Competitividade na pequena produção agroindustrial: estudo na agroindústria da castanha de caju

This paper looks into the cashew nut industrial process as a factor in adding value to it and involves its productions, industrialization and marketing. Its competitiveness fundamentally depends in its ability to surpass technological and non technological difficulties that contributes to increase costs and diminishes attributes to better qualities which means values to the market. The methodology applied in this paper was application of a questionnaire with a Likert model scale with closed questions and constituted by variables that composed nominated groups: exporting obstacles, market strategy, competitive advantages, broken nuts index, productive potential and social-economic profile of members of the Cooperative. A descriptive analysis was the method employed for the data analysis. After identifying some of the quantitative gains in the industrial process of the cashew nuts, recommendations are presented to COOPERCAJU to promote courses to improve the members productivity as well as technical assistance, in order to get more efficacy in the cashew nuts industrial processing

Modelagem situada de metodologia da oficina de desenho de renda de bilros

The bobbin lace, a secular art in the process of extinction in the Village Ponta Negra in Natal, Brazil, was one of the main means of income generation for some families in town, but over time, there was growing disaffection of the younger generation to learn and practice this art, due to the high demand of time for production and insufficient and not guaranteed financial return . This project aims to promote the recovery of control over the product in the production of bobbin lace in the village of Ponta Negra, by design and implementation of a workshop for the transfer of drawing techniques in the Production Center of Craft in Village of Ponta Negra. This design was based on the methodology of Ergonomic Work Analysis and in the concepts of anthropotechnology and technology social. The ergonomic analysis, by advocating and enforcing the social and technical building, was essential for the modeling of this workshop, as allowed the construction of a social participative device , with the participation of the community groups and the external group of researchers, in a process of social construction technique. As a result, it was observed that the transfer of technical design of bobbin lace molds came to complement the learning of art office, providing solutions to promote the sustainable development of the group of tenants, in an attempt to reduce the risk of extinction eminent, and also contributed to reactivate a network of economic activities interconnected to the craft, such as the production of cushions, lace and easels

Fatores que afetam o interesse de compra de produtos orgânicos em supermercados de Manaus/AM

Demand for organic foods in the Brazil are growing year last, characterizing itself for if constituting in a new strategical segment of commercialization. In this context, the objective of this research was to investigate the factor that influence the interest of the consumers in the purchase decision of organic products, aiming to characterize the level of competitiveness of these products, assisting in the creation of environmental strategies for the development of the activity and contributing in the increment of the knowledge about the subject, that can assist it in the increase of the commercialization and the consumption of these foods. From data collected in the city of Manaus/AM, it was used a survey research, of exploratory and descriptive character. The sample was obtained using 421 questionnaires, in which was realized the descriptive analysis, analysis of groupings and association analysis among variables using the test qui-square. The results found in this study indicate that the majority the of consumers of supermarkets of the Manaus/AM never to purchase organic foods. Generally the consumers to have few or some knowledge about these foods, however, the level of the interest in to obtain information about the subject is high.The barriers mains in the purchase of organic products are the label fault in the product and the quality no certificate in the product. Among the profile characteristics, the variables income and level scholar are associate to interest level in the obtain information about the subject

Desenvolvimento de metodologia para avaliação de desempenho ambiental em edifícios adaptada à realidade do Nordeste brasileiro

This research refers to the production of green buildings, defined, mainly, based on the use of sources of alternative energies, smaller emission of pollutant, use of recyclable materials, systems of recycling of the waters, maximization of the natural illumination, preservation of green areas or native, and appropriate quality of the internal air. From the conception of those buildings, it appears the needs of evaluating them, creating the methodologies for the evaluation of environmental performance of buildings. In that way, this work can be divided in two moments: the first one when it identifies the methodologies for the evaluation of environmental performance for buildings existents in the literature, defining their categories, criteria and sub-criteria to be appropriate to the reality of the Brazilian Northeast; and the second one when starting from the analysis of the systems of existent evaluation. It defines a methodological base and it generates a new evaluation system, denominated MEDACNE (Methodology of Evaluation of Environmental Acting for Construction in the Northeast). In that moment, the process of framing of the section of the building site is verified under the maintainable optics, stimulated mainly by the pressures of the society - conferences, protocols and agreements. Finally, the proposed methodology was applied in a case study, a residential building, called Maria José Gurgel , located in Natal-RN, Brazil, for its validation. This methodological proposition should increase the patterns environmental places for the production of new buildings, and it will be a reference guide for architects, engineers and planners to develop their constructions considering the criteria of the sustainability. This study made use of bibliographical research in books and specialized magazines and the analysis of the data was realized in an interpretative way

Estratégia de marketing ambiental no varejo de alimentos: um estudo sobre as variáveis utilizadas pelo consumidor na decisão de compra de produtos orgânicos

Demand for organic foods within in Brazil are growing, characterizing itself for if constituting in a new strategical segment of commercialization. In this context, the objective of this research was to investigate the variables used by consumers in the purchase decision of organic products, aiming to characterize the level of competitiveness of these products, assisting in the creation of environmental strategies for the development of the activity and contributing in the increment of the knowledge about the subject, that can assist it in the increase of the commercialization and the consumption of these foods. From data collected in the city of Natal/RN, it was used a survey research, of exploratory and descriptive character. The sample was obtained using 401 questionnaires, in which was realized: the Test of Comparison of Averages, Descriptive analysis, analysis of Cluster and Qui-square. The results found in this study indicate that the main reasons for the organic food purchase are the absence of chemical pesticides in the product, followed by the care with own health and of the household. The main characteristics in the consumers of supermarkets, that are associates with purchase frequency of organic foods are the environmental behavior and lifestyle. Among the profile characteristics, gender, age and number of children are associates with the purchase frequency of these foods and the income and level education not showed association

Estratégias de avaliação de desempenho dos propagandistas de medicamentos utilizados pela indústria farmacêutica no nordeste do Brasil

A Indústria Farmacêutica é uma das mais competitivas indústrias do mundo contemporâneo, e um dos seus principais desafios está na comercialização de seus medicamentos, que na sua maioria depende da prescrição médica. O objetivo deste estudo é identificar as estratégias de avaliação de desempenho utilizadas pela Indústria Farmacêutica de origem multinacional que atua no nordeste Brasileiro e o papel dos seus gerentes, para avaliar os propagandistas vendedores de medicamentos. Para tanto, buscouse reunir elementos para uma abordagem satisfatória que contemple a complexidade da temática pesquisada: Avaliação de Desempenho, Estratégias da Indústria Farmacêutica, Propaganda Médica e Competências dos Propagandistas de Medicamentos. A temática justifica-se em razão da importância estratégica dos propagandistas de medicamentos para a indústria farmacêutica, que é uma das indústrias que mais investe em pesquisa na atualidade, e contribui para melhorar a qualidade de vida e a saúde humana. A metodologia é caracterizada como um survey, de natureza quali-quantitativa. O objeto de estudo é composto pelas empresas farmacêuticas multinacionais de origem Americanas, Europeias e Asiáticas, associadas à INTERFARMA que atuam no Nordeste do Brasil. A coleta de dados foi realizada através de um questionário fechado (instrumento de pesquisa), composto por 5 perguntas fechadas que abordam a temática central dessa dissertação, 27 afirmativas para medir a concordância(escala likert) e 1 tabela contendo 46 competências, aplicado junto a gerentes da indústria farmacêutica. A análise dos dados foi feita por meio das técnicas de estatística descritiva e uma análise quantitativa para estabelecer o Ranking Médio (RM) para a parte do questionário que utilizou escala tipo Likert de 5 pontos para mensurar o grau de concordância dos respondestes. Através dos resultados desta pesquisa foi possível identificar as estratégias de avaliação de desempenho, utilizadas pelas empresas farmacêuticas, que atuam no Nordeste do Brasil, na gestão dos propagandistas vendedores de medicamentos, e identificar as competências essenciais dos propagandistas de medicamentos, na percepção dos gestores. Os resultados demonstraram que a Indústria Farmacêutica desenvolve e utiliza várias estratégias para medir e avaliar o desempenho dos propagandistas de medicamentos no Brasil, assim como em outros países, e que na percepção dos gerentes da Indústria Farmacêutica existem competências consideradas essenciais ao bom desempenho profissional dos propagandistas de medicamentos da indústria farmacêutica, contribuindo de para avanço do conhecimento deste tema

RoboEduc: uma metodologia de aprendizado com robótica educacional

In this work, we propose a methodology for teaching robotics in elementary schools, based on the socio-historical Vygotsky theory. This methodology in conjunction with the Lego Mindstoms kit (R) and an educational software (an interface for control and programming of prototypes) are part of an educational robotics system named RoboEduc. For the practical development of this work, we have used the action-research strategy, being realized robotics activities with participation of children with age between 8 and 10 years, students of the elementary school level of Municipal School Ascendino de Almeida. This school is located at the city zone of Pitimbu, at the periphery of Natal, in Rio Grande do Norte state. The activities have focused on understanding the construction of robotic prototypes, their programming and control. At constructing prototypes, children develop zone of proximal development (ZPDs) that are learning spaces that, when well used, allow the construction not only of scientific concepts by the individuals but also of abilities and capabilities that are important for the social and cultural interactiond of each one and of the group. With the development of these practical workshops, it was possible to analyse the use of the Robot as the mediator element of the teaching-learning process and the contributions that the use of robotics may bring to teaching since elementary levels

Metodologia para modelagem, validação e programação de controladores lógicos industriais usando statecharts básicos

Due of industrial informatics several attempts have been done to develop notations and semantics, which are used for classifying and describing different kind of system behavior, particularly in the modeling phase. Such attempts provide the infrastructure to resolve some real problems of engineering and construct practical systems that aim at, mainly, to increase the productivity, quality, and security of the process. Despite the many studies that have attempted to develop friendly methods for industrial controller programming, they are still programmed by conventional trial-and-error methods and, in practice, there is little written documentation on these systems. The ideal solution would be to use a computational environment that allows industrial engineers to implement the system using high-level language and that follows international standards. Accordingly, this work proposes a methodology for plant and control modelling of the discrete event systems that include sequential, parallel and timed operations, using a formalism based on Statecharts, denominated Basic Statechart (BSC). The methodology also permits automatic procedures to validate and implement these systems. To validate our methodology, we presented two case studies with typical examples of the manufacturing sector. The first example shows a sequential control for a tagged machine, which is used to illustrated dependences between the devices of the plant. In the second example, we discuss more than one strategy for controlling a manufacturing cell. The model with no control has 72 states (distinct configurations) and, the model with sequential control generated 20 different states, but they only act in 8 distinct configurations. The model with parallel control generated 210 different states, but these 210 configurations act only in 26 distinct configurations, therefore, one strategy control less restrictive than previous. Lastly, we presented one example for highlight the modular characteristic of our methodology, which it is very important to maintenance of applications. In this example, the sensors for identifying pieces in the plant were removed. So, changes in the control model are needed to transmit the information of the input buffer sensor to the others positions of the cell

Mapa de Conteúdos e Mapa de Dependências:Ferramentas Pedagógicas para uma Metodologia de Planejamento baseada em Objetivos Educacionais e sua Implementação em um Ambiente Virtual de Aprendizagem

Furthered mainly by new technologies, the expansion of distance education has created a demand for tools and methodologies to enhance teaching techniques based on proven pedagogical theories. Such methodologies must also be applied in the so-called Virtual Learning Environments. The aim of this work is to present a planning methodology based on known pedagogical theories which contributes to the incorporation of assessment in the process of teaching and learning. With this in mind, the pertinent literature was reviewed in order to identify the key pedagogical concepts needed to the definition of this methodology and a descriptive approach was used to establish current relations between this conceptual framework and distance education. As a result of this procedure, the Contents Map and the Dependence Map were specified and implemented, two teaching tools that promote the planning of a course by taking into account assessment still in this early stage. Inserted on Moodle, the developed tools were tested in a course of distance learning for practical observation of the involved concepts. It could be verified that the methodology proposed by the above-mentioned tools is in fact helpful in course planning and in strengthening educational assessment, placing the student as central element in the process of teaching and learning

Conversor CC/CA de alta freqüência baseado em inversores ressonantes com comutação seqüencial para excitação de uma tocha indutiva a plasma térmico

This work describes the study, the analysis, the project methodology and the constructive details of a high frequency DC/AC resonant series converter using sequential commutation techniques for the excitation of an inductive coupled thermal plasma torch. The aim of this thesis is to show the new modulation technique potentialities and to present a technological option for the high-frequency electronic power converters development. The resonant converter operates at 50 kW output power under a 400 kHz frequency and it is constituted by inverter cells using ultra-fast IGBT devices. In order to minimize the turn-off losses, the inverter cells operates in a ZVS mode referred by a modified PLL loop that maintains this condition stable, despite the load variations. The sequential pulse gating command strategy used it allows to operate the IGBT devices on its maximum power limits using the derating and destressing current scheme, as well as it propitiates a frequency multiplication of the inverters set. The output converter is connected to a series resonant circuit constituted by the applicator ICTP torch, a compensation capacitor and an impedance matching RF transformer. At the final, are presented the experimental results and the many tests achieved in laboratory as form to validate the proposed new technique

Dedução de Funções de Alívio para Priorização de Variantes de Chaveamento Adequadas à Eliminação de Sobrecargas

Eventually, violations of voltage limits at buses or admissible loadings of transmission lines and/or power transformers may occur by the power system operation. If violations are detected in the supervision process, corrective measures may be carried out in order to eliminate them or to reduce their intensity. Loading restriction is an extreme solution and should only be adopted as the last control action. Previous researches have shown that it is possible to control constraints in electrical systems by changing the network topology, using the technique named Corrective Switching, which requires no additional costs. In previous works, the proposed calculations for verifying the ability of a switching variant in eliminating an overload in a specific branch were based on network reduction or heuristic analysis. The purpose of this work is to develop analytical derivation of linear equations to estimate current changes in a specific branch (due to switching measures) by means of few calculations. For bus-bar coupling, derivations will be based on short-circuit theory and Relief Function methodology. For bus-bar splitting, a Relief Function will be derived based on a technique of equivalent circuit. Although systems of linear equations are used to substantiate deductions, its formal solution for each variant, in real time does not become necessary. A priority list of promising variants is then assigned for final check by an exact load flow calculation and a transient analysis using ATP Alternative Transient Program. At last, results obtained by simulation in networks with different features will be presented

Controle Adaptativo Robusto para Filtros Ativos de Potência Paralelo

Conventional control strategies used in shunt active power filters (SAPF) employs real-time instantaneous harmonic detection schemes which is usually implements with digital filters. This increase the number of current sensors on the filter structure which results in high costs. Furthermore, these detection schemes introduce time delays which can deteriorate the harmonic compensation performance. Differently from the conventional control schemes, this paper proposes a non-standard control strategy which indirectly regulates the phase currents of the power mains. The reference currents of system are generated by the dc-link voltage controller and is based on the active power balance of SAPF system. The reference currents are aligned to the phase angle of the power mains voltage vector which is obtained by using a dq phase locked loop (PLL) system. The current control strategy is implemented by an adaptive pole placement control strategy integrated to a variable structure control scheme (VS-APPC). In the VS-APPC, the internal model principle (IMP) of reference currents is used for achieving the zero steady state tracking error of the power system currents. This forces the phase current of the system mains to be sinusoidal with low harmonics content. Moreover, the current controllers are implemented on the stationary reference frame to avoid transformations to the mains voltage vector reference coordinates. This proposed current control strategy enhance the performance of SAPF with fast transient response and robustness to parametric uncertainties. Experimental results are showing for determining the effectiveness of SAPF proposed control system

Metodologia estatística na solução do problema do caixeiro viajante e na avaliação de algoritmos : um estudo aplicado à transgenética computacional

The problems of combinatory optimization have involved a large number of researchers in search of approximative solutions for them, since it is generally accepted that they are unsolvable in polynomial time. Initially, these solutions were focused on heuristics. Currently, metaheuristics are used more for this task, especially those based on evolutionary algorithms. The two main contributions of this work are: the creation of what is called an -Operon- heuristic, for the construction of the information chains necessary for the implementation of transgenetic (evolutionary) algorithms, mainly using statistical methodology - the Cluster Analysis and the Principal Component Analysis; and the utilization of statistical analyses that are adequate for the evaluation of the performance of the algorithms that are developed to solve these problems. The aim of the Operon is to construct good quality dynamic information chains to promote an -intelligent- search in the space of solutions. The Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) is intended for applications based on a transgenetic algorithmic known as ProtoG. A strategy is also proposed for the renovation of part of the chromosome population indicated by adopting a minimum limit in the coefficient of variation of the adequation function of the individuals, with calculations based on the population. Statistical methodology is used for the evaluation of the performance of four algorithms, as follows: the proposed ProtoG, two memetic algorithms and a Simulated Annealing algorithm. Three performance analyses of these algorithms are proposed. The first is accomplished through the Logistic Regression, based on the probability of finding an optimal solution for a TSP instance by the algorithm being tested. The second is accomplished through Survival Analysis, based on a probability of the time observed for its execution until an optimal solution is achieved. The third is accomplished by means of a non-parametric Analysis of Variance, considering the Percent Error of the Solution (PES) obtained by the percentage in which the solution found exceeds the best solution available in the literature. Six experiments have been conducted applied to sixty-one instances of Euclidean TSP with sizes of up to 1,655 cities. The first two experiments deal with the adjustments of four parameters used in the ProtoG algorithm in an attempt to improve its performance. The last four have been undertaken to evaluate the performance of the ProtoG in comparison to the three algorithms adopted. For these sixty-one instances, it has been concluded on the grounds of statistical tests that there is evidence that the ProtoG performs better than these three algorithms in fifty instances. In addition, for the thirty-six instances considered in the last three trials in which the performance of the algorithms was evaluated through PES, it was observed that the PES average obtained with the ProtoG was less than 1% in almost half of these instances, having reached the greatest average for one instance of 1,173 cities, with an PES average equal to 3.52%. Therefore, the ProtoG can be considered a competitive algorithm for solving the TSP, since it is not rare in the literature find PESs averages greater than 10% to be reported for instances of this size.

Uma metodologia para modelagem e avaliação da dependabilidade de redes industriais sem fio

Ensuring the dependability requirements is essential for the industrial applications since faults may cause failures whose consequences result in economic losses, environmental damage or hurting people. Therefore, faced from the relevance of topic, this thesis proposes a methodology for the dependability evaluation of industrial wireless networks (WirelessHART, ISA100.11a, WIA-PA) on early design phase. However, the proposal can be easily adapted to maintenance and expansion stages of network. The proposal uses graph theory and fault tree formalism to create automatically an analytical model from a given wireless industrial network topology, where the dependability can be evaluated. The evaluation metrics supported are the reliability, availability, MTTF (mean time to failure), importance measures of devices, redundancy aspects and common cause failures. It must be emphasized that the proposal is independent of any tool to evaluate quantitatively the target metrics. However, due to validation issues it was used a tool widely accepted on academy for this purpose (SHARPE). In addition, an algorithm to generate the minimal cut sets, originally applied on graph theory, was adapted to fault tree formalism to guarantee the scalability of methodology in wireless industrial network environments (< 100 devices). Finally, the proposed methodology was validate from typical scenarios found in industrial environments, as star, line, cluster and mesh topologies. It was also evaluated scenarios with common cause failures and best practices to guide the design of an industrial wireless network. For guarantee scalability requirements, it was analyzed the performance of methodology in different scenarios where the results shown the applicability of proposal for networks typically found in industrial environments

Metodologia para adaptação de microarquiteturas microprogramadas soft-core à uma ISA padrão: estudo do impacto sobre a complexidade de hardware para o padrão MIPS

In academia, it is common to create didactic processors, facing practical disciplines in the area of Hardware Computer and can be used as subjects in software platforms, operating systems and compilers. Often, these processors are described without ISA standard, which requires the creation of compilers and other basic software to provide the hardware / software interface and hinder their integration with other processors and devices. Using reconfigurable devices described in a HDL language allows the creation or modification of any microarchitecture component, leading to alteration of the functional units of data path processor as well as the state machine that implements the control unit even as new needs arise. In particular, processors RISP enable modification of machine instructions, allowing entering or modifying instructions, and may even adapt to a new architecture. This work, as the object of study addressing educational soft-core processors described in VHDL, from a proposed methodology and its application on two processors with different complexity levels, shows that it s possible to tailor processors for a standard ISA without causing an increase in the level hardware complexity, ie without significant increase in chip area, while its level of performance in the application execution remains unchanged or is enhanced. The implementations also allow us to say that besides being possible to replace the architecture of a processor without changing its organization, RISP processor can switch between different instruction sets, which can be expanded to toggle between different ISAs, allowing a single processor become adaptive hybrid architecture, which can be used in embedded systems and heterogeneous multiprocessor environments