Aplicando análise de envoltória de dados -DEA à avaliação de desempenho acadêmico: um estudo em programas de pós-graduação em engenharia mecânica e produção no Brasil

This Master of Science Thesis deals with applying DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) to the academic performance evaluation of graduate programs in Brazil, exploring it on a Mechanical and Production Engineering Program 2001-2003 data. The data used is that of the national assessment carried by CAPES, the governmental body in charge for graduate program assessment and certification. It is used the CCR output oriented DEA model, the CCR-Output with Assurance Region, and Window Analysis. The main findings are first that the CCR has the concerning problem of zero values of weights of outputs that is not appropriate in a sense that a graduate program has the higher efficiency score zeroing some output (e.g., number of academic papers published). Secondly, the Assurance Region method proved useful. Third, the Window Analysis also gave some light to the consistency of the performance in the time frame analysed. Also, the analysis results in the understanding that the Mechanics and Production Engineering should not be assessed jointly like currently applied by CAPES and rather should be assessed in its own field separately. Finally, the result of the DEA analysis showed some serious inconsistencies with the CAPES method. Graduate programs considered excellent has got low performance score and vice versa. This Thesis provides a strong argument in order to use DEA at least as a complimentary methodology for graduate program performance evaluation in Brazil

Gestão da satisfação e fidelidade do cliente: um estudo em uma instituição de ensino superior

This Master of Science Thesis deals with the customer satisfaction and loyalty focusing on a private higher education institution in Belém city, Brazil. The literature review focuses on costumer satisfaction and loyalty concepts and theory, models of quality managing systems and methodologies of costumer satisfaction measurement. The research was a survey with a random stratified sample of 329 undergraduate students of Business Administration at the Faculdade do Pará , in the morning and the night periods. The data analysis was made through the descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. The main findings are that the model was satisfactory and the main factors affecting Satisfaction to the School were Best Professor Didatics (beta=0.297), Courses Contents (beta=0.280), Clerks Sympathy (beta=0.201), and Number of Students in Classroom (beta=0,187) with a adjusted R2 = 0,47. The main factors affecting School Loyalty with an adjusted R2 = 0,43 were School Image (beta=0.383), Affective Commitment (beta=0.255), and Satisfaction with Professors (beta=0,218). The findings suggest also that may be differences between the set of students and those that complain for something

Indicadores bibliométricos em sistemas de informação: uma análise a partir de artigos publicados no Encontro Nacional de Engenharia de Produção

This research aims at to contribute to show the consolidation of the area of Information Systems (IS) as area of knowledge in Production Engineering. For this, it according to presents a scenery of the publication in IS in the field of the Production Engineering in Brazil amount of articles, the authorship profile, the methodologies, the citations, the research thematic and the continuity of the research thematic. The base for this study was the works published in the National Meeting of Production Engineering - ENEGEP of years 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004, inside of the area of Information Systems. Classified as bibliographical research, of applied nature, quantitative boarding, of the point of view of the objectives description-exploration was called and for the collection of data its comment was systematic with bibliographical survey. As field research, the method of collection of data if constituted of the elaboration of an analysis protocol and, to arrive itself at the final diagnosis, it operation the data through the statistical method, with the accomplishment of descriptive analyses. It approached concepts of IS and the seek areas and, it studied research correlate in Production Engineering, in Information Systems, in Information Science and other areas of the knowledge. How much to the results one concluded that the national and international contents are compatible and that the area of IS is in constant evolution. For the continuity of research lines it was observed that the majority of the authors was faithful to the area of Systems of Information. Amongst other found results, some institutions must try to increase its volume of publications and research, while others must look for to keep its reached mark already in the last years

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

Uso de renderização volumétrica e realidade virtual para problemas de percolação na engenharia

In the recovering process of oil, rock heterogeneity has a huge impact on how fluids move in the field, defining how much oil can be recovered. In order to study this variability, percolation theory, which describes phenomena involving geometry and connectivity are the bases, is a very useful model. Result of percolation is tridimensional data and have no physical meaning until visualized in form of images or animations. Although a lot of powerful and sophisticated visualization tools have been developed, they focus on generation of planar 2D images. In order to interpret data as they would be in the real world, virtual reality techniques using stereo images could be used. In this work we propose an interactive and helpful tool, named ZSweepVR, based on virtual reality techniques that allows a better comprehension of volumetric data generated by simulation of dynamic percolation. The developed system has the ability to render images using two different techniques: surface rendering and volume rendering. Surface rendering is accomplished by OpenGL directives and volume rendering is accomplished by the Zsweep direct volume rendering engine. In the case of volumetric rendering, we implemented an algorithm to generate stereo images. We also propose enhancements in the original percolation algorithm in order to get a better performance. We applied our developed tools to a mature field database, obtaining satisfactory results. The use of stereoscopic and volumetric images brought valuable contributions for the interpretation and clustering formation analysis in percolation, what certainly could lead to better decisions about the exploration and recovery process in oil fields

RoboEduc: especificação de um software educacional para ensino da robótica às crianças como uma ferramenta de inclusão digital

Because of social exclusion in Brazil and having as focus the digital inclusion, was started in Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte a project that could talk, at the same time, about concepts of collaborative learning and educational robotics , focused on children digitally excluded. In this context was created a methodology that approaches many subjects as technological elements (e. g. informatics and robotics) and school subjects (e. g. Portuguese, Mathematics, Geography, History), contextualized in everyday situations. We observed educational concepts of collaborative learning and the development of capacities from those students, as group work, logical knowledge and learning ability. This paper proposes an educational software for robotics teaching called RoboEduc, created to be used by children digitally excluded from primary school. Its introduction prioritizes a friendly interface, that makes the concepts of robotics and programming easy and fun to be taught. With this new tool, users without informatics or robotics previous knowledge are able to control a robot, previously set with Lego kits, or even program it to carry some activities out. This paper provides the implementation of the second version of the software. This version presents the control of the robot already used. After were implemented the different levels of programming linked to the many learning levels of the users and their different interfaces and functions. Nowadays, has been implemented the third version, with the improvement of each one of the mentioned stages. In order to validate, prove and test the efficience of the developed methodology to the RoboEduc, were made experiments, through practice of robotics, with children for fourth and fifth grades of primary school at the City School Professor Ascendino de Almeida, in the suburb of Natal (west zone), Rio Grande do Norte. As a preliminary result of the current technology, we verified that the use of robots associated with a well elaborated software can be spread to users that know very little about the subject, without the necessity of previous advanced technology knowledges. Therefore, they showed to be accessible and efficient tools in the process of digital inclusion

CAD e engenharia reversa como ferramentas de auxílio na fabricação de cartuchos para próteses ortopédicas

The manufacturing of above and below-knee prosthesis starts by taking surfac measurements of the patient s residual limb. This demands the making of a cartridg with appropriate fitting and customized to the profile of each patient. The traditiona process in public hospitals in Brazil begins with the completion of a record file (according to law nº388, of July 28, 1999 by the ministry of the health) for obtaining o the prosthesis, where it is identified the amputation level, equipment type, fitting type material, measures etc. Nowadays, that work is covered by the Brazilian Nationa Health Service (SUS) and is accomplished in a manual way being used commo measuring tapes characterizing a quite rudimentary, handmade work and without an accuracy.In this dissertation it is presented the development of a computer integrate tool that it include CAD theory, for visualization of both above and below-knee prosthesis in 3D (i.e. OrtoCAD), as well as, the design and the construction a low cos electro-mechanic 3D scanner (EMS). This apparatus is capable to automatically obtain geometric information of the stump or of the healthy leg while ensuring smalle uncertainty degree for all measurements. The methodology is based on reverse engineering concepts so that the EMS output is fed into the above mentioned academi CAD software in charge of the 3D computer graphics reconstruction of the residualimb s negative plaster cast or even the healthy leg s mirror image. The obtained results demonstrate that the proposed model is valid, because it allows the structura analysis to be performed based on the requested loads, boundary conditions, material chosen and wall thickness. Furthermore it allows the manufacturing of a prosthesis cartridge meeting high accuracy engineering patterns with consequent improvement in the quality of the overall production process

Desgaste de polímeros estruturais de engenharia em contato de deslizamento com cilindro metálico

Present work proposed to map and features the wear mechanisms of structural polymers of engineering derived of the sliding contact with a metallic cylindrical spindle submitted to eccentricity due to fluctuations in it is mass and geometric centers. For this it was projected and makes an experimental apparatus from balancing machine where the cylindrical counterbody was supported in two bearings and the polymeric coupon was situated in a holder with freedom of displacement along counterbody. Thus, the experimental tests were standardized using two position of the two bearings (Fixed or Free) and seven different positions along the counterbody, that permit print different conditions to the stiffness from system. Others parameters as applied normal load, sliding velocity and distance were fixed. In this investigation it was used as coupon two structural polymers of wide quotidian use, PTFE (polytetrafluroethylene) and PEEK (poly-ether-ether-ketone) and the AISI 4140 alloy steel as counterbody. Polymeric materials were characterized by thermal analysis (thermogravimetric, differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic-mechanical), hardness and rays-X diffractometry. While the metallic material was submitted at hardness, mechanical resistance tests and metallographic analysis. During the tribological tests were recorded the heating response with thermometers, yonder overall velocity vibration (VGV) and the acceleration using accelerometers. After tests the wear surface of the coupons were analyzed using a Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM) to morphological analysis and spectroscopy EDS to microanalysis. Moreover the roughness of the counterbody was characterized before and after the tribological tests. It was observed that the tribological response of the polymers were different in function of their distinct molecular structure. It were identified the predominant wear mechanisms in each polymer. The VGV of the PTFE was smaller than PEEK, in the condition of minimum stiffness, in function of the higher loss coefficient of that polymer. Wear rate of the PTFE was more of a magnitude order higher than PEEK. With the results was possible developed a correlation between the wear rate and parameter (E/ρ)1/2 (Young modulus, E, density, ρ), proportional at longitudinal elastic wave velocity in the material.

A engenharia simultânea e o perfil da indústria de confecção da grande Natal/RN utilizando as ferramentas CAD/PDM e ERP

This work presents the research carried through in the industrial segment of confection of clothes of the Great Natal whose objective is to show the profile, enterprise and technological management as also the use of simultaneous engineering in the development of products. The research approaches two studies. The first one presents the current picture of the companies, synthesized through twelve variable. As, through fifteen variable it shows to the level of use of Simultaneous Engineering in the Development of Products and its amplitude in relation to the Integrated Management using tools CAD, PDM and ERP (Computer Aided Design, Product Management Date, Enterprise Resource Planning). The integration of these systems acts aiming the reduction of the cost and the development time of products. The reached results indicate that simultaneous engineering is a competitive advantage and becomes possible: to reduce the life cycle of the product, to rationalize the resources, to incorporate one high standard of the quality to the process and product as well as to personalize the product to take care of the global market. It is important to note that this work also is considered to contribute for the better understanding of the real companies situation of confection located at the Great Natal and its role in the economy of the State of the Rio Grande do Norte

Aprendendo e ensinando o sistema de numeração decimal: uma contribuição à prática pedagógica do professor

The central question of the present study is to identify the epistemological knowledge that the teachers-trainees possess regarding the characteristics (properties) of the decimal numbering system; its purpose is to offer a contribution to the pedagogic practice of the teachers who work within the Basic Literacy Cycle, in terms of what concerns both the acquisition of contents and the development of the knowledge that helps them in the elaboration of adequate strategies to working with the Decimal Numbering System in the classroom. The study is based on the constructivist sociointeractionist approach to teaching Mathematics and it constitutes, in itself, a methodological intervention with the teachers-trainees engaged in the Professional Qualification Program in Basic Education of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. The foundations of the study were found in investigations of researchers who had carried out studies on the construction of numerical writing, showing, for instance, that the construction process of ideas and procedures involved in groupings and changes to base 10 take a lot longer to be accomplished than one can imagine. A set of activities was then elaborated which could not only contribute to the acquisition of contents but that could also make the teachers-trainees reflect upon their teaching practices in the classroom so that in this way they will be able to elaborate more consistent didactic approaches, taking into consideration the previous knowledge of the students and also some obstacles that often appear along the way. Even when teachers have access to the most appropriate dicactic resources, the lack of knowledge of the content and of the real meaning of that content make the Decimal Numbering System, a subject of fundamental importance, be taught most times in a mechanical way. The analisys of the discussions and behaviours of the teachers-trainees during the activities reavealed that they made them reflect upon their current practices in the classroom and that, as a whole, the aims of each of the activities carried out with the teachers-trainers were reached

A formação inicial do professor de química e o uso das novas tecnologias para o ensino: um olhar através de suas necessidades formativas

La disertación, desarrollada en el Programa de PostGraduación en Enseñanza de las Ciencias Naturales y de la Matemática de la UFRN, estudia las necesidades formativas de licenciandos en Química sobre el uso de las nuevas tecnologías de la información y de las comunicaciones (NTIC), en especial, las relacionadas con la utilización de programas computacionales para la enseñanza de la química. En la actual sociedad del conocimiento, se torna imperativo la eclosión de nuevas formas de aprender y de enseñar, que requieren de nuevas concepciones del trabajo pedagógico. En ese sentido, se exige de los profesores el desarrollo de nuevas habilidades y competencias. El presente trabajo está comprometido con la búsqueda de elementos que puedan nortear los procesos formativos de profesores de química con el objetivo de contribuir con una mejor preparación de la formación inicial, tomando en cuenta sus necesidades de formación. Fue utilizado el cuestionario como instrumento de investigación para diagnosticar y caracterizar las necesidades fomativas, buscando establecer correlaciones entre diferentes variables que cacarterizan el estudio, con el fin de establecer semenazas y discrepancias entre las habilidades docentes en estudio y las necesidades formativas. Los analises de los datos tomo elementos de la estadistica descriptivo e inferencial, con analises multivariados, lo que posibilitó identificar las necesidades formativas. Los resultados muestran ue de forma general los licenciandos evaluan como de bajo, el grado de desarrollo de las habilidades para enseñar usando las NTIC, así como manifiestan sentir necesidades formativas en todas las habilidades referentes a esa esfera del trabajo docente

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

O portfólio na formação inicial do professor reflexivo de inglês como língua estrangeira: uma análise sistêmico-funcional

This research deals with the insertion of the portfolio as a resource to the development of the reflective action in training teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Its goal is to characterize linguistic marks that show the reflective process in learning narratives collected in portfolios following the considerations of the ideational metafunction of the Systemic-Functional Grammar (SFG) by Halliday (1994). Within the scope of analysis offered by SFG, the system of transitivity was chosen attempting to observe and study the lexicogrammatical choices made by participants to produce their learning narratives. The corpus was composed of twenty-six learning narratives produced by thirteen participants into two distinct modules, designated here as "First Assessment" and "Final Assessment. The analysis were performed using procedures related to Corpus Linguistics, with the aid of the computer resource WordSmith Tools 5.0 (Scott, 1999). The results seems to indicate that preservice teachers, when asked to reflect on activities written on the classroom, use in their narratives a significant majority of mental processes instead of material processes that are common in narratives from other nature. Meanwhile, the use of a portfolio in teacher training in EFL, can be considered as a trigger reflection tool, which allows future teachers' effective monitoring of all their learning process

A organização da interação professor-aluno em sala de aula: turnos e o par pergunta-resposta

Este trabalho tem como foco principal a interação em sala de aula, especificando aspectos da organização linguístico-discursiva, na produção conjunta da fala da professora e dos alunos, materializada em turnos, ressaltando o par pergunta-resposta na aula de Língua Portuguesa. Para alcançarmos esse objetivo, inspiramo-nos em alguns trabalhos acerca da organização da interação que adotaram a perspectiva dos estudos interacionais e a abordagem etnográfica, a fim de explicitar o conhecimento nos espaços de ensino e aprendizagem. Entre eles, citamos as pesquisas de Galvão (1996, 2004) e de Matêncio (2001). Nessa direção, descrevemos o processo de interação em sala de aula em uma escola pública, analisando e interpretando as ações de linguagem realizadas pela professora e pelos alunos. Teoricamente, embasamo-nos, principalmente, na Análise da Conversação, ancorando-nos no estudo pioneiro de Sacks, Schegloff e Jefferson ([1974] 2003); nos postulados de Marcuschi ([1986] 2007a); nas pesquisas de Kerbrat-Orecchioni (2006), dentre outros. Explicitamos uma tipologia de perguntas e respostas em sala de aula, quanto à sua forma e função, conforme os postulados teóricos de Stubbs (1987), Araújo (2003), Fávero, Andrade e Aquino (2006), Silva (2006) e Koshik (2010). Analisamos a organização da tomada de turno, seguida de uma investigação sobre perguntas e respostas no discurso desenvolvido face a face. Na tentativa de compreendermos o cotidiano dos envolvidos no cenário de sala de aula, adotamos a abordagem etnográfica e o método indutivo, nas perspectivas de André (2010) e Chizzotti (2006). Os dados foram gerados através de pesquisa de campo, por meio de gravações (em áudio) de aulas de Língua Portuguesa, posteriormente transcritas e transformadas no corpus de pesquisa. As análises demonstraram que a interação entre professora e alunos organizou-se em trocas de turnos, na maioria das vezes, controladas pela professora, evidenciando-se uma relação de assimetria entre os participantes. Esses turnos concretizados, geralmente, no par adjacente pergunta-resposta revelaram como a construção do conhecimento se realiza em sala de aula. Por fim, observamos que a interação em sala de aula de Língua Portuguesa é organizada por aspectos sociais e pedagógicos intrinsecamente imbricados

Eensino de língua portuguesa: da formação do professor à sala de aula

La reflexión crítica sobre la escuela y los quehaceres docentes ha favorecido la producción y la sistematización de nuevos saberes basados en fundamentos científicos, principalmente sobre las prácticas pedagógicas. En la enseñanza de Lengua Portuguesa, las investigaciones buscan comprender lo qué y cómo se enseña y se aprende durante la escolarización. En esa perspectiva, realizamos un estudio sobre la formación del profesor de Lengua Portuguesa y sus implicaciones en la clase, buscando observar la actuación de los alumnos-maestros en el contexto escolar, durante la realización de las Prácticas. Para tanto, elegimos como objetivo general, investigar cómo la carrera de Filología de la UFRN/CERES/Campus de Currais Novos promovía la formación de futuros profesores para atender a las expectativas de las políticas públicas para la enseñanza de Lengua Materna. Como referencial teórico, estudiamos los PCN, el proyecto político pedagógico de la carrera y autores del área de enseñanza de Lengua Portuguesa y de Educación, entre ellos, Geraldi (1996), Travaglia (1996, 2003), Antunes (2003, 2007, 2009 y 2010), Lomas (2003), Figueiredo (2005), Marcuschi (2001, 2008), Oliveira (2010), Riolfi et al. (2008), Possenti (2003), Alarcão (1996, 2001) Imbernón (2011), Pimenta y Lima (2010) y Schön (1993). El estudio está situado en el ámbito de la Lingüística Aplicada y se caracteriza como investigación cualitativa de naturaleza interpretativista, a partir de un abordaje de inspiración etnográfica del ambiente de las Prácticas. En los resultados constatamos que los alumnos-maestros privilegian la enseñanza prescriptiva, fundamentado en una concepción de lengua como sistema, direccionando la enseñanza de la lengua para la dirección contraria al abordaje funcionalista (lengua / uso), distanciándose considerablemente de la propuesta de formar un alumno crítico y agente de transformación. Respecto a la visión de los alumnos-maestros sobre la carrera, fueron listadas algunas cuestiones relevantes, entre ellas, los contenidos que hacen parte de la carrera, la distribución de la carga horaria de los componentes curriculares, la revisión de las ementas, la oferta de asignaturas de inclusión social, la reorganización de las actividades de la práctica en relación al acompañamiento y orientación a los alumnos-maestros y, especialmente, la desarticulación teoría / práctica que fue considerada como responsable por muchas de las dificultades encontradas por los referidos alumnos en la fase de regencia de clase en la enseñanza de Lengua Portuguesa en los niveles de enseñanza fundamental y media. De ese modo, a partir del análisis de estos significados construidos por los alumnos-maestros sobre el proceso de formación en esa carrera de Letras, constatamos la necesidad de una revisión del proyecto de la carrera, pues éste presenta esas fragilidades que necesitan ser analizadas en función de la mejoría de la calidad de la enseñanza de la graduación