Solid state mass memories in the world of internet of things

The thesis is written as a consulting assignment to Helsinki Memory Technologies Oy. The motivation for this assignment was to learn more about mass memories as a part of Internet of Things ecosystem. Additionally, the thesis seeks if there could be the potentially new business opportunities at the target field. The thesis describes core technologies related to the solid state mass memories in the world of Internet of Things (IoT) at Chapter 2 to 4. Standards chapter covers the benefits of the standardization and the most important corresponding IoT forums. That chapter also summarizes IoT development activities of the key companies. At the end of the thesis there is an analysis of the new business opportunities found during the consulting period, which are grouped into two subsets: the extensions of existing solutions and the new IoT usage models with memory focus. Conclusion chapter states that the architecture of managed NAND holds a strong position, which is foreseen to remain. This enables the development of IoT support to the mass memories. An additional conclusion is that IoT has reached the critical mass, but its final implementation is not defined yet. The business potential of IoT is estimated to be significant. These conclusions lead to recommendation for continuing studying the role of the mass memories in the IoT ecosystem. The final conclusion is that organizations, which study the implementation of IoT to the mass memory in details, will be well prepared and have an adaptable technical offer

A Cultural Historical Geography of Schools in the Honduran Muskitia

In the geographically isolated Honduran Muskitia region, schools have represented a contested space through which both the Honduran government and Miskitu communities have struggled for territorial identity. Schools are functional spaces through which social interaction strengthens Miskitu cultural boundaries, norms, and identities. The historical development of education in this isolated indigenous region is paradoxical in that early state initiatives were designed to provide education for Miskitu communities while simultaneously excluding their indigenous cultural identities. However, schools’ historical impact on Miskitu territoriality has received little attention from scholars. The primary objective of this research is to understand 1) the origin and diffusion of schools in the Muskitia region; and 2) the impact of schools on Miskitu territoriality. This thesis brings into question whether the geographic inaccessibility of Muskitia and recurrent state failures to provide baseline education there ultimately contributed to the preservation of Miskitu language and territorial identity. My research aims to fill a gap in existing cultural historical scholarship by examining schools as contested spaces of linguistic identity through which the Miskitu v. state territorial struggle has taken place. Archival research, participant observation, and semi-structured interviews were my primary methodological approaches to understand the historical geography of schools and their impact on Miskitu territoriality

Continuities in crisis : everyday practices of disaster response and climate change adaptation in Mozambique

Mozambiqueis a poor country located in the South-East coast of Africa. Due to its prevailing poverty and geographical location along the coastline of the Indian Ocean, and downstream of major regional rivers, the country experiences, in average, one disaster of great magnitude every year (triggered by floods, cyclones and drought) and ranks third in global weather damage. This has led, over years, to a massive deployment of aid. The need for aid is indeed taken for granted without questioning how local actors (i.e. local people) perceive and act upon both, disasters and aid, in building their livelihoods. This thesis looks at the everyday practices of disaster response by local people, government, donors and (I)NGOs in Mozambique. The major conclusion that I draw from the present thesis is that disaster management in Mozambique involves the crafting of continuities in crisis by the different actors involved. It can be stated that for poor people ‘normal life’ can hardly be disentangled from the exceptionalities of disaster situations. I found that people seek continuity in their livelihoods once disasters happen in institutions and their lives, that is, they do not wait for aid to (re)start their lives nor disasters crash completely their capacity to respond. Second, crises allow the continuity of humanitarianism- a deep political, economic and moral endeavor. Crafting continuities in crisis is, ultimately, what makes societies to move. </p

Computerised cognitive training for 12 or more weeks for maintaining cognitive function in cognitively healthy people in late life

Background: Increasing age is associated with a natural decline in cognitive function and is the greatest risk factor for dementia. Cognitive decline and dementia are significant threats to independence and quality of life in older adults. Therefore, identifying interventions that help to maintain cognitive function in older adults or that reduce the risk of dementia is a research priority. Cognitive training uses repeated practice on standardised exercises targeting one or more cognitive domains and may be intended to improve or maintain optimal cognitive function. This review examines the effects of computerised cognitive training interventions lasting at least 12 weeks on the cognitive function of healthy adults aged 65 or older and has formed part of a wider project about modifying lifestyle to maintain cognitive function. We chose a minimum 12 weeks duration as a trade-off between adequate exposure to a sustainable intervention and feasibility in a trial setting. Objectives: To evaluate the effects of computerised cognitive training interventions lasting at least 12 weeks on cognitive function in cognitively healthy people in late life. Search methods: We searched to 31 March 2018 in ALOIS (www.medicine.ox.ac.uk/alois), and we performed additional searches of MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, ClinicalTrials.gov, and the WHO Portal/ICTRP (www.apps.who.int/trialsearch), to ensure that the search was as comprehensive and as up-to-date as possible to identify published, unpublished, and ongoing trials. Selection criteria: We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs, published or unpublished, reported in any language. Participants were cognitively healthy people, and at least 80% of the study population had to be aged 65 or older. Experimental interventions adhered to the following criteria: intervention was any form of interactive computerised cognitive intervention - including computer exercises, computer games, mobile devices, gaming console, and virtual reality - that involved repeated practice on standardised exercises of specified cognitive domain(s) for the purpose of enhancing cognitive function; the duration of the intervention was at least 12 weeks; cognitive outcomes were measured; and cognitive training interventions were compared with active or inactive control interventions. Data collection and analysis: We performed preliminary screening of search results using a 'crowdsourcing' method to identify RCTs. At least two review authors working independently screened the remaining citations against inclusion criteria. At least two review authors also independently extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included RCTs. Where appropriate, we synthesised data in random-effects meta-analyses, comparing computerised cognitive training (CCT) separately with active and inactive controls. We expressed treatment effects as standardised mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We used GRADE methods to describe the overall quality of the evidence for each outcome. Main results: We identified eight RCTs with a total of 1183 participants. The duration of the interventions ranged from 12 to 26 weeks; in five trials, the duration of intervention was 12 or 13 weeks. The included studies had moderate risk of bias, and the overall quality of evidence was low or very low for all outcomes. We compared CCT first against active control interventions, such as watching educational videos. Negative SMDs favour CCT over control. Trial results suggest slight improvement in global cognitive function at the end of the intervention period (12 weeks) (standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.31, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.57 to -0.05; 232 participants; 2 studies; low-quality evidence). One of these trials also assessed global cognitive function 12 months after the end of the intervention; this trial provided no clear evidence of a persistent effect (SMD -0.21, 95% CI -0.66 to 0.24; 77 participants; 1 study; low-quality evidence). CCT may result in little or no difference at the end of the intervention period in episodic memory (12 to 17 weeks) (SMD 0.06, 95% CI -0.14 to 0.26; 439 participants; 4 studies; low-quality evidence) or working memory (12 to 16 weeks) (SMD -0.17, 95% CI -0.36 to 0.02; 392 participants; 3 studies; low-quality evidence). Because of the very low quality of the evidence, we are very uncertain about the effects of CCT on speed of processing and executive function. We also compared CCT to inactive control (no interventions). We found no data on our primary outcome of global cognitive function. At the end of the intervention, CCT may lead to slight improvement in episodic memory (6 months) (mean difference (MD) in Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test (RBMT) -0.90 points, 95% confidence interval (CI) -1.73 to -0.07; 150 participants; 1 study; low-quality evidence) but can have little or no effect on executive function (12 weeks to 6 months) (SMD -0.08, 95% CI -0.31 to 0.15; 292 participants; 2 studies; low-quality evidence), working memory (16 weeks) (MD -0.08, 95% CI -0.43 to 0.27; 60 participants; 1 study; low-quality evidence), or verbal fluency (6 months) (MD -0.11, 95% CI -1.58 to 1.36; 150 participants; 1 study; low-quality evidence). We could not determine any effects on speed of processing because the evidence was of very low quality. We found no evidence on quality of life, activities of daily living, or adverse effects in either comparison. Authors' conclusions: We found low-quality evidence suggesting that immediately after completion of the intervention, small benefits of CCT may be seen for global cognitive function when compared with active controls, and for episodic memory when compared with an inactive control. These benefits are of uncertain clinical importance. We found no evidence that the effect on global cognitive function persisted 12 months later. Our confidence in the results was low, reflecting the overall quality of the evidence. In five of the eight trials, the duration of the intervention was just three months. The possibility that more extensive training could yield larger benefit remains to be more fully explored. We found substantial literature on cognitive training, and collating all available scientific information posed problems. Duration of treatment may not be the best way to categorise interventions for inclusion. As the primary interest of older people and of guideline writers and policymakers involves sustained cognitive benefit, an alternative would be to categorise by length of follow-up after selecting studies that assess longer-term effects

The tolerated, the indulged and the contented : ethnic alliances and rivalries in Grenadian plantation society 1763-1800

This thesis examines how rival national interests and relations between European states, principally France and Britain, affected ethnic relationships on the island of Grenada, West Indies throughout the period of 1763-1800. The arguments postulated are: 1. Imperial ideologies reinforced assumed superiority and right to rule that relegated all other groups to inferior status. 2. An ethnic model rather than a racial model is the best way to study Grenada plantation society. 3. The stigmatised in society fractured into ethnic groups, forming dynamic relationships, not fixed structures, that were flexible to fit their needs, value,s and beliefs. 4. The need to dominate or participate in that society coerced inter-ethnic alliances across boundaries (considered anathema), creating reprisals from the ruling group. 5. British government policies and officers‘ lack of leadership created a vacuum for constitutional conflict and inter-ethnic internal feuding and contributed to Fédon‘s revolt. Chapter One is an introduction to outline the pre-history of the area of study to explain differences between groups. It will outline the topography of the island, explain the system of government, and describe the composition of the initial resident population. Chapter Two establishes the concepts ‗ethnicity‘ and ‗race‘ and its importance. The European ethnic groups and their relationships are examined using this model. The concept of ‗whiteness‘ is addressed and its external and internal effects. An argument postulated is white hegemony existed as a fractious union where coerced whites perceived to be complicit with Catholics, were targeted and socially ostracised. Another important focus is the roles of governors and their relationships and alliances with the planter class within society. The term Creole and their standing vis-á-vis with European whites provides another layer within society in conjunction with the critical delineation of social class across white groups in society. Chapter Three defines the concept of Coloured and the range of perceived physical characteristics and legal differences, i.e., the concepts free and un-free. As the largest social grouping the role of Africans is pivotal, viz. their place in society and relationships with other groups. African differences are assessed, particularly the Grenada Maroons and their position and interaction within society and with another ethnic group, the Caribs. Chapter Four examines the status of governors and employs a case study of the last decade of Ninian Home: an examination of his character, lifestyle, his attempts to became governor, political lobbying, relationship with his family, his administration and how it contributed to the Fédon Rebellion. Chapter Five summarises the thesis and explains how the postulated arguments are met

Resilience of Urban Mobility in the Face of Fossil Fuel Dependency: An Empirical Study of Rio de Janeiro

Long-term scenarios for mobility within cities usually neglect the challenge of energy supply and the ways in which the implied risks can affect urban mobility services. High levels of private transport and fossil fuel dependency tend to prevail in urban agglomerations of modern cities in many parts of the world. The concept of resilient mobility supports a new perspective of transportation solutions, based not only on questions, like how less energy can be consumed or how less CO2 can be emitted, but how vulnerable urban mobility is, in the light of fossil fuel dependency, in case there is a sharp increase of the oil price or even a supply disruption. There are factors within the social and geographical scope, which help understand mobility patterns and possible impacts in case there is a fossil fuel supply threat. The analysis of these additional factors can lead to new policy and planning approaches. This thesis integrates the resilience concept into the urban mobility research field, through a diversified literature review, generating a conceptual framework on the resilience of urban mobility. Furthermore, quantitative and qualitative methods are developed, based on a proposed framework concerning resilience of urban mobility and applied to the city of Rio de Janeiro. The developed and applied methodologies involves the evaluation of the resilience of urban mobility based on a process divided in three stages, the capacity to persist, ability to adapt and the potential to transform the city, in order to be resilient, when confronted with a fossil fuel threat. The quantitative method is based on a social-centered approach, which is evaluated whether the working population of the city of Rio de Janeiro possesses sufficient conditions to resist to fossil fuel threats, based on the urban and social characteristics of the city. This methodology confronts mobility options, geographical constraints and financial conditions of inhabitants. The qualitative method consists in gathering information regarding the attitude of inhabitants of the city, regarding the current mobility patterns and possible reactions in the face of fossil fuel threats. Furthermore, the qualitative approach consisted, also, in evaluating policies and projects oriented to electric-based transportation solutions and the impact of social movements in improving urban mobility. Results of this research highlighted the most and less resilient areas of the city of Rio de Janeiro. The areas with lower levels of resilience of urban mobility, are located in the north and west part of the city. The areas with higher levels of resilience are located in the east and south part of the city, including the Central Business District and its surrounding area. In order of Rio de Janeiro’s social and spatial differences, the results showed that there are different combinations of problems for each part of the city, which generate vulnerable conditions for urban mobility being dependent on fossil fuels. It was observed that there is a high concentration of job positions in the district of Centro (the main distric of the Central Business District), along with higher wage levels in the districts geographically close to this area. In addition to this, there is an electricity-based transportation system, which has a limited geographical reach and a limited carrying capacity, leading to an intensive use of oil-based public and private transportation. Beyond these problems, it was identified that there is an attitude issue regarding public transportation. In other words, it is likely, that users of public transportation tend to see the public transportation system as an uncomfortable obligation, because of the insecurity, lack of money to use private transportation, dependency on conventional bus and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems (oil-based), high costs involved in travelling, long distance to work, etc. It has been observed in this research that even in areas of the city that already have an acceptable level of accessibility to train or metro systems, a significant part of the respondents (sample of the qualitative method) are willing to change their modal choice, as they are faced with extreme fossil fuel threats, even if it affects personal expenses. The city is divided between those who can afford living close to work, those who can afford private transportation and those who cannot afford either of these two options. This third group is, in significant numbers, located in areas of the city that have had long been receiving less investments in the private and public sectors, leading to a complex mixture of urban problems, from low quality of transportation services, education, medical care, security, basic sanitation, etc. The challenge of the city of Rio de Janeiro goes beyond improving transportation infrastructure to reach the same places because the capacity of the system is limited. It also needs to improve basic infrastructure and urban services in vulnerable areas, attracting the private sector to these areas, consequently reducing travel distances to work, transportation costs and improving urban mobility

Lunfardo and gendered discourse: creation and analysis of a linguistic corpus of tango lyrics

This thesis explores the question of how language is used to construct gender in tango lyrics, and it specifically examines lunfardo cultural markers and explores the ways in which these contribute to gendered discourse in the texts. The purpose of this research is twofold: (1) to create the first ever linguistic corpus of tango lyrics, thereby generating a resource that will stimulate further investigation into this topic, and (2) to analyze the relationship between specific gender-related lunfardo terms and discourse prosodies as identified via a corpus linguistics-based analysis of the texts. The linguistic variety lunfardo has been intrinsically linked with tango from its inception and constitutes the distinctive linguistic feature of the texts. This interdisciplinary study investigates how the use of lunfardo vocabulary provides a type of linguistic scaffolding upon which the cultural construction of gender is erected in tango lyrics. Through the creation of the first linguistic corpus of tango lyrics utilizing Sketch Engine (Kilgarriff and Rychlý) and the analysis of selected terms and their collocates, gendered discourse prosodies are identified in the lyrics and quantified. The data from this research establishes that the effects of linguistic variety (i.e. lunfardo and standard Spanish) and gendered terms in the corpus have a statistically significant impact on the creation of discourse prosodies, and reveals unforeseen ways in which lunfardo is preeminent in the construction of gendered discourse in tango lyrics. This thesis then employs a data-driven approach to facilitate and strengthen an analysis of pragmatic and rhetorical elements in representative lyrics through close readings of those texts, presenting evidence for the gendered discourses derived from both the collocational relationships and the statistical results. Through this methodology, this research contributes to an understanding of lunfardo’s impact on the construction of gendered discourse, and also to a nuanced understanding of representations of men and women in tango lyrics. By creating this initial Tango Lyrics Corpus, this research purports to incentivize and facilitate the development of a comprehensive linguistic corpus of tango lyrics with the goal of expanding knowledge of this unique cultural form

Formaciones imaginarias del diseñador gráfico en el discurso del campo académico.

En este trabajo se describe un proyecto de tesis doctoral en el que se analiza el discurso sobre el diseñador gráfico. Se parte del supuesto de que existe una tricotomía de su perfil: 1) el campo profesional, 2) el campo educativo y, 3) el campo académico. Proponemos que dicha tricotomía permite la identificación de imaginarios sobre el tema, y no solo eso, sino que también aporta elementos que conforman la identidad (Bauman, 2002) de un diseñador gráfico. La pregunta de investigación es ¿Cuál es la identidad discursiva del diseñador gráfico en el campo académico? La investigación descrita es de tipo cualitativo y deductivo; para la construcción la identidad discursiva (Van Dijk, T; 2008) del diseñador gráfico, se toman en cuenta diversas publicaciones: principalmente investigaciones y breves artículos difundidos en comunidades/foros de reflexión y debate en torno a la temática, además de memorias de congresos y libros. En apoyo al desarrollo del proyecto se ha diseñado un Laboratorio de Intervención en el Diseño, cuyos objetivos son impulsar el desarrollo social y cultural de los diseñadores gráficos por medio de la investigación, educación continua, producción y vinculación. En un primer acercamiento a las formaciones imaginarias (Pêcheux, 1978) sobre la identidad del diseñador gráfico se centran en el grado de erudición para la ejecución de su trabajo, en la cultura que demuestran y en la autonomía con la que producen