Proposta de método para avaliação do desempenho térmico de residências unifamiliares em clima quente e úmido

Nowadays, evaluation methods to measure thermal performance of buildings have been developed in order to improve thermal comfort in buildings and reduce the use of energy with active cooling and heating systems. However, in developed countries, the criteria used in rating systems to asses the thermal and energy performance of buildings have demonstrated some limitations when applied to naturally ventilated building in tropical climates. The present research has as its main objective to propose a method to evaluate the thermal performance of low-rise residential buildings in warm humid climates, through computational simulation. The method was developed in order to conceive a suitable rating system for the athermal performance assessment of such buildings using as criteria the indoor air temperature and a thermal comfort adaptive model. The research made use of the software VisualDOE 4.1 in two simulations runs of a base case modeled for two basic types of occupancies: living room and bedroom. In the first simulation run, sensitive analyses were made to identify the variables with the higher impact over the cases´ thermal performance. Besides that, the results also allowed the formulation of design recommendations to warm humid climates toward an improvement on the thermal performance of residential building in similar situations. The results of the second simulation run was used to identify the named Thermal Performance Spectrum (TPS) of both occupancies types, which reflect the variations on the thermal performance considering the local climate, building typology, chosen construction material and studied occupancies. This analysis generates an index named IDTR Thermal Performance Resultant Index, which was configured as a thermal performance rating system. It correlates the thermal performance with the number of hours that the indoor air temperature was on each of the six thermal comfort bands pre-defined that received weights to measure the discomfort intensity. The use of this rating system showed to be appropriated when used in one of the simulated cases, presenting advantages in relation to other evaluation methods and becoming a tool for the understanding of building thermal behavior

Uma metodologia para a análise do desempenho sustentável dos postos de revenda de combustível na cidade de Natal/RN, com o uso de data envelopment analysis-DEA

The increasing use of fossil fuels in line with cities demographic explosion carries out to huge environmental impact in society. For mitigate these social impacts, regulatory requirements have positively influenced the environmental consciousness of society, as well as, the strategic behavior of businesses. Along with this environmental awareness, the regulatory organs have conquered and formulated new laws to control potentially polluting activities, mostly in the gas stations sector. Seeking for increasing market competitiveness, this sector needs to quickly respond to internal and external pressures, adapting to the new standards required in a strategic way to get the Green Badge . Gas stations have incorporated new strategies to attract and retain new customers whom present increasingly social demand. In the social dimension, these projects help the local economy by generating jobs and income distribution. In this survey, the present research aims to align the social, economic and environmental dimensions to set the sustainable performance indicators at Gas Stations sector in the city of Natal/RN. The Sustainable Balanced Scorecard (SBSC) framework was create with a set of indicators for mapping the production process of gas stations. This mapping aimed at identifying operational inefficiencies through multidimensional indicators. To carry out this research, was developed a system for evaluating the sustainability performance with application of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) through a quantitative method approach to detect system s efficiency level. In order to understand the systemic complexity, sub organizational processes were analyzed by the technique Network Data Envelopment Analysis (NDEA) figuring their micro activities to identify and diagnose the real causes of overall inefficiency. The sample size comprised 33 Gas stations and the conceptual model included 15 indicators distributed in the three dimensions of sustainability: social, environmental and economic. These three dimensions were measured by means of classical models DEA-CCR input oriented. To unify performance score of individual dimensions, was designed a unique grouping index based upon two means: arithmetic and weighted. After this, another analysis was performed to measure the four perspectives of SBSC: learning and growth, internal processes, customers, and financial, unifying, by averaging the performance scores. NDEA results showed that no company was assessed with excellence in sustainability performance. Some NDEA higher efficiency Gas Stations proved to be inefficient under certain perspectives of SBSC. In the sequence, a comparative sustainable performance and assessment analyzes among the gas station was done, enabling entrepreneurs evaluate their performance in the market competitors. Diagnoses were also obtained to support the decision making of entrepreneurs in improving the management of organizational resources and promote guidelines the regulators. Finally, the average index of sustainable performance was 69.42%, representing the efforts of the environmental suitability of the Gas station. This results point out a significant awareness of this segment, but it still needs further action to enhance sustainability in the long term

Critérios comportamentais utilizados por técnicos na avaliação do desempenho esportivo de futebolista das categorias de base

Currently one of the major concerns in sports is to identify, select, discover and reveal talents in soccer. As principal reasons is perceived the search direct or indirect for resources for players, clubs, media, sports brands and their sponsors. However, high salaries are an exception and not a rule, because the majority of professional players in Brazil receives 1 minimum salary per month. It is also known that on professional clubs, daily, arriving several players to try to be a professional soccer player, however, the majority of clubs - almost all does not present methodological, systematic and analytical aspects to select promising players. The selective processes ("sieves" or "big sieves") developed by technical observers ( olheiros") summarized in the observation of the sportive performance of a big group of players in a period of few minutes given to each player. In this period the target behavior is the ability with the ball. If promising players are identified on that selection, they are referred to the club for a new observation, which will be conducted by the responsible coach of base category in question. It is understood by base categories, the amateur categories (not professional), to serve as a "base" for the formation of the cast of professional clubs. What are sub-13 (under 13 years), sub-15 (under 15 years), sub-17 (under 17 years) and sub-20 (under 20 years). The absence of common criterias and performance indicators of these professionals may hamper the evaluation of promising players, and be a costly activity for the club. This study proposes to identify, characterize and categorize the criterias and methods of behavioral evaluation, used by coaches of base categories of Rio Grande do Norte (RN) to evaluate the sportive performance of young soccer players, with the purpose of to compare the criterias of evaluation of sportive performance of young soccer players, used by coaches with different time of experience in function. The proposal had 2 pilot studies, the first (June and July, 2007) were interviewed 29 coaches, 17 of category sub-13 and 12 of category sub-17. The data were tabulated and organized into spreadsheets in order to describe, and developed a set of descriptors of behavior. And the second (May and June, 2008), with revisions made based on observations, analysis and descriptions found in the first, were interviewed 14 technical of category sub-15. After the results found in pilots, it was possible to outline the study in question, which had 46 coaches base categories of the RN. And from the results show that the characteristic of greatest importance, according to the interviewees was the behavior, the 2nd most important characteristic considered was the motivation, the 3rd was the ability and the 4th was the physical condition and the last was the affiliation. And by analyzing the results to the methods of evaluation of sportive performance used by coaches, it was noted clearly that most uses only the observation to select young soccer players. Therefore, needs a systematization to the selection of soccer players, since there is complexity in the verification of characteristics and aspects involved with purpose to avoid wrong evaluations and selections and the results negligible

Proposta de método para avaliação do desempenho térmico de residências unifamiliares em clima quente e úmido

Nowadays, evaluation methods to measure thermal performance of buildings have been developed in order to improve thermal comfort in buildings and reduce the use of energy with active cooling and heating systems. However, in developed countries, the criteria used in rating systems to asses the thermal and energy performance of buildings have demonstrated some limitations when applied to naturally ventilated building in tropical climates. The present research has as its main objective to propose a method to evaluate the thermal performance of low-rise residential buildings in warm humid climates, through computational simulation. The method was developed in order to conceive a suitable rating system for the athermal performance assessment of such buildings using as criteria the indoor air temperature and a thermal comfort adaptive model. The research made use of the software VisualDOE 4.1 in two simulations runs of a base case modeled for two basic types of occupancies: living room and bedroom. In the first simulation run, sensitive analyses were made to identify the variables with the higher impact over the cases´ thermal performance. Besides that, the results also allowed the formulation of design recommendations to warm humid climates toward an improvement on the thermal performance of residential building in similar situations. The results of the second simulation run was used to identify the named Thermal Performance Spectrum (TPS) of both occupancies types, which reflect the variations on the thermal performance considering the local climate, building typology, chosen construction material and studied occupancies. This analysis generates an index named IDTR Thermal Performance Resultant Index, which was configured as a thermal performance rating system. It correlates the thermal performance with the number of hours that the indoor air temperature was on each of the six thermal comfort bands pre-defined that received weights to measure the discomfort intensity. The use of this rating system showed to be appropriated when used in one of the simulated cases, presenting advantages in relation to other evaluation methods and becoming a tool for the understanding of building thermal behavior

Uma metodologia para a análise do desempenho sustentável dos postos de revenda de combustível na cidade de Natal/RN, com o uso de data envelopment analysis-DEA

The increasing use of fossil fuels in line with cities demographic explosion carries out to huge environmental impact in society. For mitigate these social impacts, regulatory requirements have positively influenced the environmental consciousness of society, as well as, the strategic behavior of businesses. Along with this environmental awareness, the regulatory organs have conquered and formulated new laws to control potentially polluting activities, mostly in the gas stations sector. Seeking for increasing market competitiveness, this sector needs to quickly respond to internal and external pressures, adapting to the new standards required in a strategic way to get the Green Badge . Gas stations have incorporated new strategies to attract and retain new customers whom present increasingly social demand. In the social dimension, these projects help the local economy by generating jobs and income distribution. In this survey, the present research aims to align the social, economic and environmental dimensions to set the sustainable performance indicators at Gas Stations sector in the city of Natal/RN. The Sustainable Balanced Scorecard (SBSC) framework was create with a set of indicators for mapping the production process of gas stations. This mapping aimed at identifying operational inefficiencies through multidimensional indicators. To carry out this research, was developed a system for evaluating the sustainability performance with application of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) through a quantitative method approach to detect system s efficiency level. In order to understand the systemic complexity, sub organizational processes were analyzed by the technique Network Data Envelopment Analysis (NDEA) figuring their micro activities to identify and diagnose the real causes of overall inefficiency. The sample size comprised 33 Gas stations and the conceptual model included 15 indicators distributed in the three dimensions of sustainability: social, environmental and economic. These three dimensions were measured by means of classical models DEA-CCR input oriented. To unify performance score of individual dimensions, was designed a unique grouping index based upon two means: arithmetic and weighted. After this, another analysis was performed to measure the four perspectives of SBSC: learning and growth, internal processes, customers, and financial, unifying, by averaging the performance scores. NDEA results showed that no company was assessed with excellence in sustainability performance. Some NDEA higher efficiency Gas Stations proved to be inefficient under certain perspectives of SBSC. In the sequence, a comparative sustainable performance and assessment analyzes among the gas station was done, enabling entrepreneurs evaluate their performance in the market competitors. Diagnoses were also obtained to support the decision making of entrepreneurs in improving the management of organizational resources and promote guidelines the regulators. Finally, the average index of sustainable performance was 69.42%, representing the efforts of the environmental suitability of the Gas station. This results point out a significant awareness of this segment, but it still needs further action to enhance sustainability in the long term

Alinhamento estratégico da TI: o caso da UFRN

It is considered that the Strategic Alignment IT is the first step within the IT Governance process for any institution. Taking as initial point the recognition that the governance corporate has an overall view of the organizations, the IT Governance takes place as a sub-set responsible for the implementation of the organization strategies in what concerns the provision of the necessary tools for the achievement of the goals set in the Institutional Development Plan. In order to do so, COBIT specifies that such Governance shall be built on the following principles: Strategic Alignment, Value Delivery, Risk Management, Performance Measurement. This paper aims at the Strategic Alignment, considered by the authors as the foundation for the development of the entire IT Governance core. By deepening the technical knowledge of the management system development, UFRN has made a decisive step towards the technical empowerment needed to the “Value Delivery”, yet, by perusing the primarily set processes to the “Strategic Alignment”, gaps that limited the IT strategic view in the implementation of the organizational goals were found. In the qualitative study that used documentary research with content analysis and interviews with the strategic and tactical managers, the view on the role of SINFO – Superintendência de Informática was mapped. The documentary research was done on public documents present on the institutional site and on TCU – Tribunal de Contas da União – documents that map the IT Governance profiles on the federal public service as a whole. As a means to obtain the documentary research results equalization, questionnaires/interviews and iGovTI indexes, quantitative tools to the standardization of the results were used, always bearing in mind the usage of the same scale elements present in the TCU analysis. This being said, similarly to what the TCU study through the IGovTI index provides, this paper advocates a particular index to the study area – SA (Strategic Alignment), calculated from the representative variables of the COBIT 4.1 domains and having the representative variables of the Strategic Alignment primary process as components. As a result, an intermediate index among the values in two adjacent surveys done by TCU in the years of 2010 and 2012 was found, which reflects the attitude and view of managers towards the IT governance: still linked to Data Processing in which a department performs its tasks according to the demand of the various departments or sectors, although there is a commission that discusses the issues related to infrastructure acquisition and systems development. With an Operational view rather than Strategic/Managerial and low attachment to the tools consecrated by the market, several processes are not contemplated in the framework COBIT defined set; this is mainly due to the inexistence of a formal strategic plan for IT; hence, the partial congruency between the organization goals and the IT goals.

Programa de Avaliação de Desempenho: elementos constitutivos e pressupostos na prática avaliativa

This study analyzes the perceptions of technical and administrative UFPA, in relation to the insertion of the components and assumptions of DBP in evaluation practice. Addresses the history, concepts, meanings, about AD methods, skills, evaluation skills, the APF and AD UFPA and Programme itself. The research is characterized as a hypothetical-deductive, descriptive and applied, using the case study. Data were analyzed using a quantitative approach, using the descriptive and inferential statistics. Data were collected through the application of questionnaires to 222 technical and administrative searched IFES, not occupants of FG and CD. The results indicate that the factors perceived in relation to the constituent elements such as: evaluation practice, measurement of competence, program management, timing, individual skills and fundamentals of the program and those related to assumptions such as: democratic process, integrative perspective, character development and pedagogical continuous evaluation practices are perceived in the evaluation process. The study concludes that comparing the results of the constituent elements and assumptions of the PAD of thechnical-administrative UFPA, it can be said about a tendency to change, though subtle, compared to the traditional model of AD, directed only to the granting of career progression for a new logic based on the results, showing an early effectiveness of the program evaluation practice by law and by the Institution. The results are confirmatory of advance evaluation practice in the institution, more so than has previously been expected, which demonstrates the value of scientific criteria of scientific research

Eleição nas escolas: uma análise do impacto do diretor eleito sobre o desempenho educacional no Estado da Bahia

In Brazil, the selection of school principals is set in a decentralized manner by each state and city, such that processes may vary with time for a specific locality. In the state of Bahia, school principals were appointed by a higher political hierarchy until 2008, when schools under state administration started selecting principals by elections. The main goal of this work is to evaluate whether changing this specific rule affected students proficiency levels. This is achieved by using a panel data and difference-in-differences approachs that compares state schools (treatment group) to city schools (control group) that did not face a selection rule change and thus kept having their principals politically appointed. The databases used are Prova Brasil 2007, 2009 and 2011, the first one prior and the other two former to the policy change. Our results suggest that students attending schools with principals that are selected and elected have slightly lower mean proficiency levels both in mathematics and in portuguese exams than those attending schools with appointed principals. This result, according to the literature, could be related to perverse effects of selecting school administrators by vote, such as corporatism, clientelism and politicization of the school environment

Análise de métodos para aplicação de ventilação natural em projetos de edificações em Natal-RN

Natural ventilation is an efficient bioclimatic strategy, one that provides thermal comfort, healthful and cooling to the edification. However, the disregard for quality environment, the uncertainties involved in the phenomenon and the popularization of artificial climate systems are held as an excuse for those who neglect the benefits of passive cooling. The unfamiliarity with the concept may be lessened if ventilation is observed in every step of the project, especially in the initial phase in which decisions bear a great impact in the construction process. The tools available in order to quantify the impact of projected decisions consist basically of the renovation rate calculations or computer simulations of fluids, commonly dubbed CFD, which stands for Computational Fluid Dynamics , both somewhat apart from the project s execution and unable to adapt for use in parametric studies. Thus, we chose to verify, through computer simulation, the representativeness of the results with a method of simplified air reconditioning rate calculation, as well as making it more compatible with the questions relevant to the first phases of the project s process. The case object consists of a model resulting from the recommendations of the Código de Obras de Natal/ RN, customized according to the NBR 15220. The study has shown the complexity in aggregating a CFD tool to the process and the need for a method capable of generating data at the compatible rate to the flow of ideas and are discarded during the project s development. At the end of our study, we discuss the necessary concessions for the realization of simulations, the applicability and the limitations of both the tools used and the method adopted, as well as the representativeness of the results obtained

Análise de métodos de predição de conforto térmico de habitação em clima quente-úmido com condicionamento passivo

The assessment of building thermal performance is often carried out using HVAC energy consumption data, when available, or thermal comfort variables measurements, for free-running buildings. Both types of data can be determined by monitoring or computer simulation. The assessment based on thermal comfort variables is the most complex because it depends on the determination of the thermal comfort zone. For these reasons, this master thesis explores methods of building thermal performance assessment using variables of thermal comfort simulated by DesignBuilder software. The main objective is to contribute to the development of methods to support architectural decisions during the design process, and energy and sustainable rating systems. The research method consists on selecting thermal comfort methods, modeling them in electronic sheets with output charts developed to optimize the analyses, which are used to assess the simulation results of low cost house configurations. The house models consist in a base case, which are already built, and changes in thermal transmittance, absorptance, and shading. The simulation results are assessed using each thermal comfort method, to identify the sensitivity of them. The final results show the limitations of the methods, the importance of a method that considers thermal radiance and wind speed, and the contribution of the chart proposed

Uma janela tropical: análise do desempenho luminoso de ambientes com aberturas sombreadas para o clima de Natal/RN

This master thesis introduces assessment procedures of daylighting performance in office rooms with shaded opening, recommendations for Natal-RN (Latitude 05,47' S, Longitude 35,11' W). The studies assume the need of window exterior shading in hot and humid climate buildings. The daylighting performance analyses are based on simulated results for three levels of illuminance (300,500 e 1000 lux) between 08h00 e 16h00, in rooms with 2,80 m height, 6 m large and 4 m, 6 m e 8 m depths, with a centered single opening, window wall ratio (20%, 40% e 60%), four orientations (North, East, South and West), and two types of sky (clear and partially cloudy). The sky characteristics were statistically determined based on hourly data from INPE-CRN solar and daylighting weather station. The lighting performance is resulted from dynamic computer simulation of 72 models using Troplux 3.12. The simulation results were assessed using a new parameter to quantify the use of interior daylighting, the useful percentage of daylight (PULN), which corresponds to the time fraction with satisfactory light, in accordance with the illuminance design. The passive zone depths are defined based on the PULN. Despite the failures of illuminance data from the weather station, the analyses ratified the high potential of daylighting for shaded rooms. The most influential variables on the lighting performance are the opening size and the illuminance of design, while the orientation is a little influential

Sistemas de medição de desempenho para projetos de PD&I no Setor de Petróleo e Gás Natural

Organizations are seeking new ideas, tools and methods aiming to improve management process and performance. On the other hand, system performance measurement needs to portray organizational changes and provide managers with a set of true and more appropriate information for the decision-making process. This work aims to propose a performance measurement system in the academic field regarding Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) in the oil and gas industry. The research performed a bibliographic review in a descriptive exploratory manner. A field research was conducted with an expert focus group in order to gather new indicators. As for the validation of these indicators, a survey with experienced professional was also realized. The research surveyed four segments in and outside of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte-Brazil such as oil and gas project coordinators, staff at Academic Planning Offices, FUNPEC employees as well as coordinators from Petrobrás. The performance measuring system created from this study features three interrelated performance indicators pointed out as: process indicators, outcome indicators and global indicators. The proposal includes performance indicators that seek to establish more appropriate strategies for effective institution management. It might help policy making of university-industry interaction policies

Características físicas, somatotipo e desempenho de corredores de 100 e 400 metros no Rio Grande do Norte

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate physical characteristics and to examine association between somatotype and performance in collegiate runners of 100 m and 400 m. Methods: The sample, male runners (n=39) competing at the regional level in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, had height, body mass, skinfolds, limb circumference and skeletal breadths measured. Then, the somatotype was calculated by Health-Carter method. Races (100 m and 400 m) were held to assess athletic performance. Descriptive statistics were calculated for the total sample, as well as for the 100 m and 400 m groups, and established four subgroups, named quartiles. For analysis between groups of runners (100 m x 400 m) was used Student's t test for independent samples. To examine the relationship between the race times and anthropometric variables, was used the Pearson correlation test. The somatotype dispersion distance and somatotype spatial distance were calculated among subgroups. One-way analysis of variance, the Wilcoxon test followed of Tukey post test, and correlation analysis were used with a significance level of p<0.05. Results: Somatotype with mesomorphy and ectomorphy dominance was exhibited by 100 m and 400 m athletes. Endomorphy was low in both groups, especially in 400m runners, who had more elongated body types than 100 m runners. When separately compared by athletic performance quartile, 100 m sprinters of better qualifications (G100-G1) had somatotype with dominant mesomorphy, whereas 400 m runners had somatotype with dominant ectomorphy. A significant correlation (r = -0.55, p=0.008) between calf circumference and 100 m race times was observed showing the importance of muscularity, whereas a significant correlation was found between height and 400 m race times (r = -0.53, p=0.02) showing the importance of linearity. Conclusion: Runners of 100 and 400 may show differences in physical characteristics, depending on the level of athletic performance. Anthropometric periodic evaluations may help in the training process of these athletes. However, more specific assessment parameters should be taken into account, because somatotype by itself has not power to predict whether an individual will succeed in racing speed

Avaliação dos efeitos de um extrato bruto de cianobactérias contendo microcistinas sobre o desempenho reprodutivo e a embriofetotoxicidade de ratos

The presence of cyanobacterial blooms in reservoirs intended for supply to the population can create public health problems for many species could produce potentially toxic compounds and these are not eliminated in the conventional procedures used in water treatment plants. So even in amounts less than the maximum allowable limit imposed by MS, cyanotoxins can be present in drinking water distributed to the population, creating a chronic exposure. There is little information about the long-term effects of oral exposure to cyanotoxins. This work aimed to show the exposure orally (v.o) of animals to a crude extract of cyanobacteria containing cyanotoxins to evaluate the reproductive performance of pregnant rats and their offspring and fertility of male rats. The presence of microcystins (MCs) in samples collected during the flowering processes in freshwater reservoirs in the Rio Grande do Norte, was analyzed by enzyme immunoassay and its variants have been identified and quantified by chromatographic methods. It was observed that by administration v.o. cyanobacterial extract containing MCs (40, 100 or 250 ng of MCs / kg / day) did not cause systemic toxicity in adult rats or effect on reproductive performance of male and female rats treated. It was also not observed any changes in skeletal study in the offspring of pregnant rats treated with the extract above. Because the solutions used contained MCs in a concentration equal to or greater than the tolerable daily intake for MCs, the results suggest, therefore, that the development of this work contributed to better assess public health risk as the oral exposure to cyanotoxins, increasing thus the credibility of the maximum allowable limit (LMP) of MCs in drinking water distributed to the population of several countries that use the LMP established by WHO in its legislation

A eficiência do gasto e da qualidade da saúde pública: uma análise nos municípios do estado do Rio Grande do Norte (2004 e 2008)

The overall objective of this study is to analyze the efficiency in the use of resources and the quality of public health in the municipalities of Rio Grande do Norte, from 2004 to 2008. It also seeks to identify the determinants of municipal inefficiency and measure the productivity of public spending on health. To this end, three methods of analysis are used: the DEA, the Malmquist index and the Tobit regression model. Among other findings, it appears that municipalities considered more inefficient in the measurement of expenditure on health make the largest expense in this function. On the other hand, from 2004 to 2008, only 13 municipalities showed an increase in the productivity of public spending. It is also noted that municipalities considered efficient in quality of health, although having more physical and human resources, offer fewer health services to the population. In all, the major determinants of health spending inefficiencies are the variables: age of the mayor, coalition, population density, literacy race and budget revenues. Regarding the inefficiency of the health quality, variables such as: coalition, literacy race have strong influence on this behavior. Thereby, the hypotheses proposed by the study have been fully accepted. In other words, for the efficiency of the quality and health spending it is needed more than resources, i.e., the expenditure shows itself as essential, but not enough, for political and economic aspects also interfere with the performance of spent and in the quality of health care offered to the population