O Turismo como um tema de pesquisa: um diálogo epistemológico a partir das produções dos programas de pós-graduação stricto sensu da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, no período de 2007 a 2011

The study consists in an analysis of researches with tourism issues, in Master s and Doctoral level, investigating their epistemological trends, regarding the type of study that is being produced and the methods used. It is characterized as exploratory, documental and bibliographical, having undertaken a cross-sectional study which covers the period from 2007 to 2011. It analyzes the context of academically production in tourism, the nature of these researches, the methodological aspects adopted in these theses and dissertations, the philosophical inclinations and the coherence and contribution of the same. This research uses, the Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (BDTD) and the secretariats of the Academic Centers of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) as means to collect data. It employs the technique of sampling by judgment and undertakes the research in various Academic Centers in UFRN, using the method of content analysis. It shows that, from the 643 studies analyzed, 43 of them have themes related to tourism, which characterized this study sample. This study realizes that PPGA is the largest producer of researches on tourism issues, ahead of PPGTur, which ranks the third position, in this aspect. Also realizes that all surveys analyzed are crosssectional and the theme further investigated, with 21% of the sample, is related to the marketing aspects of tourism, with the theme Directors of Hotels and Restaurants (DHR) . This research demonstrates that all sample surveys make use of interviews, and these are, mostly, structured. Also realizes that most of these studies, with 21% of the sample, employ the method of content analysis. The references in Portuguese are surveyed about five times more than the ones in other languages. It estimates that more than half of the sample is characterized as positivist, associated with aspects of functionalism. A minority of 21% of these researches seeks to identify and recommend solutions to the tourism issues, or even represent part of them. This research concludes that the studies in tourism are mostly unifocal, being driven by issues related to the touristic trade. PPGTur produces a number still unrepresentative of studies. The theses and dissertations of the sample are limited and/or unable to analyze the changes of the phenomenon caused by the time. The studies from the sample present criteria and make use of other methods and techniques to associate with the interviews and content analysis to obtain more solid and reliable data and results. They use a low number of references in languages other than Portuguese. Most of these studies, characterized as positivist-functionalist, investigate the functioning, planning, coordination and expectations in organizations, leaving aside other issues, also relevant for tourism. The number of studies aimed at identifying solutions to the problems of tourism, or that even represents part of them, is not expressive

Ensino de Entropia: um enfoque histórico e epistemológico.

The rational construction necessary to systematize scientific knowledge in physics, introduces difficulties of understanding in some of its concepts. One of these concepts which exemplify properly this difficulty in learning or teaching is entropy. This thesis propose the construction of a didactic route which constitute itself a historical and epistemological course to entropy, intending to contribute for teaching this concept as well as other physics concepts. The basic assumption to build this route is that through the historical review of the development of this concept in the way suggested by Bachelard s (1884-1962) epistemology it is possible to make subjects, to be taught and learned, more meaningful. Initially I composed a brief biographical note to give the reader an idea about the issues, interests and reflections, related to science, and how I dealt with them in my private and professional life, as well as the role they played to lead me to write this thesis. The strategy to construct the route to entropy was to split the usual contents of basic thermodynamics in three moments in a way they can constitute epistemological units , which can be identified by the way of thinking in the corresponding moments of scientific knowledge production: a technical and empiricist moment, a rationalist and positivist moment and a post-positivist rationalist one. The transition between each moment is characterized by a rupture with the former way of thinking; however the progress in the construction of knowledge in the area is evident. As the final part of this work I present an analysis based on elements of Bachelard s epistemology that are present in each moment. This analysis is the basic component of the didactic route that I propose myself to build. The way I made this route guide to entropy could contribute to the construction of other didactic routes in physics and other sciences, in a way to unveil hidden meanings and as a tool to humanize scientific knowledge.

O registro de procedimentos metodológicos em projetos de intervenção arquitetônica no patrimônio edificado: o caso de Natal-RN

In the midst of growing preservationist awareness, regarding methods of architectural intervention of buildings with a recognized heritage value, there are numerous approaches on how the original heritage value can be protected. However, can these intervention projects be differentiated? Is it possible to identify how they differ (if in fact they do) from an architectural project not related to preservation? Although there are numerous theoretical studies regarding methods utilized in architectonical projects, there appear to be a lack of studies focused on an architectural intervention exclusively focused on areas or edifications that have a recognized heritage value, thereby requiring a reflection on which methodological procedures in an architectonical project serve the purpose of the preservation of the historical aspects. This discussion is of even greater importance because, at the national level, some recent discussions on this type of architectural design seem arbitrary and lack methodological rigor. Therefore, this research attempts to focus equally on the theoretical-methodological practices of preservation as well as the architectural project methods. In an attempt to address these aspects, the focus of this research centers on the case studies of the intervention projects of the maritime passenger terminal of Natal (Terminal Marítimo de Passageriros de Natal), the old government hall (Palacio do Governo - EDTAM) and the old central hotel (Hotel Central) which are situated in the area known as the historic downtown of the city of Natal, within the federal heritage protection polygon. The analyses of these is intended to identify what methodological procedures were recorded in the final product (in the graphical representation of the architectural design and other documents) delivered to IPHAN / RN, the body responsible for review and approval of these architectural projects, noting whether such procedures appear, in some way, in the final product, and if an understanding of the complexity of preservation is evident. The analyses of these projects corroborate the hypothesis that there are unique characteristics, which must be addressed in the intervention project for preservation when compared to new project design. The main characteristic to be addressed is related to the very nature of the project. It is inherent in the dialectical relationship between the need to preserve (the identified heritage values) and the need to modernize (making adaptations to contemporary life). This relationship, denominated in this dissertation as "radical restraint", must, or at least should, guide the actions in the project as well as the technical analyses of the preservationist organization. However, this radical restriction appears more evident in the guidelines put forth by legislators than in the decisions of designers. These legislators require the presentation of documents, aimed at identifying and contextualizing intervention (Ordinance No. 420 of December 22, 2010), that grant (or should grant) assistance in the decision making process. It was evident in the analyses of these documents that there existed a disconnect between the documents produced and the decisions made in the project. This fact can be seen in the total absence of dialogue about theoretical-methodological preservationist principles, which, in our view, is an essential element of the methodological procedures of the intervention project needed to guide the legislative and project design discussions.

Crianças e investigação: aspectos teórico-metodológicos e cuidados éticos nas produções dos grupos de pesquisa da UFRN

The concepts of childhood are part of a cultural construction and vary throughout history politically, economically and socially. Nouns such as "childhood" and "child" did not exist as sense of unity in periods prior to modernity, reinforcing their historical character as concepts that have been socially constructed as profess the Historical Social Psychology, theoretical perspective which will support this research. The sociology of childhood distinguishes the terms and changes the approach toward the adult researcher approach with respect to children, aiming to give voice to the child. When it comes to defining the role of children in research, the researcher must take into consideration several relevant criteria such as age, gender, time, listening to the adults close to the children, the level of language and education and which children that will be heard in a group. It is from this discussion, considering the importance of children's participation in the research that are established the purpose of this work, namely, to analyze the theoretical and methodological aspects and ethical guidelines considered in the research process with children, by researchers at the UFRN, presenting as specific objectives: analyze and discuss, from research reports, the adopted ethical procedures and methods used in research with children. Set the goal, it was made a search of the UFRN Research Groups in SIGAA in order to select those which investigate children for participating in our survey. Among the centers of UFRN, we selected the Health Sciences Centre - CCSA, the Humanities Center, Letters and Arts - CCHLA, the Biosciences Center - CB and the Health Sciences Center - CCS, a total of 64 finalized reports to be analyzed. And here it is the observation that the foolish reports were not analyzed for ethical reasons as the guiding of this dissertation is the coordinator of the research group mentioned. In this study, we chose the documentary analysis of the finalized reports from UFRN research projects teachers / researchers as procedure to set up the corpus of the research. Data analysis was performed from the qualitative analysis in the following categories were established: the concept of childhood, concept of child, age of the subjects, the research context, theoretical and methodological care adopted and ethical care. It is hoped that this study will contribute with reflections on the ethical and theoretical and methodological care on research with children. The research showed how some of the results: significant number of reports excluded by repetition, most reports did not bring any closing remarks, no different procedures for children, with rare exceptions, the ethical issue was not mentioned in 50% of reports.

Aspectos metodológicos do Projeto SBBrasil 2010 de interesse para inquéritos nacionais de saúde

The SBBrasil 2010 Project (SBB10) was designed as a nationwide oral health epidemiological survey within a health surveillance strategy. This article discusses methodological aspects of the SBB10 Project that can potentially help expand and develop knowledge in the health field. This was a nationwide survey with stratified multi-stage cluster sampling. The sample domains were 27 State capitals and 150 rural municipalities (counties) from the country's five major geographic regions. The sampling units were census tracts and households for the State capitals and municipalities, census tracts, and households for the rural areas. Thirty census tracts were selected in the State capitals and 30 municipalities in the countryside. The precision considered the demographic domains grouped by density of the overall population and the internal variability of oral health indices. The study evaluated dental caries, periodontal disease, malocclusion, fluorosis, tooth loss, and dental trauma in five age groups (5, 12, 15-19, 35-44, and 65-74 years).

Aspectos metodológicos do Projeto SBBrasil 2010 de interesse para inquéritos nacionais de saúde

The SBBrasil 2010 Project (SBB10) was designed as a nationwide oral health epidemiological survey within a health surveillance strategy. This article discusses methodological aspects of the SBB10 Project that can potentially help expand and develop knowledge in the health field. This was a nationwide survey with stratified multi-stage cluster sampling. The sample domains were 27 State capitals and 150 rural municipalities (counties) from the country's five major geographic regions. The sampling units were census tracts and households for the State capitals and municipalities, census tracts, and households for the rural areas. Thirty census tracts were selected in the State capitals and 30 municipalities in the countryside. The precision considered the demographic domains grouped by density of the overall population and the internal variability of oral health indices. The study evaluated dental caries, periodontal disease, malocclusion, fluorosis, tooth loss, and dental trauma in five age groups (5, 12, 15-19, 35-44, and 65-74 years).