Knowledge of trafficking in human beings among Portuguese social services and justice professionals

Knowledge about trafficking in human beings has several implications for various social service and justice professionals. The aim of this study was to examine the knowledge of social service and justice professionals regarding the characterization of this phenomenon and anti-trafficking policies in Portugal. Four hundred and forty-six social service and justice professionals completed an online Human Trafficking Knowledge survey. The results revealed that Portuguese professionals have, in general, a good level of knowledge about trafficking in human beings, revealing higher-level scores for issues, such as trafficking in human beings' idiosyncrasies and purposes in Portugal, trafficker profiles, criminal behaviour, victim profiles and victimization dynamics. On the other hand, participants scored lower in trafficking in human being's trajectories and specificities within Portugal. This knowledge appeared to be influenced by variables, such as professional experience, previous contact with trafficking and training in trafficking in human beings. National policies must promote professional formal training about trafficking in human beings in different areas.This study was partially conducted at the Psychology Research Centre (UID/PSI/01662/2013), University of Minho, and supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education through national funds and co-financed by FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007653)

Evaluation of noise level of Xylem’s grinderpumps

Xylem är ett ledande globalt företag inom vattenteknik som fokuserar på hela cykeln av vattenhantering. Syftet med examensarbetet är att undersöka och utvärdera ljudnivån för Xylems grinderpumpar. Grinderpumpar har en skäranordning bestående av en kniv och en skärplatta som tillsammans finfördelar fasta föremål. Dessa pumpar installeras ofta i anslutning till bostaden, därför kan ljudnivån som pumpen ger upphov till upplevas som störande. För att göra pumpen mer konkurrenskraftig var ljudnivån på pumparna ett problem som behövde förbättras. Målet med examensarbetet var att föreslå verifierade förbättringar som gav lägre ljudnivå, utan bekostnad på pumpens prestanda samt kvarnfunktion. Det genomfördes en analys av Xylems och konkurrenters befintliga produkter, vilket låg som grund för utvecklingen av koncept. Det utfördes tester av pumparna, för att utvärdera hur ljudnivån förhöll sig till olika parametrar. Dessutom utvärderades vad som gav upphov till ljudet och hur det förhöll sig till fysikaliska teorier såsom Reynoldstal och skjuvning. Utifrån resultaten av dessa tester beslutades det att vidareutveckla skäranordningens kniv. Det togs fram prototyper som testades i syfte att utvärdera hur olika utformningar påverkade ljudet. Testerna visade att bottenbredden på knivens blad hade stor påverkan på ljudnivån, vilket även låg i linje med teorin gällande skjuvning. Vidare tester visade att en strömlinjeformad kniv gav upphov till lägre ljudnivå, som sammanfaller med teori om att turbulens skapar ljud. Dessa två aspekter beaktades vid utformningen av den slutgiltiga kniven. Ljudnivån för grinderpumpen har minskats med 5 dB(A), vilket innebär att ljudtrycket har minskat med 68 %. Detta motsvarar en tydlig hörbar förändring av ljudnivån. Minskningen av ljudnivån har åstadkommits genom att göra kniven mer strömlinjeformad och minska arean på bladens bottenbredd.Xylem is a leading global company working with water technology, with focus on the entire water cycle. The aim of this master thesis is to examine and evaluate the noise level of Xylem’s grinder pumps. The grinder pumps have a grinder function consisting of a cutter wheel and a cutting ring, which shred solid objects. The grinder pumps are often installed adjacent to a household, the sound level that the pump generates can therefore be perceived as disturbing. In order to make the pump more competitive, the sound level needed to be reduced. The objective of the thesis was to propose verified improvements that decreased the sound level, without impairing the performance of the pump or the grinder function. An analysis of Xylem’s and competitors’ existing products was conducted, which served as a foundation for the concept development. The pumps were tested in order to evaluate what impact different parameters had on the sound level. Additionally, evaluations regarding what generated the sound and its relation to physical theories such as Reynolds number and shear stress were conducted. Based on the results of these tests, it was decided to further develop the cutter wheel. Prototypes were developed and tested in order to assess how different design parameters affected the sound. The tests showed that the bottom width of the cutter wheels blade had a great impact on the sound level, which is consistent with the theory regarding shear stress. Further tests showed that a streamlined cutter wheel resulted in a lower sound level, which coincides with the theory regarding how turbulence generates sound. These two aspects were considered when designing the final cutter wheel. The sound level of the grinder pump has been reduced by 5 dB (A), thus the sound pressure has been reduced by 68%. This has resulted in a clear audible change in the sound level. The reduction of the sound level has been achieved by making the cutter wheel more streamlined, and by reducing the area of the blades’ bottom