our motivation is to investigate the role of physical factors in the cellular response of the B lymphocyte. B cells patrol the body for signs of invading pathogens in the form of antigen on the surface of antigen presenting cells. Binding of antigen with surface proteins initiates biochemical signaling essential to the immune response. Once contact is made, the B cell spreads on the surface of the antigen presenting cell in order to gather as much antigen as possible. The physical mechanisms that govern this process are unexplored. In this research, we examine the role of the physical parameters of antigen mobility and cell surface topography on B cell spreading and activation. Both physical parameters are biologically relevant as immunogens for vaccine design, which can provide laterally mobile and immobile antigens and topographical surfaces. Another physical parameter that influences B cell response and the formation of the cell-cell junction is surface topography. This is biologically relevant as antigen presenting cells have highly convoluted membranes, resulting in variable topography. We found that B cell activation required the formation of antigen-receptor clusters and their translocation within the attachment plane. We showed that cells which failed to achieve these mobile clusters due to prohibited ligand mobility were much less activation competent. To investigate the effect of topography, we use nano- and micro-patterned substrates, on which B cells were allowed to spread and become activated. We found that B cell spreading, actin dynamics, B cell receptor distribution and calcium signaling are dependent on the topographical patterning of the substrate. A quantitative understanding of cellular response to physical parameters is essential to uncover the fundamental mechanisms that drive B cell activation. The results of this research are highly applicable to the field of vaccine development and therapies for autoimmune diseases. Our studies of the physical aspects of lymphocyte activation will reveal the role these factors play in immunity, thus enabling their optimization for biological function and potentially enabling the production of more effective vaccines.

Mesoscale Optoelectronic Design of Wire-Based Photovoltaic and Photoelectrochemical Devices

The overarching theme of this thesis is mesoscale optical and optoelectronic design of photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical devices. In a photovoltaic device, light absorption and charge carrier transport are coupled together on the mesoscale, and in a photoelectrochemical device, light absorption, charge carrier transport, catalysis, and solution species transport are all coupled together on the mesoscale. The work discussed herein demonstrates that simulation-based mesoscale optical and optoelectronic modeling can lead to detailed understanding of the operation and performance of these complex mesostructured devices, serve as a powerful tool for device optimization, and efficiently guide device design and experimental fabrication efforts. In-depth studies of two mesoscale wire-based device designs illustrate these principles—(i) an optoelectronic study of a tandem Si|WO3 microwire photoelectrochemical device, and (ii) an optical study of III-V nanowire arrays.

The study of the monolithic, tandem, Si|WO3 microwire photoelectrochemical device begins with development and validation of an optoelectronic model with experiment. This study capitalizes on synergy between experiment and simulation to demonstrate the model’s predictive power for extractable device voltage and light-limited current density. The developed model is then used to understand the limiting factors of the device and optimize its optoelectronic performance. The results of this work reveal that high fidelity modeling can facilitate unequivocal identification of limiting phenomena, such as parasitic absorption via excitation of a surface plasmon-polariton mode, and quick design optimization, achieving over a 300% enhancement in optoelectronic performance over a nominal design for this device architecture, which would be time-consuming and challenging to do via experiment.

The work on III-V nanowire arrays also starts as a collaboration of experiment and simulation aimed at gaining understanding of unprecedented, experimentally observed absorption enhancements in sparse arrays of vertically-oriented GaAs nanowires. To explain this resonant absorption in periodic arrays of high index semiconductor nanowires, a unified framework that combines a leaky waveguide theory perspective and that of photonic crystals supporting Bloch modes is developed in the context of silicon, using both analytic theory and electromagnetic simulations. This detailed theoretical understanding is then applied to a simulation-based optimization of light absorption in sparse arrays of GaAs nanowires. Near-unity absorption in sparse, 5% fill fraction arrays is demonstrated via tapering of nanowires and multiple wire radii in a single array. Finally, experimental efforts are presented towards fabrication of the optimized array geometries. A hybrid self-catalyzed and selective area MOCVD growth method is used to establish morphology control of GaP nanowire arrays. Similarly, morphology and pattern control of nanowires is demonstrated with ICP-RIE of InP. Optical characterization of the InP nanowire arrays gives proof of principle that tapering and multiple wire radii can lead to near-unity absorption in sparse arrays of InP nanowires.

Design of Mm-Wave RLSA with lossy waveguides by slot coupling control techniques

This paper discusses how to design a Radial Line Slot Antenna (RLSA) whose waveguide is filled with high loss dielectric materials. We introduce a new design for the aperture slot coupling synthesis to restrain the dielectric losses and improve the antenna gain. Based on a newly defined slot coupling, a number of RLSAs with different sizes and loss factors are analyzed and their performances are predicted. Theoretical calculations suggest that the gain is sensitive to the material losses in the radial lines. The gain enhancement by using the new coupling formula is notable for larger antenna size and higher loss factor of the dielectric material. Three prototype RLSAs are designed and fabricated at 60GHz following different slot coupling syntheses, and their measured performances consolidate our theory.

Design de equipamento médico

Dissertação de Mestrado para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Design de Produto, apresentada na Universidade de Lisboa - Faculdade de Arquitectura.

Design inclusivo no espaço urbano

Dissertação de Mestrado para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Design de Produto, apresentada na Universidade de Lisboa - Faculdade de Arquitectura.

REVIEW OF FACTORS AFFECTING SUSTAINABILITY IN THE UNIVERSITIES

Purpose – The focus of this research is to find out a meaningful relationship between adopting sustainability practices and some of the characteristics of institutions of higher education (IHE). IHE can be considered as the best place to promote sustainability and develop the culture of sustainability in society. Thus, this research is conducted to help developing sustainability in IHE which have significant direct and indirect impact on society and the environment. Design/methodology/approach – First, the sustainability letter grades were derived from “Greenreportcard.org” which have been produced based on an evaluation of each school in nine main categories including: Administration, Climate Change & Energy, Food & Recycling, etc. In the next step, the characteristics of IHE as explanatory variables were chosen from “The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System” (IPEDS) and respective database was implemented in STATA Software. Finally, the “ordered-Probit Model” is used through STATA to analyze the impact of some IHE’s factor on adopting sustainability practices on campus. Finding - The results of this analysis indicate that variables related to “Financial support” category are the most influential factors in determining the sustainability status of the university. “The university features” with two significant variables for “Selectivity” and “Top 50 LA” can be classified as the second influential category in this table, although the “Student influence” is also eligible to be ranked as the second important factor. Finally, the “Location feature” of university was determined with the least influential impact on the sustainability of campuses. Originality/value – Understanding the factors which influence adopting sustainability practices in IHE is an important issue to develop more effective sustainability’s methods and policies.

System-on-a-Chip (SoC) based Hardware Acceleration in Register Transfer Level (RTL) Design

Today, modern System-on-a-Chip (SoC) systems have grown rapidly due to the increased processing power, while maintaining the size of the hardware circuit. The number of transistors on a chip continues to increase, but current SoC designs may not be able to exploit the potential performance, especially with energy consumption and chip area becoming two major concerns. Traditional SoC designs usually separate software and hardware. Thus, the process of improving the system performance is a complicated task for both software and hardware designers. The aim of this research is to develop hardware acceleration workflow for software applications. Thus, system performance can be improved with constraints of energy consumption and on-chip resource costs. The characteristics of software applications can be identified by using profiling tools. Hardware acceleration can have significant performance improvement for highly mathematical calculations or repeated functions. The performance of SoC systems can then be improved, if the hardware acceleration method is used to accelerate the element that incurs performance overheads. The concepts mentioned in this study can be easily applied to a variety of sophisticated software applications. The contributions of SoC-based hardware acceleration in the hardware-software co-design platform include the following: (1) Software profiling methods are applied to H.264 Coder-Decoder (CODEC) core. The hotspot function of aimed application is identified by using critical attributes such as cycles per loop, loop rounds, etc. (2) Hardware acceleration method based on Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is used to resolve system bottlenecks and improve system performance. The identified hotspot function is then converted to a hardware accelerator and mapped onto the hardware platform. Two types of hardware acceleration methods – central bus design and co-processor design, are implemented for comparison in the proposed architecture. (3) System specifications, such as performance, energy consumption, and resource costs, are measured and analyzed. The trade-off of these three factors is compared and balanced. Different hardware accelerators are implemented and evaluated based on system requirements. 4) The system verification platform is designed based on Integrated Circuit (IC) workflow. Hardware optimization techniques are used for higher performance and less resource costs. Experimental results show that the proposed hardware acceleration workflow for software applications is an efficient technique. The system can reach 2.8X performance improvements and save 31.84% energy consumption by applying the Bus-IP design. The Co-processor design can have 7.9X performance and save 75.85% energy consumption.

Prevalence and risk factors for reduced sound tolerance (hyperacusis) in children

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of reduced sound tolerance (hyperacusis) in a UK population of 11-year-old children and examine the association of early life and auditory risk factors with report of hyperacusis. DESIGN: A prospective UK population-based study. STUDY SAMPLE: A total of 7097 eleven-year-old children within the Avon longitudinal study of parents and children (ALSPAC) were asked about sound tolerance; hearing and middle-ear function was measured using audiometry, otoacoustic emissions, and tympanometry. Information on neonatal risk factors and socioeconomic factors were obtained through parental questionnaires. RESULTS: 3.7% (95% CI 3.25, 4.14) children reported hyperacusis. Hyperacusis report was less likely in females (adj OR 0.64, 95% CI 0.49, 0.85), and was more likely with higher maternal education level (adj OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.08, 2.72) and with readmission to hospital in first four weeks (adj OR 1.98, 95% CI 1.20, 3.25). Report of hyperacusis was associated with larger amplitude otoacoustic emissions but with no other auditory factors. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of hyperacusis in the population of 11-year-old UK children is estimated to be 3.7%. It is more common in boys.

Prevalence and risk factors for mild and high-frequency bilateral sensorineural hearing loss at age 11 years old:a UK prospective cohort study

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess prevalence and risk factors for mild/high-frequency bilateral sensorineural hearing loss within a UK population of children at age 11 years. DESIGN: Prospective birth cohort study. STUDY SAMPLE: Repeat hearing thresholds were measured in 5032 children, as part of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) at age 7, 9, and 11 years. Pregnancy, birth, and early medical history were obtained prospectively through parental questionnaires and medical records. RESULTS: Twenty children had mild and seven had high-frequency bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, giving a combined prevalence of 0.5% (95% CI 0.4-0.8%). These children were more likely than the rest of the study sample to have been admitted to hospital at 6-18 months (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.00-7.30). Parents of these children were more likely to have suspected a hearing problem when the children were 3 years old (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.05-5.60). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first UK prospective cohort study to investigate the prevalence of mild and high-frequency hearing loss. This study, which has the advantage of a large sample size and repeat hearing measures over a four year period, reports lower prevalence values than US cross-sectional studies.

Dairy Farm Layout and Design: Building and Yard Design, Warm Climates

The current knowledge revised in this article describes a wide range of facilities in common use on dairy cattle farms in warm climates. A dairy cattle farm consists of several facilities, such as housing system, yards, manure pits, milking center, environmental protection structures, forage storage, and several machines for different facilities. Any facility design tends to be a compromise, often between many factors, and no single solution will be optimal for all concerned.

The impact of personal background and school contextual factors on academic competence and mental health functioning across the primary-secondary school transition

Students negotiate the transition to secondary school in different ways. While some thrive on the opportunity, others are challenged. A prospective longitudinal design was used to determine the contribution of personal background and school contextual factors on academic competence (AC) and mental health functioning (MHF) of 266 students, 6-months before and after the transition to secondary school. Data from 197 typically developing students and 69 students with a disability were analysed using hierarchical linear regression modelling. Both in primary and secondary school, students with a disability and from socially disadvantaged backgrounds gained poorer scores for AC and MHF than their typically developing and more affluent counterparts. Students who attended independent and mid-range sized primary schools had the highest concurrent AC. Those from independent primary schools had the lowest MHF. The primary school organisational model significantly influenced post-transition AC scores; with students from Kindergarten--Year 7 schools reporting the lowest scores, while those from the Kindergarten--Year 12 structure without middle school having the highest scores. Attending a school which used the Kindergarten--Year 12 with middle school structure was associated with a reduction in AC scores across the transition. Personal background factors accounted for the majority of the variability in post-transition AC and MHF. The contribution of school contextual factors was relatively minor. There is a potential opportunity for schools to provide support to disadvantaged students before the transition to secondary school, as they continue to be at a disadvantage after the transition.

Factors facilitating a national quality registry to aid clinical quality improvement : findings of a national survey

Objectives: While national quality registries (NQRs) are suggested to provide opportunities for systematic follow-up and learning opportunities, and thus clinical improvements, features in registries and contexts triggering such processes are not fully known. This study focuses on one of the world's largest stroke registries, the Swedish NQR Riksstroke, investigating what aspects of the registry and healthcare organisations facilitate or hinder the use of registry data in clinical quality improvement. Methods: Following particular qualitative studies, we performed a quantitative survey in an exploratory sequential design. The survey, including 50 items on context, processes and the registry, was sent to managers, physicians and nurses engaged in Riksstroke in all 72 Swedish stroke units. Altogether, 242 individuals were presented with the survey; 163 responded, representing all but two units. Data were analysed descriptively and through multiple linear regression. Results: A majority (88%) considered Riksstroke data to facilitate detection of stroke care improvement needs and acknowledged that their data motivated quality improvements (78%). The use of Riksstroke for quality improvement initiatives was associated (R2=0.76) with ‘Colleagues’ call for local results’ (p=<0.001), ‘Management Request of Registry data’ (p=<0.001), and it was said to be ‘Simple to explain the results to colleagues’ (p=0.02). Using stepwise regression, ‘Colleagues’ call for local results’ was identified as the most influential factor. Yet, while 73% reported that managers request registry data, only 39% reported that their colleagues call for the unit's Riksstroke results. Conclusions: While an NQR like Riksstroke demonstrates improvement needs and motivates stakeholders to make progress, local stroke care staff and managers need to engage to keep the momentum going in terms of applying registry data when planning, performing and evaluating quality initiatives.

Determinants of the Design and Use of PMS in Portuguese Government Agencies: A Complementary Theoretical Approach

Performance measurement is seen as a main pillar of public management reforms. However, prior research did not mitigate the level of ambiguity on PMS development and use and many questions left unanswered. Our findings provide knowledge on the design and use of PMS in the public sector answer- ing to calls for a complementary approach among institutional and contingency factors. The authors find that the design of PMS and the use of performance information for external purposes are increased to legitimate the organizational’ work and to obtain external support. Moreover, structural variables such as type of agency and management autonomy are also determinants on the organizational responses. Finally, the authors find some coupling between the design of PMS and outcomes. So, both contingent and institutional approaches play an important role on the empirical model.