14,568 research outputs found

    Serving to secure "Global Korea": Gender, mobility, and flight attendant labor migrants

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    This dissertation is an ethnography of mobility and modernity in contemporary South Korea (the Republic of Korea) following neoliberal restructuring precipitated by the Asian Financial Crisis (1997). It focuses on how comparative “service,” “security,” and “safety” fashioned “Global Korea”: an ongoing state-sponsored project aimed at promoting the economic, political, and cultural maturation of South Korea from a once notoriously inhospitable, “backward” country (hujin’guk) to a now welcoming, “advanced country” (sŏnjin’guk). Through physical embodiments of the culturally-specific idiom of “superior” service (sŏbisŭ), I argue that aspiring, current, and former Korean flight attendants have driven the production and maintenance of this national project. More broadly, as a driver of this national project, this occupation has emerged out of the country’s own aspirational flights from an earlier history of authoritarian rule, labor violence, and xenophobia. Against the backdrop of the Korean state’s aggressive neoliberal restructuring, globalization efforts, and current “Hell Chosun” (Helchosŏn) economy, a group of largely academically and/or class disadvantaged young women have been able secure individualized modes of pleasure, self-fulfillment, and class advancement via what I deem “service mobilities.” Service mobilities refers to the participation of mostly women in a traditionally devalued but growing sector of the global labor market, the “pink collar” economy centered around “feminine” care labor. Korean female flight attendants share labor skills resembling those of other foreign labor migrants (chiefly from the “Global South”), who perform care work deemed less desirable. Yet, Korean female flight attendants elude the stigmatizing, classed, and racialized category of “labor migrant.” Moreover, within the context of South Korea’s unique history of rapid modernization, the flight attendant occupation also commands considerable social prestige. Based on ethnographic and archival research on aspiring, current, and former Korean flight attendants, this dissertation asks how these unique care laborers negotiate a metaphorical and literal series of sustained border crossings and inspections between Korean flight attendants’ contingent status as lowly care-laboring migrants, on the one hand, and ostensibly glamorous, globetrotting elites, on the other. This study contends the following: first, the flight attendant occupation in South Korea represents new politics of pleasure and pain in contemporary East Asia. Second, Korean female flight attendants’ enactments of soft, sanitized, and glamorous (hwaryŏhada) service help to purify South Korea’s less savory past. In so doing, Korean flight attendants reconstitute the historical role of female laborers as burden bearers and caretakers of the Korean state.U of I OnlyAuthor submitted a 2-year U of I restriction extension request

    Meso-scale FDM material layout design strategies under manufacturability constraints and fracture conditions

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    In the manufacturability-driven design (MDD) perspective, manufacturability of the product or system is the most important of the design requirements. In addition to being able to ensure that complex designs (e.g., topology optimization) are manufacturable with a given process or process family, MDD also helps mechanical designers to take advantage of unique process-material effects generated during manufacturing. One of the most recognizable examples of this comes from the scanning-type family of additive manufacturing (AM) processes; the most notable and familiar member of this family is the fused deposition modeling (FDM) or fused filament fabrication (FFF) process. This process works by selectively depositing uniform, approximately isotropic beads or elements of molten thermoplastic material (typically structural engineering plastics) in a series of pre-specified traces to build each layer of the part. There are many interesting 2-D and 3-D mechanical design problems that can be explored by designing the layout of these elements. The resulting structured, hierarchical material (which is both manufacturable and customized layer-by-layer within the limits of the process and material) can be defined as a manufacturing process-driven structured material (MPDSM). This dissertation explores several practical methods for designing these element layouts for 2-D and 3-D meso-scale mechanical problems, focusing ultimately on design-for-fracture. Three different fracture conditions are explored: (1) cases where a crack must be prevented or stopped, (2) cases where the crack must be encouraged or accelerated, and (3) cases where cracks must grow in a simple pre-determined pattern. Several new design tools, including a mapping method for the FDM manufacturability constraints, three major literature reviews, the collection, organization, and analysis of several large (qualitative and quantitative) multi-scale datasets on the fracture behavior of FDM-processed materials, some new experimental equipment, and the refinement of a fast and simple g-code generator based on commercially-available software, were developed and refined to support the design of MPDSMs under fracture conditions. The refined design method and rules were experimentally validated using a series of case studies (involving both design and physical testing of the designs) at the end of the dissertation. Finally, a simple design guide for practicing engineers who are not experts in advanced solid mechanics nor process-tailored materials was developed from the results of this project.U of I OnlyAuthor's request

    Quantum dots based superluminescent diodes and photonic crystal surface emitting lasers

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    This thesis reports the design, fabrication, and electrical and optical characterisations of GaAs-based quantum dot (QD) photonic devices, specifically focusing on superluminescent diodes (SLDs) and photonic crystal surface-emitting lasers (PCSELs). The integration of QD active regions in these devices is advantageous due to their characteristics such as temperature insensitivity, feedback insensitivity, and ability to utilise the ground state (GS) and excited state (ES) of the dots. In an initial study concerning the fabrication of QD-SLDs, the influence of ridge waveguide etch depth on the electrical and optical properties of the devices are investigated. It is shown that the output power and modal gain from shallow etched ridge waveguide is higher than those of deep etched waveguides. Subsequently, the thermal performance of the devices is analysed. With increased temperature over 170 ºC, the spectral bandwidth is dramatically increased by thermally excited carrier transition in excited states of the dots. Following this, an investigation of a high dot density hybrid quantum well/ quantum dot (QW/QD) active structure for broadband, high-modal gain SLDs is presented. The influence of the number of QD layers on the modal gain of hybrid QW/QD structures is analysed. It is shown that higher number of dot layer provides higher modal gain value, however, there is lack of emission from QW due to the requirement of large number of carriers to saturate the QD. Additionally, a comparison is made between “unchirped QD” and “ chirped QD” of hybrid QW/QD structure in terms of modal gain and spectral bandwidth. It is showed that “chirped” of the QD can improve the “flatness” of the spectral bandwidth. Lastly, the use of self-assembled InAs QD as the active material in epitaxially regrown GaAs-based PCSELs is explored for the first time. Initially, it is shown that both GS and ES lasing can be achieved for QD-PCSELs by changing the grating period of the photonic crystal (PC). The careful design of these grating periods allows lasing from neighbouring devices at GS ( ~1230 nm) and ES (~1140 nm), 90 nm apart in wavelength. Following this, the effect of device area, PC etch depth, PC atom shape (circle or triangle or orientation) on lasing performance is presented. It is shown that lower threshold current density and higher slope efficiencies is achieved with increasing the device size. The deeper PC height device has higher output power due to more suitable height and minimal distance to active region. The triangular atom shape has slightly higher slope efficiency compared to triangular atom shape which is attributed to breaking in-plane symmetry and increase out-of-plane emission

    Anuário científico da Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde de Lisboa - 2021

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    É com grande prazer que apresentamos a mais recente edição (a 11.ª) do Anuário Científico da Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde de Lisboa. Como instituição de ensino superior, temos o compromisso de promover e incentivar a pesquisa científica em todas as áreas do conhecimento que contemplam a nossa missão. Esta publicação tem como objetivo divulgar toda a produção científica desenvolvida pelos Professores, Investigadores, Estudantes e Pessoal não Docente da ESTeSL durante 2021. Este Anuário é, assim, o reflexo do trabalho árduo e dedicado da nossa comunidade, que se empenhou na produção de conteúdo científico de elevada qualidade e partilhada com a Sociedade na forma de livros, capítulos de livros, artigos publicados em revistas nacionais e internacionais, resumos de comunicações orais e pósteres, bem como resultado dos trabalhos de 1º e 2º ciclo. Com isto, o conteúdo desta publicação abrange uma ampla variedade de tópicos, desde temas mais fundamentais até estudos de aplicação prática em contextos específicos de Saúde, refletindo desta forma a pluralidade e diversidade de áreas que definem, e tornam única, a ESTeSL. Acreditamos que a investigação e pesquisa científica é um eixo fundamental para o desenvolvimento da sociedade e é por isso que incentivamos os nossos estudantes a envolverem-se em atividades de pesquisa e prática baseada na evidência desde o início dos seus estudos na ESTeSL. Esta publicação é um exemplo do sucesso desses esforços, sendo a maior de sempre, o que faz com que estejamos muito orgulhosos em partilhar os resultados e descobertas dos nossos investigadores com a comunidade científica e o público em geral. Esperamos que este Anuário inspire e motive outros estudantes, profissionais de saúde, professores e outros colaboradores a continuarem a explorar novas ideias e contribuir para o avanço da ciência e da tecnologia no corpo de conhecimento próprio das áreas que compõe a ESTeSL. Agradecemos a todos os envolvidos na produção deste anuário e desejamos uma leitura inspiradora e agradável.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    The place where curses are manufactured : four poets of the Vietnam War

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    The Vietnam War was unique among American wars. To pinpoint its uniqueness, it was necessary to look for a non-American voice that would enable me to articulate its distinctiveness and explore the American character as observed by an Asian. Takeshi Kaiko proved to be most helpful. From his novel, Into a Black Sun, I was able to establish a working pair of 'bookends' from which to approach the poetry of Walter McDonald, Bruce Weigl, Basil T. Paquet and Steve Mason. Chapter One is devoted to those seemingly mismatched 'bookends,' Walt Whitman and General William C. Westmoreland, and their respective anthropocentric and technocentric visions of progress and the peculiarly American concept of the "open road" as they manifest themselves in Vietnam. In Chapter, Two, I analyze the war poems of Walter McDonald. As a pilot, writing primarily about flying, his poetry manifests General Westmoreland's technocentric vision of the 'road' as determined by and manifest through technology. Chapter Three focuses on the poems of Bruce Weigl. The poems analyzed portray the literal and metaphorical descent from the technocentric, 'numbed' distance of aerial warfare to the world of ground warfare, and the initiation of a 'fucking new guy,' who discovers the contours of the self's interior through a set of experiences that lead from from aerial insertion into the jungle to the degradation of burning human feces. Chapter Four, devoted to the thirteen poems of Basil T. Paquet, focuses on the continuation of the descent begun in Chapter Two. In his capacity as a medic, Paquet's entire body of poems details his quotidian tasks which entail tending the maimed, the mortally wounded and the dead. The final chapter deals with Steve Mason's JohnnY's Song, and his depiction of the plight of Vietnam veterans back in "The World" who are still trapped inside the interior landscape of their individual "ghettoes" of the soul created by their war-time experiences

    Responsibility and Situationism

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    This chapter explores the relationship between an agent’s moral responsibility for their actions and the situations in which an agent acts. Decades of research in psychology are sometimes thought to support situationism, the view that features of an agent’s situation greatly influence their behavior in powerful and surprising ways. Such situational fea­tures might therefore be thought to threaten agents’ abilities to act freely and responsi­bly. This chapter begins by discussing some relevant empirical literature on situationism. It then surveys several ways of construing the situationist threat to moral responsibility as reducible to worries about determinism, manipulation, or luck. It is then argued that the best way to understand the situationist challenge is as a threat to reasons-responsive­ness. A common strategy for responding to the situationist threat to reasons-responsive­ness—the so-called modal response—is discussed. The chapter then defends a view called pessimistic realism: While the situationist literature puts human agency in an unflattering light, it does not show that agents’ reasons-responsiveness capacities are generally un­dermined by situational features. Several objections both to the modal strategy and to pessimistic realism are discussed. The chapter concludes with three thoughts concerning future directions

    Influence of local PO₂ on skeletal muscle microvascular blood flow during hyperinsulinemia

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    The goal of this thesis was to test the hypothesis that insulin mediated hyperemia is partially dependent on local muscle oxygen concentration. To do so, microvascular blood flow was measured in response to varying imposed concentrations of oxygen in rat skeletal muscle. Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized, and the extensor digitorum longus (EDL) was reflected onto an inverted microscope. Intravital video microscopy sequences were recorded during baseline and hyperinsulinemic euglycemia. The muscle was reflected over a glass stage insert (Experiment 1a and 1b), or over a gas exchange chamber (Experiment 2), and microvascular capillary blood flow was recorded during sequential changes (7%-12%-2%-7%) of oxygen (O₂) concentration. Blood flow was measured by the red blood cell supply rate (SR) in number of cells per second. In Experiment 1a, supply rate (SR) increased from 8.0 to 14 cells/s at baseline to euglycemia (p = 0.01), while no significant SR variation was detected after performing a sham hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp (Experiment 1b). In Experiment 2, SR decreased at 12% O₂ and increased at 2% O₂, compared to 7% O₂, under both experimental conditions. SR responses to oxygen square wave oscillations during euglycemia were not different to those at baseline at each O₂ concentration (p > 0.9). Our results suggest the increase in blood flow observed in response to insulin is eliminated if tissue oxygen microenvironment is clamped at given oxygen concentrations. All animal protocols were approved by Memorial University’s Institutional Animal Care Committee

    Extractive desulfurization of fuel oils using ionic liquids

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    The sulphur content of transportation fuels must be reduced in high-sulphur crude oil by desulfurization. Traditionally, desulfurization methods have required harsh reaction conditions and are not very effective at removing refractory sulfur compounds such as benzothiophene (BT), dibenzothiophene (DBT) and 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene (4,6-DMDBT). Alternative methods, such as ionic liquid (IL)-mediated desulfurization, are both effective and environmentally friendly. Isolants ideal for desulfurization are required to be recyclable, insoluble in oil, selective for compounds containing sulphur, and eco-friendly. These properties are offered by ILs based on pyridinium. Therefore, the primary objectives of this thesis were to: (1) investigate the properties of N-butyl-pyridinium tetrafluoroborate ([BPy][BF₄]) and N-carboxymethyl pyridinium hydrogen sulfate ([CH₂COOHPy][HSO₄]); (2) understand the effects of reaction parameters (temperature, volume ratio, oxidant dosage, quantities of sulphur compound extracted, etc.) on desulfurization efficiency; (3) clarify the interactions between ILs and sulphur compounds; and (4) investigate the recycling and regeneration of ILs. Experimental results showed that the desulfurization efficiency of [BPy][BF₄] increased with temperature and oxidant dosage and declined with IL to fuel volume ratio. It was observed that at 30゚C, 1:1 ration of IL to model fuel [BPy][BF₄] could remove up to 79% of DBT in 80 min in the presence of oxidant H₂O₂. [CH₂COOHPy] [HSO₄] was found to be more effective in desulfurization, capable of removing up to 99.9% of DBT in the presence of oxidant H₂O₂ within 40 min at 25゚C, 1:1 ratio of IL to model fuel. The recycled [CH₂COOHPy][HSO₄] marginally lost effectiveness after 8 recycles. It was also found that the effectiveness of both ILs was lower in real diesel compared to model fuels. Computational density functional theory-based structural analysis revealed that there were two types of possible π-π interactions between [BPy] [BF₄] and DBT/DBTO₂, resulting in the formation of complexes with different geometries. [CH₂COOHPy][HSO₄] also exhibits similar potential π−π interactions with DBT/DBTO₂. Moreover, both ILs undergo the same oxidative mechanism of desulfurization, as they involve π-π interactions and hydrogen bonds

    Innate immunity and metabolism in the bovine ovarian follicle

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    Postpartum uterine disease in dairy cows is associated with reduced fertility. One of the first and most prevalent bacteria associated with uterine disease is Escherichia coli. The bacterial endotoxin, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), accumulates in the ovarian follicular fluid of animals with uterine disease. The granulosa cells of the ovarian follicle respond to LPS by secreting pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-1a, IL-1b and IL-8, and oocyte health is perturbed. Dairy cows also experience metabolic energy stress in the postpartum period, which is associated with an increased risk of developing uterine disease and ovarian dysfunction. This thesis explored the crosstalk between innate immunity and metabolic energy stress in bovine granulosa cells and cumulus-oocyte complex. Firstly, we found that glycolysis, AMP-activated protein kinase and the mechanistic target of rapamycin, regulate the innate immune responses to LPS in granulosa cells isolated from bovine ovarian follicles. Activation of AMP-activated protein kinase decreased the LPS-induced secretion of IL-1a, IL-1b, and IL8, and was associated with shortened duration of ERK1/2 and JNK phosphorylation. Next, we found that decreasing the availability of cholesterol or inhibiting cholesterol biosynthesis using short-interfering RNA impaired the LPS-induced secretion of IL-1a and IL-1b by granulosa cells. Furthermore, metabolic energy stress or inhibiting cholesterol biosynthesis in the bovine cumulus-oocyte complex modulated the innate immune responses to LPS, and perturbed meiotic progression during in vitro maturation. Finally, we explored an in vivo model of uterine disease in heifers, using RNAseq to investigate alterations to the transcriptome of the reproductive tract. We found that uterine disease altered the transcriptome of the endometrium, oviduct, granulosa cells and oocyte, several months after bacterial infusion; these changes were most evident in the granulosa cells and oocyte of the ovarian follicle. The findings from this thesis imply that there is crosstalk between innate immunity and metabolism in the bovine ovarian follicle

    Um modelo para suporte automatizado ao reconhecimento, extração, personalização e reconstrução de gráficos estáticos

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    Data charts are widely used in our daily lives, being present in regular media, such as newspapers, magazines, web pages, books, and many others. A well constructed data chart leads to an intuitive understanding of its underlying data and in the same way, when data charts have wrong design choices, a redesign of these representations might be needed. However, in most cases, these charts are shown as a static image, which means that the original data are not usually available. Therefore, automatic methods could be applied to extract the underlying data from the chart images to allow these changes. The task of recognizing charts and extracting data from them is complex, largely due to the variety of chart types and their visual characteristics. Computer Vision techniques for image classification and object detection are widely used for the problem of recognizing charts, but only in images without any disturbance. Other features in real-world images that can make this task difficult are not present in most literature works, like photo distortions, noise, alignment, etc. Two computer vision techniques that can assist this task and have been little explored in this context are perspective detection and correction. These methods transform a distorted and noisy chart in a clear chart, with its type ready for data extraction or other uses. The task of reconstructing data is straightforward, as long the data is available the visualization can be reconstructed, but the scenario of reconstructing it on the same context is complex. Using a Visualization Grammar for this scenario is a key component, as these grammars usually have extensions for interaction, chart layers, and multiple views without requiring extra development effort. This work presents a model for automated support for custom recognition, and reconstruction of charts in images. The model automatically performs the process steps, such as reverse engineering, turning a static chart back into its data table for later reconstruction, while allowing the user to make modifications in case of uncertainties. This work also features a model-based architecture along with prototypes for various use cases. Validation is performed step by step, with methods inspired by the literature. This work features three use cases providing proof of concept and validation of the model. The first use case features usage of chart recognition methods focused on documents in the real-world, the second use case focus on vocalization of charts, using a visualization grammar to reconstruct a chart in audio format, and the third use case presents an Augmented Reality application that recognizes and reconstructs charts in the same context (a piece of paper) overlaying the new chart and interaction widgets. The results showed that with slight changes, chart recognition and reconstruction methods are now ready for real-world charts, when taking time, accuracy and precision into consideration.Os gráficos de dados são amplamente utilizados na nossa vida diária, estando presentes nos meios de comunicação regulares, tais como jornais, revistas, páginas web, livros, e muitos outros. Um gráfico bem construído leva a uma compreensão intuitiva dos seus dados inerentes e da mesma forma, quando os gráficos de dados têm escolhas de conceção erradas, poderá ser necessário um redesenho destas representações. Contudo, na maioria dos casos, estes gráficos são mostrados como uma imagem estática, o que significa que os dados originais não estão normalmente disponíveis. Portanto, poderiam ser aplicados métodos automáticos para extrair os dados inerentes das imagens dos gráficos, a fim de permitir estas alterações. A tarefa de reconhecer os gráficos e extrair dados dos mesmos é complexa, em grande parte devido à variedade de tipos de gráficos e às suas características visuais. As técnicas de Visão Computacional para classificação de imagens e deteção de objetos são amplamente utilizadas para o problema de reconhecimento de gráficos, mas apenas em imagens sem qualquer ruído. Outras características das imagens do mundo real que podem dificultar esta tarefa não estão presentes na maioria das obras literárias, como distorções fotográficas, ruído, alinhamento, etc. Duas técnicas de visão computacional que podem ajudar nesta tarefa e que têm sido pouco exploradas neste contexto são a deteção e correção da perspetiva. Estes métodos transformam um gráfico distorcido e ruidoso em um gráfico limpo, com o seu tipo pronto para extração de dados ou outras utilizações. A tarefa de reconstrução de dados é simples, desde que os dados estejam disponíveis a visualização pode ser reconstruída, mas o cenário de reconstrução no mesmo contexto é complexo. A utilização de uma Gramática de Visualização para este cenário é um componente chave, uma vez que estas gramáticas têm normalmente extensões para interação, camadas de gráficos, e visões múltiplas sem exigir um esforço extra de desenvolvimento. Este trabalho apresenta um modelo de suporte automatizado para o reconhecimento personalizado, e reconstrução de gráficos em imagens estáticas. O modelo executa automaticamente as etapas do processo, tais como engenharia inversa, transformando um gráfico estático novamente na sua tabela de dados para posterior reconstrução, ao mesmo tempo que permite ao utilizador fazer modificações em caso de incertezas. Este trabalho também apresenta uma arquitetura baseada em modelos, juntamente com protótipos para vários casos de utilização. A validação é efetuada passo a passo, com métodos inspirados na literatura. Este trabalho apresenta três casos de uso, fornecendo prova de conceito e validação do modelo. O primeiro caso de uso apresenta a utilização de métodos de reconhecimento de gráficos focando em documentos no mundo real, o segundo caso de uso centra-se na vocalização de gráficos, utilizando uma gramática de visualização para reconstruir um gráfico em formato áudio, e o terceiro caso de uso apresenta uma aplicação de Realidade Aumentada que reconhece e reconstrói gráficos no mesmo contexto (um pedaço de papel) sobrepondo os novos gráficos e widgets de interação. Os resultados mostraram que com pequenas alterações, os métodos de reconhecimento e reconstrução dos gráficos estão agora prontos para os gráficos do mundo real, tendo em consideração o tempo, a acurácia e a precisão.Programa Doutoral em Engenharia Informátic
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