Heavily used in the manufacture of integrated circuits, chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) is becoming an enabling technology for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). To reliably use CMP in the manufacturing process, designers must be able to accurately predict the CMP process and control…

Nature and Gnosticism are problematic terms. With the discovery of a library of so called heretical Gnostic texts in 1945, theologians, historians, and believers the world over have been exposed to Christian texts that call into question the liturgical lineage…

To take further steps along the path toward true artificial intelligence, systems must be built that are capable of learning about the world around them through observation and explanation. These systems should be flexible and robust in the style of…

It becomes perceptible that each day more companies make use of e-learning for the capacity of its workers. During a congress in the e-learning area it has been noticed the increase in corporative e-learning cases. These cases show that there…

One of the main crops and income and alternative food source for the population from Northeast region of Brazil is the lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus), besides an important source of protein for the rural population from South America and Africa.…

Mountain papaya fruits (Vasconcella pubescens) were tested for firmness with a nondestructive acoustic method for 14 days after harvest. The response of each fruit was analyzed with the Fourier transform to obtain a firmness index (FI) based on the second…

To have a sustainable competitive advantage, an organization should realize how to create, distribute and utilize knowledge through an organization and how attach it to organizational process. Another important thing is a manager should know what kind of knowledge they…

El hombre desde que nace empieza a aprender. Algunos conocimientos se adquieren sin percatarnos de ellos, otros necesitan esfuerzos y dedicación, algunos son estrictamente necesarios, otros no lo son tanto. El proceso de búsqueda de relaciones es un modo de…

(cont.) which is expected, given their additional knowledge resources. The respondents' urgency in looking for the relevant knowledge is the primary explanation for this difference between the two networks. This difference in knowledge networking among the different groups did not…

This thesis examines the evolution of Internet based knowledge networks (e-knowledge networks) in the domain of sustainable development. The objective of this thesis is to use an engineering systems approach to understand knowledge networks, identify the barriers to their sustainability…