Mapeamento com Sonar Usando Grade de Ocupação baseado em Modelagem Probabilística

In this work, we propose a probabilistic mapping method with the mapped environment represented through a modified occupancy grid. The main idea of the proposed method is to allow a mobile robot to construct in a systematic and incremental way the geometry of the underlying space, obtaining at the end a complete environment map. As a consequence, the robot can move in the environment in a safe way, based on a confidence value of data obtained from its perceptive system. The map is represented in a coherent way, according to its sensory data, being these noisy or not, that comes from exterior and proprioceptive sensors of the robot. Characteristic noise incorporated in the data from these sensors are treated by probabilistic modeling in such a way that their effects can be visible in the final result of the mapping process. The results of performed experiments indicate the viability of the methodology and its applicability in the area of autonomous mobile robotics, thus being an contribution to the field

Controle preditivo robusto baseado em desigualdades matriciais lineares aplicado a um sistema de tanques acoplados

This work deals with an on-line control strategy based on Robust Model Predictive Control (RMPC) technique applied in a real coupled tanks system. This process consists of two coupled tanks and a pump to feed the liquid to the system. The control objective (regulator problem) is to keep the tanks levels in the considered operation point even in the presence of disturbance. The RMPC is a technique that allows explicit incorporation of the plant uncertainty in the problem formulation. The goal is to design, at each time step, a state-feedback control law that minimizes a 'worst-case' infinite horizon objective function, subject to constraint in the control. The existence of a feedback control law satisfying the input constraints is reduced to a convex optimization over linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) problem. It is shown in this work that for the plant uncertainty described by the polytope, the feasible receding horizon state feedback control design is robustly stabilizing. The software implementation of the RMPC is made using Scilab, and its communication with Coupled Tanks Systems is done through the OLE for Process Control (OPC) industrial protocol

Estudo da Potencialidade da produção de tijolos de adobe misturado com outros materiais: uma alternativa de baixo custo para a construção civil

The production of the red pottery brick, made traditionally with clay, is a technique that is already stabled. However, in spite of the little complexity that involves the conventional process of these bricks production, it are exposed to many problems that begin in the fase of exploration of the mines, the problems get worse because of the lack of the clay's characterization, and they continue through the steps of the dough preparation, conformation of the products, the drying and the burning process. The wastefulness is shown and so is the low quality of the material produced. Among other factors, the high use of energy in the burning makes the cost of this material inaccessible to the low income consumer. Besides this, the destruction of the environment around the mines and the use of native vegetation to produce wood - the most used fuel in the pottery industry - make serious environmental damage. The production technique of a new type of simple brick (adobe), that has low cost and no environmental damage, can be the viable altemative to lower the cost of this part of the civil construction, and, consequently, in the building of cheaper houses. In this paper, the results of the mechanical resistance of the adobe brick are shown, using in its composition, clay, natural vegetable fibers, cement and plaster in a process that is completely handcrafted and manual. It is intented to make clear that are possible alternatives to be put in practice, with the simple process, using "raw earth" that has been used in the construction of houses in thousands of years, trying to solve these severe problems. Analysis and tests were performed to find results that could prove the possibility of the utilization of this kind of material. Other studies are in progress, and the new researches are necessary to enrich this work, but it stays the certainty that there is potential to produce bricks from adobe, as an alternative that has low cost to civil construction

História da matemática na formação do professor: dificuldades e sugestões

This work is the result of a study that aimed to start scoring difficulties that the math teacher is trying to get a historical formation. Considering that the textbook is the material with which the teacher has more contact, start with reading historical texts present in these books. Choose a theme and choose from that we observed limitations ranging from the search for sources of research in relation to the actual historical content. There are many studies that show the importance of the history of mathematics in teacher education and also in the teaching and learning of mathematics. These works , in particular the work of Feliciano (2008 ) entitled : " The use of history of mathematics in the classroom " , along with the information , experiences and opinions given by Professor Anderson Luís de Azevedo Paulo , in some meetings , point to need for materials for teaching , since they show that recognizes the importance of this knowledge and the ability to use it in the classroom , but several factors have pushed aside , even the texts present in textbooks. From the analysis of some of the work and contributions of Professor Anderson Paulo we pointed out some of the factors that make historical texts being ignored by teachers and among them are characteristics in appearance and content in the text. To assist in the preparation of materials that meet the expectations of the teacher, we present a manual with suggestions and / or features to choose or produce a good text. These suggestions can make the history books more enjoyable and thus approach the teacher of historical knowledge and later encouraged to seek, in fact, a historical formation

Iracema: a alegoria da mãe genti(o)l

A abordagem da visão da literatura nacional dentro do contexto cultural brasileiro da segunda metade do século XIX e do posicionamento crítico de José de Alencar fez, de sua produção romanesca, especialmente a indianista, representada aqui por sua obra Iracema, um símbolo do conjunto de intenções nacionalistas que invadiu a alma e o coração de todo o povo, no que diz respeito ao sentimento de brasilidade , condizente com a estética romântica da qual faz parte seu autor. Seu posicionamento, quer seja crítico ou artístico, faz de Alencar o maior polemista em defesa da liberdade cultural e literária do Brasil, enquanto alguém bem consciente de sua função social, e por que não dizer, crítica, identificando a metalinguagem como um diferencial fomentador de uma teorização de poética na defesa de sua ficção, abrindo caminho, assim, para a pesquisa da poética explícita na sua produção artística. A referida análise buscará, a partir de uma análise estrutural das partes formais que o compõem esteticamente, como também de uma compreensão temática dos ditos e interditos utilizados pelo narrador alencariano na composição de seu discurso, identificar Iracema enquanto um romance que disputa o título de obra fundacional do Brasil. Para isso se faz necessário empreender uma abordagem do como e do quanto os elementos da Natureza, num romance romântico que tem a Natureza enquanto uma de suas temáticas mais significativas, podem constituir e interferir na percepção e construção de um personagem, que é todo Natureza, e no meio natural em que ele vive; até mesmo ser, por causa disso, o elemento mais representativo dessa nação que se deseja criar, trazendo para o cenário cultural brasileiro do século XIX uma versão de instituição baseada no revigoramento da memória da cultura selvagem. Faz-se lícito também animar forças da natureza e da terra-paisagem que poderiam ser tidas, apenas, como exóticas, mas que na obra em questão funcionam como protagonistas, mesmo fantasmas, de um pacto social e político que, mesmo quando rompe, recusa-se em deixar romper, mergulhando no espaço romanesco da magnitude das águas ou na frieza tumular da terra. Tomar-se-á, também, como ponto de estudo, a análise da fusão da experiência histórica com a experiência ficcional, observando o imbricamento de um discurso no outro, como também as fronteiras que se estabelecem a partir dessa tentativa; tomando o erotismo e a alegoria como pontos de convergência na obra em questão. Por meio da verificação de uma relação que se constrói a partir da solidão, da memória e do esquecimento em que acabam por mergulhar todos os seus personagens, que são, por vezes, tragados em algum dilúvio bíblico da purificação, dentro de um projeto audacioso de invenção de uma nação, que se quer de identidade cultural, e também política, mas que termina condenado ao silêncio, não gozando de liberdade em relação ao espaço a que pertence e, no entanto representa, só cabendo a eles regressarem para dentro da terra-mãe, ou se submeterem a um ritual de profunda aculturação, verificar-se-á, através desse discurso historicamente construído, o ideário de uma nação que se almejava projetar. O conflito de Iracema, personagem protagonista de sua obra homônima, a negação e a perda de si mesma, de tudo aquilo que poderia representar a sua identidade social e cultural, e, conseqüentemente, a morte e a vida dessa mãe genti(o)l, simbolizam a vida e a arte de um povo que, passando pelos embates da colonização, através de seus artistas rebeldes e românticos da Independência, que ilustraram, em grande síntese, a visão através da qual o homem do Novo Mundo foi vislumbrado, rabiscou a imagem da americanidade pelo discurso da História

Perpectivas da prática profissional do jornalista assessor de imprensa: o ethos, a identidade e as reflexões deontológicas no contexto da atuação simultânea em redações e assessorias de imprensa de Natal-RN

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior

Uma nova tecnologia no pensamento de Herbert Marcuse: arte e técnica na sociedade unidimensional

This dissertation addresses the issue of technology in the work of Herbert Marcuse, explaning the merger between technology and domination that result in a totalitarian technological apparatus. Thus, technological civilization is supported and justified by a rational technological apparatus in the society, we have come not only the philosophy of Marcuse, but other great thinkers too, like Heidegger, Hegel, Marx. We also present a debate involving the philosophy of science, logic and linguage. Marcuse points to the need for a new technological rationality that emerge from a new sensibility, where the technique would allow a new relationship between man and nature. From then on, would emerge the need for a new subject. This transition would be possible by means of sensitivity, where art would become the art of live. With the link between art and technique made possible by new sensitivity, the author leaves one of its main contribution: he leaves open the possibility for the subject to choose new targests for technological development

Uma nova tecnologia no pensamento de Herbert Marcuse: arte e técnica na sociedade unidimensional

This dissertation addresses the issue of technology in the work of Herbert Marcuse, explaning the merger between technology and domination that result in a totalitarian technological apparatus. Thus, technological civilization is supported and justified by a rational technological apparatus in the society, we have come not only the philosophy of Marcuse, but other great thinkers too, like Heidegger, Hegel, Marx. We also present a debate involving the philosophy of science, logic and linguage. Marcuse points to the need for a new technological rationality that emerge from a new sensibility, where the technique would allow a new relationship between man and nature. From then on, would emerge the need for a new subject. This transition would be possible by means of sensitivity, where art would become the art of live. With the link between art and technique made possible by new sensitivity, the author leaves one of its main contribution: he leaves open the possibility for the subject to choose new targests for technological development

Os significados do tabagismo construídos na dinâmica social

The present study has the purpose of catching the significances of smoking in the social dinamics based on the Theory of Social Representations. It was developed among adults with ages from 20 to 59 years, low social and economic conditions, at Natal RN, Brazil. The Free-words Association Test was applied as the instrument of data collection and a semi-structured interview with the smokers and non-smokers, besides a structured interview with smokers, non-smokers and ex-smokers. All data was analyzed by the descriptive statistics using the Analysis of Content Technique of the thematic kind and by the softwares ALCESTE and EVOC 2000. Elaborations about smoking were marked by social, cultural and historical dimension, however they showed sensibility to changes and revealed positive and negative aspects of the habit. The analysis of the semi-structured interviews showed the following categories and under-categories respectively: Initiation of the habit (Friends and Family and Appreciation and Beauty); Psychosocial Implications of smoking (Personal relationship, Work and Financial); Behavior when facing smoking (Positive, Negative and Neutral); Smoking Effects (Smokers´ health and the other people health); Description about oral diseases ( Bad breath, Oral cancer and Dental problems); Smoking treatment (Physician and psychological, Supernatural and Difficulties). ALCESTE analysis presented 4 classes: Ambivalence between pleasure and get ill, Smoking as a trouble and danger to society, Social discrimination of smokers and Mouth as a place of reaffirmation of the discrimination. Those helped us to understand the psychosocial repercussion of the habit. On the social representation structure we identified as a probable central nucleus of the smoker group the categories Pleasure and Bad to the health and as peripheral elements Alcoholic Drink, Financial damage and Nervousness. For the non-smoker group the category Bad to the health comes first and Stop Smoking comes as a peripheral element. Finally, we hope that the knowledge of these representations can contribute to plan and/or to rethink over the professional practices and public policies related to smoking. Besides that, for an amplified comprehension of the study object the discussions over the identified representations should be deepen and amplified to other population and social groups

Estudo comparativo da expressão imuno-histoquímica do ki-67 em carcinoma epidermóide de língua em pacientes jovens e idosos

The squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the most common malignant neoplasm of epithelial origin in oral cavity and present high capacity to invade adjacent structures. Traditionally, SCC has a predominance of 50 years male patients with long-time use of tobacco and alcohol, and the tongue is the most affected anatomic site. At present, there is an increasing incidence of SCC in patients below 40 years of age, who has been exposed or not to risk factors, mainly for tongue lesions. This study aims to analyze cell proliferation index using Ki-67 antigen in SCC of the tongue for two groups of different age range: until 40 years and older than 50 years. The first group was composed by 16 patients and the second one was composed by 20 patients. Clinicopathological features of the cases were also assessed. There was a male predominance in both groups. Tobacco and alcohol habits were common for patients until 40 years (72,2%), as well as for patients older than 50 years (52,9%). The first group had statistical association with the presence of regional metastases (p = 0,036) and with the most advanced stages of the disease (p = 0,012). Considering the histological malignancy grading, there was higher incidence (56,2%) of high malignancy grade tumors in the group of patients until 40 years old, but no statistical difference has found between groups and histologic malignancy grading. Regarding the immunohistochemical expression of Ki-67, there was no statistically significant difference between the antibody expression of the groups, as well as between other clinical and histopathological parameters. This study identified no significant difference regarding cell proliferation between the analyzed groups

Masculinidade a prova: um estudo de inspiração fenomenologico - hermeneutico sobre a infertilidade masculina

Culturally, childbearing is understood as a situation that subjects will experience at some point in their lives, especially people who are married or have a similar affectionate relationship. Thus, to realize the inability to meet such a fate seems to be a natural cultural trigger of suffering, frustration and feelings of inadequacy and helplessness. Specifically for men, infertility is closely related to loss of masculinity, virility. He fails in his role as a male. This study sought to understand the impact that infertility have on the existence of a man who receives such a diagnosis, both in self-image as in their marital, sexual and professional roles. This study sets up as a hermeneutic phenomenological research based on the ideas of the philosopher Martin Heidegger. Participants were seven heterosexual, married and infertile men. Two interviews were conducted. The analysis of the material included both the material of the narratives, as the affectation of the researcher when interacting with the participants and their narratives, through phenomenological-hermeneutic interpretation. The results corroborate the literature that states the difficulty of the men, immersed in a context that defines them as virile, powerful and invulnerable to worry about issues related to health and disease. The possibility of any condition that impairs the reproductive capacity exceeds the acceptable limits of daily life for these men, not being recognized as a model of masculinity present in the condition in which they recognize. This leads to questions about their masculinity, role in the marital relationship and their existence. Thus, to recognize themselves as infertile surpass a medical diagnosis and is associated with the construction of meaning for their existence from the approximation with the infertility condition, which helps in redirecting their choices, restoring the project to be self and allowing further recognition as men. In the marital relationship, doing what they can to ensure, theirs happiness. Through these actions, they remain playing the role of family provider, showing that they are able to protect their wives and taking in assisted reproduction or adoption of children viable alternatives to fulfill the desire to leave a legacy and give a child to their wives and to society. Another result observed, refers to the ontological condition of care that characterizes the human being. The ways in which men are treated socially demonstrates a type of care that focuses on the development of characteristics such as strength, virility and determination but does not allow them to cope with the suffering of emotionally difficult situations, such as the diagnosis of infertility. At the end, the study gives rise to reflections on the need to provide a 12 space for men and their expressions of suffering, as well as to recognize their ability to overcome the painful and difficult situations

A água nossa de cada dia : percepção, uso e predisposições comportamentais de alunos do ensino médio de Natal, Rio Grande do Norte

Embora a escassez de água seja reconhecida como um dos principais problemas mundiais a ser enfrentado pela humanidade, padrões comportamentais ecologicamente insustentáveis ainda persistem. Assim, o objetivo deste estudo foi analisar determinantes do comportamento pró-ambiental relativo à água, bem como os significados que lhe são atribuídos por alunos do ensino médio do Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica do Rio Grande do Norte, em Natal. Compuseram a amostra de conveniência 315 estudantes, 146 mulheres e 169 homens, que responderam a um questionário sobre uso e percepção da água, contendo também indicadores de pró-ambientalismo, cuidado ambiental, desenvolvimento sustentável, perspectiva temporal, externalidades e coletivismo, além de inquérito sócio-demográfico. Para os participantes, água é sinônimo de vida, muito embora a relação que mantém com ela parece dúbia e, muito mais funcional que ecológica; consideram-na um recurso finito, um patrimônio indispensável à vida, contudo não foi observada coerência entre as concepções manifestadas e os comportamentos auto-relatados de uso da água. Os resultados encontrados apontaram preditores importantes do comportamento pró-ambiental relativo à água: sexo do respondente, Escala Novo Paradigma Ecológico e deixar forma de contato para participar de campanhas futuras. Seja para aprofundamento teórico em novos estudos, seja para auxiliar na elaboração de programas de educação ambiental, que poderiam contribuir para inibir os efeitos de uma cultura de consumo e de uma visão utilitarista da água, ampliando esforços individuais e coletivos para a preservação de bens comuns, como a água. Palavras-chave: psicologia ambiental; sustentabilidade; água; comportamento próambiental. x xi Abstract Although water scarcity is recognized as one of the main world-wide problems to be faced by human kind, ecologically unsustainable patterns of behavior still persist. Thus, the objective of this study was to analyze pro-environmental behavior related to water, as well as meanings associated to it by high school students of Federal Center of Technological Education of Rio Grande do Norte, in Natal. The convenience sample was composed by 315 students, 146 women and 169 men, who answered a questionnaire about use and perception of water, containing indicators of proenvironmentalism, environmental care, sustainable development, time perspective, externalities and collectivism, besides socio-demographic items. According to participants, water is synonymous of life, even though the relationship they present with it is ambiguous, much more functional than ecological; they consider it a finite resource, an indispensable life patrimony, however there was no coherence between such conceptions and the self-reported behaviors of water use. Results indicated three important predictors of pro-environmental behavior: sex of respondent, New Ecological Paradigm Scale and telephone/address left for eventual contact to participate in future environmental campaigns. They may be used in additional studies for theoretical development, or to assist in the planning of programs of environmental education, aimed at the inhibition of the effects of a culture of consumption and of an utilitarian perception of water, extending individual and collective efforts towards the preservation of common resources as water

Um lugar para chamar de "meu" :estudo sobre relação afetiva com o lugar de moradores da praia de Pipa-RN

The chores and the daily physical and social demands make us feel more and more the need to be in a familiar and restoring environment, with which we frequently establish emotional bonds. The interaction with places for resting and leisure, exemplified in the Environmental Psychology literature as recreational and home environments, allow us to exercise our potentials and to strengthen our (personal and collective) identity. Bearing this in mind, this dissertation has as aim to study the relation of affection between the place and the inhabitants of the community of Pipa-RN, which has turned from fishermen s village into tourist destination, bringing with it many changes to the local population. To accomplish that, we made use of behavioral observations, interviews, and graphic and photographic documentation with 30 subjects selected through a network of indications, attending to the criterion loving Pipa . After analysis and systematization of the answers, we identified three super-categories: 1) Love, characterized by the strong representation that an environment has upon an individual without, necessarily, there being an affective link, allowing it to be nurtured from a distance and dissociated from the desire to be present; 2) Attachment, demonstrated by the difficulty in leaving the place, a bond that can be mediated by personal financial investments or expectation of future benefits; 3) Affiliation, which refers to the feeling of belonging to the place and its community, sharing its history, culture, habits, etc., independent from the place of birth. These super-categories are not exclusive, on the contrary, they can form combinations which we denominate as situations, that could vary from 01 (individual involved with none of the three) to 07 (individual involved with the three); there wasn t the combination between Attachment and Affiliation. These results showed that within the framework of relations of affection with the place, there are countless possibilities of interaction individual-environment, determined by the physicalenvironmental characteristics and by the assessment that each individual makes of it. With this small contribution to the theme, we hope to enlighten the perspectives for future research, especially involving the relation of affection for places and the adoption of proenvironmental conducts, as a question of preservation of the ecosystems and of the quality of life of the inhabitants

A Água nossa de cada dia: percepção, uso e predisposições comportamentais de alunos do ensino médio de Natal, Rio Grande do Norte

Although water scarcity is recognized as one of the main world-wide problems to be faced by human kind, ecologically unsustainable patterns of behavior still persist. Thus, the objective of this study was to analyze pro-environmental behavior related to water, as well as meanings associated to it by high school students of Federal Center of Technological Education of Rio Grande do Norte, in Natal. The convenience sample was composed by 315 students, 146 women and 169 men, who answered a questionnaire about use and perception of water, containing indicators of proenvironmentalism, environmental care, sustainable development, time perspective, externalities and collectivism, besides socio-demographic items. According to participants, water is synonymous of life, even though the relationship they present with it is ambiguous, much more functional than ecological; they consider it a finite resource, an indispensable life patrimony, however there was no coherence between such conceptions and the self-reported behaviors of water use. Results indicated three important predictors of pro-environmental behavior: sex of respondent, New Ecological Paradigm Scale and telephone/address left for eventual contact to participate in future environmental campaigns. They may be used in additional studies for theoretical development, or to assist in the planning of programs of environmental education, aimed at the inhibition of the effects of a culture of consumption and of an utilitarian perception of water, extending individual and collective efforts towards the preservation of common resources as water

Aplicação de ontologias para métodos de negociação de um sistema multiagente para o reconhecimento de padrões

The use of intelligent agents in multi-classifier systems appeared in order to making the centralized decision process of a multi-classifier system into a distributed, flexible and incremental one. Based on this, the NeurAge (Neural Agents) system (Abreu et al 2004) was proposed. This system has a superior performance to some combination-centered methods (Abreu, Canuto, and Santana 2005). The negotiation is important to the multiagent system performance, but most of negotiations are defined informaly. A way to formalize the negotiation process is using an ontology. In the context of classification tasks, the ontology provides an approach to formalize the concepts and rules that manage the relations between these concepts. This work aims at using ontologies to make a formal description of the negotiation methods of a multi-agent system for classification tasks, more specifically the NeurAge system. Through ontologies, we intend to make the NeurAge system more formal and open, allowing that new agents can be part of such system during the negotiation. In this sense, the NeurAge System will be studied on the basis of its functioning and reaching, mainly, the negotiation methods used by the same ones. After that, some negotiation ontologies found in literature will be studied, and then those that were chosen for this work will be adapted to the negotiation methods used in the NeurAge.