A experiência do usuário idoso no design de jogo digital para a reabilitação neural de pacientes com quadro de acidente vascular cerebral (AVC)

Stroke is nowadays one of the main causes of death in Brazil and worldwide. During the rehabilitation process, patients undergo physioterapic exercises based on repetition, which may cause them to feel little progress is being made. Focusing on themes from the areas of Human-Computer Interaction and Motor Imagery, the present work describes the development of a digital game concept aimed at motor rehabilitation to the neural rehabilitation of patients who have suffered a stroke in a playful and engaging way. The research hypothesizes that an interactive digital game based on Motor Imagery contributes to patients' raised commitment in the stroke sequel rehabilitation process. The research process entailed the investigation of 10 subjects who live with sequels caused by stroke - it was further established that subjects were over 60 years old. Using as foundation an initial survey regarding target-users' specificities, where an investigation on subjectrelated aspects was carried out through Focus Group (n=9) and Contextual Analysis (n=3), having as subjects elderly individuals, a list with the necessary requirements for the conceptualization of a digital game was fleshed out. The initial survey also enabled the establishment of preliminary interactions for the formulation of game prototypes. At first, low-resolution prototypes were used, with two distinct interaction models for the game - one with a direct approach to the Motor Imagery concept, and another using a narrative with characters and scene settings. The goal was to verify participants' receptivity regarding the addition of playful activities into game dynamics. Prototypes were analyzed while being used by five patients, through the Cooperative Evaluation technique. The tests indicated a preference for option with elements in a playful narrative. Based on these results high fidelity prototypes were created, where concepts close to the game's final version were elaborated. The High Fidelity prototype was also evaluated with four patients through the Cooperative Evaluation technique. It was concluded that elderly individuals and patients were receptive to the idea of a digital game for the rehabilitation from sequels caused by stroke; that, for the success of devices aimed at these cohorts, their contexts, needs and expectations must be respected above all; and that user-centered design is an essential approach in that regard.

Avaliação da Usabilidade de Interfaces Web segundo Critérios Ergonômicos de Bastien e Scapin: Pesquisa com os Ambientes Virtuais de Educação à Distância Aulanet, E-Proinfo e Teleduc

Este trabalho tem dois objetivos: avaliar a usabilidade de três interfaces de ambientes virtuais de educação à distância através de duas técnicas avaliativas e identificar os fatores influenciadores da percepção de usabilidade dos ambientes avaliados. Os sistemas de educação à distância escolhidos foram o AulaNet, o E-Proinfo e o Teleduc, por serem desenvolvidos no Brasil e terem distribuição gratuita. A avaliação da usabilidade foi realizada através de duas técnicas documentadas na literatura. A primeira técnica de avaliação, do tipo preditiva ou diagnóstica, foi realizada pelo autor e um concluinte do curso de Sistemas de Informação do Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica do estado do Piauí (CEFET-PI), mediante a observação de um checklist denominado Ergolist. A segunda avaliação, do tipo prospectivo, foi efetivada com o usuário sendo o próprio avaliador das interfaces, através de um questionário. A amostra foi composta de 15 professores e 15 alunos do CEFET-PI. Os resultados colhidos foram analisados a partir da estatística descritiva e testes de chi-quadrado. Os resultados mostraram que os ambientes apresentarem problemas de adaptabilidade, pois não possuem flexibilidade e nem levam em consideração a experiência do usuário. Na análise inferencial, foi constatado que o tempo de uso da Internet não afetou significativamente sua avaliação da usabilidade dos três ambientes, assim como na maior parte das variáveis de usabilidade não foram influenciadas pelo tipo de usuário , sexo e escolaridade . Por outro lado, em vários dos critérios ergonômicos avaliados, as variáveis de sistema tipo de ambiente e experiência com computador e a variável demográfica faixa etária afetaram a percepção de usabilidade dos ambientes virtuais de educação à distância

Arquitetura para aplicações interativas imersivas de televisão digital

In this work, we propose a new approach to Interactive Digital Television (IDTV), aimed to explore the concepts of immersivity. Several architectures have been proposed to IDTV, but they did not explore coherently questions related to immersion. The goal of this thesis consists in defining formally what is immersion and interactivity for digital TV and how they may be used to improve user experience in this new televisive model. The approach raises questions such as the appropriate choice of equipment to assist in the sense of immersion, which forms of interaction between users can be exploited in the interaction-immersion context, if the environment where an immersive and interactive application is used can influence the user experience, and which new forms of interactivity between users, and interactivity among users and interactive applications can be explored with the use of immersion. As one of the goals of this proposal, we point out new solutions to these issues that require further studies. We intend to formalize the concepts that embrace interactivity in the brazilian system of digital TV. In an initial study, this definition is organized into categories or levels of interactivity. From this point are made analisis and specifications to achieve immersion using DTV. We pretend to make some case studies of immersive interactive applications for digital television in order to validate the proposed architecture. We also approach the use of remote devices anda proposal of middleware architecture that allows its use in conjunction with immersive interactive applications

Marcadores da organização do padrão discursivo narrativo: uma abordagem funcional centrada no uso

This thesis has as its object the Markers Organization Standard Narrative Discourse (MON), from its occurrence in oral and written corpora of different realizations of narrative discourse, considering its locus of occurrence in the narrative and discursive functioning. The research is guided by the Functional Linguistic Usage-Based, approach to which the organization of language is directly linked to the user experience, so that grammar is shaped by discourse. We examined only the narrative portions of Experience Reports, Tales and Legends in the oral and written, as follows: 3 inquiries Corpus Reports Remaining Quilombo (RN); 11 Corpus Legends legends of the Amazon, 14 Tales of Corpus Tales Brazilians and 21 Reports of experiences of Corpus and Discourse Grammar, with about 10,000 words in each corpus. A total of 22 markers were identified, which were: (1) classified according to the locus of occurrence in the narrative structure, as Labov (1972), (2) associated, according to the type of pattern that occur in narrative discourse, (3) described from the discursive function they perform. The research has relevance to the extent it is based speech analysis and offers proposals for productive teaching of mother tongue in which students and teachers can, grounded in language studies, consider living language, as an object of study, based on the National Curriculum Guidelines (OCN) and making use of New Technologies of Information and Communication (NTIC)

Avaliação de usabilidade em materiais interativos de ensino a distância da UFRN-SEDIS

This study aims to assess the usability of Interactive Materials developed for the courses offered by UFRN SEDIS the modality of distance education (DE), using the techniques of focus group cooperative evaluation and assessment of satisfaction. The Interactive Materials are intended to serve as an avenue where the course content reaches the student in an educational, stimulating and self-instructive enough for the student to engage and find no difficulty in using it so. After the survey data in this context were selected four Interactive Materials ("Introduction to Applied Calculus", "Science, Technology and Society", "studies the Semi-Arid" and "Cultural Geography") that adopt the framework established by UFRN for SEDIS be evaluated for their usability. Initially, a preliminary test was conducted from cooperative assessment with a student interacting with the four learning objects in order to reveal and map the major failures of usability, supporting deeper questions later. The recordings of this preliminary test were analyzed by a focus group composed of two graphic designers and two multimedia designers, and developers responsible for these objects, which helped to analyze the gap between "what was designed" and "as was used "structuring and supplementing the roadmap for cooperative evaluation and assessment of subsequent satisfaction. The cooperative evaluation was applied individually to ten students of undergraduate UFRN that tested each of the four materials. At the end, every student completed a questionnaire assessing satisfaction form adapted Wanted (Questionnaire for User Interaction Satisfaction). The analysis of the data collected in this study revealed positive, negative and notes to be considered to guide the future development of Interactive Materials, in the context of UFRN SEDIS, feedback to the process of design and evaluation with user participation

Análise bioclimática e investigação do conforto térmico em ambientes externos: uma experiência no bairro de Petrópolis em Natal/RN

This study was intended to investigate how the urban form has been influencing the changes in the climate of the city and make a correlation between the climate and the thermal sensation of the users of open spaces. The research was developed in the district of Petrópolis in Natal/ RN whose occupation has been almost consolidated. Among other reasons, this district was selected because it was planned considering the environmental aspects of comfort. The methodologies used are based on KATZSCHNER (1997) and OLIVEIRA (1988) studies, which suggest the drawing and analysis of maps of the area under study, including topography, height of the buildings, land use, green areas, and types of soil pavement, as well as measurement of the environmental variables: air temperature, relative humidity, direction and wind speed for a comparative study. As part of this, study local users of the district were interviewed about their thermal sensations in open spaces. For the statistical analysis, data was collected at 10 distinct points characterized by BUSTOS ROMERO (2002), being 8 within the district and 2 at different places (outside the district), at climatologic stations, in 3 periods (August/2000, January/2002 and June/2002), for 4 consecutive days for each measurement (from Sunday to Wednesday) at the time of lower and higher temperatures in the city, 6:00 am and 1:00 pm, respectively. At the same time interviews were carried out with users of the open spaces in the area, totaling 171 valid formularies. The urban form showed a rather leveled topography, great diversity of land use and height of the buildings, with the existence of an area mostly occupied with high buildings, very little green area and soil practically impermeable. The statistical analysis showed high temperature and humidity levels. The wind direction is predominantly Southeast with extremely variable speeds. When the data from this district is compared with the data from other areas in the city and its outskirt, it was observed that this district is hotter and less ventilated than the others; besides, most users said that they felt uncomfortable in the local environmental conditions. The results of the analysis generated a zoning for the district with recommendations for soil occupation. The profile of the user was defined regarding the thermal comfort, as well as some discussion about the comfort parameters, including the proposal of limiting areas of temperature and humidity for the thermal comfort in the open spaces

EUPAT for WoW: Uma ferramenta de assistência à programação por usuário final

Neste trabalho, apresentamos uma ferramenta cujo intuito é auxiliar não-programadores, jogadores de videogame, na criação de extensões na forma de Add-ons para World of Warcraft, o jogo online. Nele, o usuário pode criar extensões customizando completamente sua interface, de forma a reinventar a sua experiência de jogo e melhorar sua jogabilidade. A criação de extensões para aplicativos e jogos surgiu da crescente necessidade de fornecer aos usuários mecanismos eficientes de Programação por Usuário Final, permitindo que os mesmos preenchessem suas necessidades singulares através da criação, customização e especificação de extensões em software. Em World of Warcraft mais especificamente, os Add-ons exploram um tipo de extensão na qual os jogadores passam a programar sua própria interface de usuário ou a fazer uso de interfaces criadas por outros usuários. No entanto, realizar a programação dessas extensões - os Add-ons - não é uma tarefa fácil. Dentro deste contexto, desenvolvemos a ferramenta EUPAT for WoW (do inglês, End-User Programming Assistance Tool for World of Warcraft) que oferece assistência à criação de Add-ons. Além disso, investigamos como usuários jogadores com e sem conhecimento de programação são beneficiados. Os resultados desta pesquisa permitiram refletir sobre as estratégias de assistência de programação por usuário final no contexto de jogos

Análise bioclimática e investigação do conforto térmico em ambientes externos: uma experiência no bairro de Petrópolis em Natal/RN

This study was intended to investigate how the urban form has been influencing the changes in the climate of the city and make a correlation between the climate and the thermal sensation of the users of open spaces. The research was developed in the district of Petrópolis in Natal/ RN whose occupation has been almost consolidated. Among other reasons, this district was selected because it was planned considering the environmental aspects of comfort. The methodologies used are based on KATZSCHNER (1997) and OLIVEIRA (1988) studies, which suggest the drawing and analysis of maps of the area under study, including topography, height of the buildings, land use, green areas, and types of soil pavement, as well as measurement of the environmental variables: air temperature, relative humidity, direction and wind speed for a comparative study. As part of this, study local users of the district were interviewed about their thermal sensations in open spaces. For the statistical analysis, data was collected at 10 distinct points characterized by BUSTOS ROMERO (2002), being 8 within the district and 2 at different places (outside the district), at climatologic stations, in 3 periods (August/2000, January/2002 and June/2002), for 4 consecutive days for each measurement (from Sunday to Wednesday) at the time of lower and higher temperatures in the city, 6:00 am and 1:00 pm, respectively. At the same time interviews were carried out with users of the open spaces in the area, totaling 171 valid formularies. The urban form showed a rather leveled topography, great diversity of land use and height of the buildings, with the existence of an area mostly occupied with high buildings, very little green area and soil practically impermeable. The statistical analysis showed high temperature and humidity levels. The wind direction is predominantly Southeast with extremely variable speeds. When the data from this district is compared with the data from other areas in the city and its outskirt, it was observed that this district is hotter and less ventilated than the others; besides, most users said that they felt uncomfortable in the local environmental conditions. The results of the analysis generated a zoning for the district with recommendations for soil occupation. The profile of the user was defined regarding the thermal comfort, as well as some discussion about the comfort parameters, including the proposal of limiting areas of temperature and humidity for the thermal comfort in the open spaces

A descentralização das políticas de desenvolvimento rural: uma análise da experiência do Rio Grande do Norte

MATOS FILHO, João. A descentralização das Políticas de desenvolvimento rural - uma análise da experiência do Rio Grande do Norte. 2002. 259f. Tese (Doutorado em Ciências Econômicas)– Instituto de Economia da Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, 2002.

Estudo do usuário com deficiência visual: um importante instrumento sócio-inclusivo de pesquisa e formação para o profissional de biblioteconomia perante as necessidades informacionais de pessoas com deficiência

SANTOS, Christiane Gomes; ALMEIDA, Edson Marques. Estudo do usuário com deficiência visual: um importante instrumento sócio-inclusivo de pesquisa e formação para o profissional de biblioteconomia perante as necessidades informacionais de pessoas com deficiência. In: SEMINÁRIO DE PESQUISA DO CCSA, 16., 2010, Rio Grande do Norte. Anais eletrônicos... Natal: UFRN, 2010. Disponível em:

Práticas interdisciplinares no ensino superior: a experiência do curso de graduação em administração da UNAMA - Pará

This work addresses the study of interdisciplinarity in higher administration education, a topic of great relevance in the present context, due to guidelines issued by Ministry of Education through the National Curriculum Guidelines -NCGs for undergraduate courses in Management. The attention on the subject emerges from the gained experience of a researcher and teacher working as manager of an undergraduate course in Business Administration who set up interdisciplinarity through interdisciplinary projects in a management course pedagogical project at a private university in State of Pará/Brazil. The work rebuilds and reports experiences, and studies the practice of lecturers involved in those interdisciplinary actions. The study aimed to identify changes in pedagogical practices of teachers involved in the searched interdisciplinary experience. To address the questions that directed the work and achieve proposed objectives, from a qualitative approach, a significant bibliographical and documentary work was conducted on the topic. In the survey carried out on secondary sources such as publications of major authors and scientific papers reporting interdisciplinary experiences in higher administration education, it was found that interdisciplinarity for its ambiguous character is still poorly understood by teachers, and reports on its application in administration teaching are incipient. This study also used data collected from primary sources, from dialogues through interviews with educational fellows - teachers and officers of the institution that served as locus of the research, who had the opportunity to experience the studied interdisciplinary experience. Data were processed and analyzed using content analysis technique. Research results showed that teachers of the institution of research have a good understanding of meaning of interdisciplinarity as a link between disciplines; it was also found substantial evidence of changes in teaching practices and actions of such teachers based on their participation in interdisciplinary projects. Although the experience studied can be considered innovative and challenging, much needs to be done in the course management for achievement of interdisciplinary actions in the course, particularly regarding to the removal of institutional, methodological, psychosocial, epistemological obstacles in operationalizing interdisciplinary practices, with emphasis on the need of a process of continuous and specific training aiming at developing skills for interdisciplinary acting, to the extent that these education professionals do not perceive themselves able to act as interdisciplinary lecturers

...Em busca da realidade... : a experiência da etnicidade dos Eleotérios (Catu/RN)

The south region of the Rio Grande do Norte has been historically recognized as a place of old indian villages. Inhabitants of the edges of the Catu River, border between the cities of Canguaretama and Goianinha, the Eleotérios in the threshold of 21st century had passed to be seen and self recognized as "remaining indians" of the RN. Their ethnic mobilizations, when becoming public had placed to the intellectual and political fields an old question to be reflected on: the asseverations concerning the "indian disappearing" in the State. This item brings with it other implications. Accessed by a para-oficial indigenism, the Eleotérios had started to establish political relations with the Potiguara indians of the Baía da Traição/PB and the Indian Movement, feeling stimulated to produce and to reproduce forms of social differentiation. In this context, this research is worried about elucidating the process of construction of the ethnicity among the Eleotérios, percepted from the social relations and politics kept with the amplest society, into a particular historical situation involving sugar cane fields owners, proprietaries, militants, researchers, ambiental agencies. The effects of these political and social relations had been extended, making Eleotérios appear to the society as susceptible social actors to the specific policies for the aboriginal populations

Nunca deixamos de ser índio : educação escolar e experiência na(da) cidade entre os Ramkokamekrá-kanela / Rodolpho Rodrigues de Sá

In this work I analyse the Ramkokamekrá-Kanela situation that migrate with the purpose to study out of the village. For this, I use an analysis of their social organization and their historic process. I intend to map out part of the indigenist school education policies, understand like an uniformization official instrument of differences, and the kind of this relationship with the migration village-city. I propose a students migration reading to the urban centers from the social organization of the society in focus, as their narratives and representation. I draft an interpretation of this process like ensued also the indigenist society researched internal dynamic and not only like resulted of external actions. The research focus in experimented cases by the Ramkokamekrá-Kanela that, coming out their village (Escalvado Village), desplace theirselves to study in urban centers, mairly in Barra do Corda MA

Embolada e outras coisas do folclore tulusano . a experiência da associação escambiar em Toulouse - França

Since the middle 80 s from the 20th century, some musical genres associated to the Brazilian Northeastern region notably the forró, coco de embolada and repente de viola have been gradually incorporated to the musical production of south France linked to the occitanista trend, currently linking many musicians and groups from those regions in both countries. This paper is engaged in reflecting on the particular experience of the groups formed by the Escambiar Association, located on the city of Toulouse, and specially the duet Fabulous Trobadors, whose compositions are mostly made in the coco de embolada form. Watching the motivations and the processes that led to the creation of the groups from this association and it s current operation, this study investigates the transcultural phenomenon, that allow to cross two symbolic universes through rationalizing speeches about music, considering the locality s production in the midst of a political debate that involve questions about cultural identity and tradition

"Bordados do Seridó" : uma experiência etnográfica com as bordadeiras do município de Caicó-RN

The narratives that circulate Caicó tell us that the activity of embroidery would have come to town by the eighteenth century, by the Portuguese colonizers. Initially, the embroidery worked as a constitutive element in the formation of women, especially in the construction of the role of "talented ladies", was later characterized in a income generating activity moving strongly the informal sector of the local economy. In addition to source of income, the practice of embroiderers is redefining the craft tradition, transforming the embroidery on one of the symbols of identity of the city as it reaches other markets, carrying the name "Caicó embroidery". The research aims to investigate the dynamics of artisanal embroidery production, within the family circle and its consequences after its entry in the commercial sphere. It also seeks to investigate how the activity operates within a context in which the subjects (embroiderers and intermediaries) and their distinct negotiations trigger certain discourses, particularly those related to identity and authenticity on behalf of economic, political and cultural purposes