Ambientes tecno-pedagógicos para o desenvolvimento de competências transversais para a inovação em engenharia.

Muito se fala na crescente velocidade de inovações tecnológicas que se apresenta ao mundo e que vai se acelerando. Antes, gerações se passavam para termos uma evolução tecnológica. Hoje, uma mesma geração presencia vários saltos tecnológicos. Neste contexto de inovações frequentes, surge a preocupação sobre como formar um profissional responsável, ético e que consiga acompanhar e ser protagonista de tais mudanças. O trabalho desenvolvido nesta tese busca colaborar na discussão sobre a formação do engenheiro, com foco na engenharia elétrica e de computação, revisitando as definições de conceitos como educação em engenharia, aprendizagem ativa, inovação, Design Thinking e competências transversais, e definindo, como contribuição de pesquisa, os conceitos de tecno-pedagogia e ambientes tecno-pedagógicos, como pressuposto de convergência de estruturas tecnológicas, estratégias pedagógicas e métodos de avaliação em aprendizagem ativa para a inovação. Apresenta um método para identificar e quantificar o grau de ênfase das competências transversais para a inovação a partir da demanda de mercado para engenheiros eletricistas e da computação; e um método de observação, coleta e análise de dados sobre o desenvolvimento de competências transversais na participação em duas experiências de aula: na disciplina global ME310 da Universidade de Stanford; e na disciplina 030-3410 da Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo. Com isso, foi possível elaborar um método para auxiliar no planejamento de disciplinas e cursos com foco em inovação, identificando as competências transversais que devem ser incentivadas e relacionando tais competências com estratégias de ensino e aprendizagem e sugerindo a estrutura tecnológica e método de avaliação a serem adotados.

Motivational profiles Spanish students of Compulsory Secondary Education: Differential analysis of academic self-attributions

Academic goals and academic self-attributions are relevant variables in school settings. The objective of this study is to identify whether there are combinations of multiple goals that lead to different motivational profiles and to determine whether there are significant differences between the groups obtained regarding causal attributions of success and failure (ability, effort, or external causes) in Mathematics and Language and Literature, and in overall academic performance. The Goal Achievement Tendencies Questionnaire (AGTQ) and the Sydney Attribution Scale (SAS) were administered to a sample of 2022 students of compulsory secondary education, ranging in age from 12 to 16 years (M = 13.81, SD = 1.35). Cluster analysis identified four motivational profiles: a group of students with a high generalized motivation profile, a group of students with low generalized motivation profile, a group of students with predominance of learning goals and achievement goals, and a final group of students with predominance of social reinforcement goals. Results revealed statistically significant differences between the profiles obtained in academic self-attributions.

The future imagined: Exploring fiction as a means of reflecting on today’s Grand Societal Challenges and tomorrow’s options

European science policy (so-called Horizon 2020) is guided by Grand Societal Challenges (GSCs) with the explicit aim of shaping the future. In this paper we propose an innovative approach to the analysis and critique of Europe’s GSCs. The aim is to explore how speculative and creative fiction offer ways of embodying, telling, imagining, and symbolising ‘futures’, that can provide alternative frames and understandings to enrich the grand challenges of the 21st century, and the related rationale and agendas for ERA and H2020. We identify six ways in which filmic and literary representations can be considered creative foresight methods (i.e. through: creative input, detail, warning, reflection, critique, involvement) and can provide alternative perspectives on these central challenges, and warning signals for the science policy they inform. The inquiry involved the selection of 64 novels and movies engaging with notions of the future, produced over the last 150 years. Content analysis based on a standardised matrix of major themes and sub-domains, allows to build a hierarchy of themes and to identify major patterns of long-lasting concerns about humanity’s future. The study highlights how fiction sees oppression, inequality and a range of ethical issues linked to human and nature’s dignity as central to, and inseparable from innovation, technology and science. It concludes identifying warning signals in four major domains, arguing that these signals are compelling, and ought to be heard, not least because elements of such future have already escaped the imaginary world to make part of today’s experience. It identifies areas poorly defined or absent from Europe's science agenda, and argues for the need to increase research into human, social, political and cultural processes involved in techno-science endeavours.

The bear watches the dragon. The Russian debate on China. OSW Point of View Number 31, February 2013

Most participants in the Russian public debate seem to agree in their evaluation of the present condition of Russian-Chinese relations. There is awareness of increasing inequality between these two powers and Russia’s weakening position as compared to China.Those who share the optimistic view see co-operation with China as an opportunity for the Russian economy and a key element of Russia’s multi-directional foreign policy, an opportunity for Russia to avoid unilateral dependence on the West. The pessimists view the deepening co-operation with China through the prism of threats resulting from the increasing imbalance in bilateral relations. The greatest source of concern is the model of economic relations, which is often referred to as neo-colonial, where Russia’s role is reduced to that of a supplier of raw materials to China. The possible consequences are evaluated in different ways, ranging from the political subordination of Russian interests the Chinese ones to real loss of control over the Russian Far East. Those who share such views believe that Moscow should slow down its rapprochement with China and search for other partners in Eastern Asia, relations with whom could counterbalance the Chinese influence.

Technische auskunft.

Description based on: Juli 1912; title from cover.

Women, careers and information technology: An introduction

This special issue revisits the relationship between women, work and technology, focusing specifically on gender equity in information technology (IT) employment. Along with theoretical contestation over the broader relationship between gender and technology, arguments about the prospects for women in IT employment have ranged from optimistic to pessimistic extremes. On the one hand, optimists have envisaged a more gender-egalitarian workforce based on new occupations lacking traditional gender markers, and 'young' firms offering positive flexibilities and equal employment opportunity protections. On the other hand, pessimists anticipate that ongoing male dominance over tedmology and competitive pressures in the IT sector will ensure that the most prestigious and highly rewarded jobs remain concentrated in male hands, even as teclmologies and jobs are themselves transformed.

A COMUNICAÇÃO DE MERCADO E A RESSIGNIFICAÇÃO DE MARCA:como as interações em redes sociais virtuais geram a percepção do consumidor

Este estudo tem como objetivo analisar como os processos comunicacionais de manifestações perceptivas dos consumidores pós-modernos, a partir das interações em redes sociais virtuais, contribuem para a ressignificação da imagem de marca. Reavaliamos o processo comunicacional ante as novas interações econômicas e tecno-sociais, partindo de uma visão de consumo de significados e um deslocamento do marketing das necessidades para um marketing de sentidos. Para tanto, desenvolvemos um estudo de caso único da marca Lego, a partir de levantamento bibliográfico, levantamentos qualitativos das interações em sites, análise de conteúdo de blog e análise qualitativa de fórum de consumidores da marca. Assim, concluímos que a comunicação de mercado assume um papel aglutinador nas construções simbólicas da imagem de marca nas organizações e que a facilidade econômica e atemporal em compartilhar manifestações por meio da internet ressignifica a imagem de marca em um papel de troca simbólica na bolsa de valores de imagens das redes on-line.

Transfer of technology to China:A Scandinavian and European perspective

This paper examines the question of technology transfer from the perspective of techno-economic security and how companies respond to the possibility of losing competitive advantage through misappropriation or leakage. It explores transfers from Europe to China and addresses in particular the operations of Scandinavian companies within the context of the general picture for other European firms. Its point of departure is the authors' earlier research that looked at the motivations for transfer and the awareness of companies of techno-economic security issues. This has been supplemented by new data gathered by the authors from a number of Scandinavian companies in China. Specific actions have been identified and the ownership issue is introduced together with consideration of the role of the companies against the 'Ferdows' model. The analysis shows that the nature of the security question has changed together with the evolving context in which the companies are operating. In turn, the response of companies is contingent on a number of factors including the time horizon of the strategy for a unit in China and the nature of the strategy. It is also influenced by the form of ownership and management style in a particular organisation. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Enterprise resource planning and the post bureaucratic organization:'formalization' as trust in the system versus 'solidarity' as trust in individuals

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to use a case study setting involving the implementation of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to expose and analyze the conflicts in the characterizations of the post bureaucratic organisation (PBO) in the literature. ERP implementations are often accompanied by increasing levels of stress in organizations that place pressures on organizational relationships and structures. Additionally, ERPs are regarded as introducing their own techno-logic of centralization, standardization and formalization that provides an apparent contrast to the exhortations about employee empowerment. Design/methodology/approach – A case study of ERP implementation in a medium-sized entity is presented. The paper explores aspects of ERP and PBO from the context of postmodern organization theory. Findings – Some concerns about PBO identified in the literature are reflected in the case situation. For example, there is a commitment to give up private time and work flexibly by some employees. The paper also provides evidence of the way the management team substitute their reliance on a key individual knowledge worker for that of an ERP system and external vendor support. Paradoxically, trust in that same knowledge worker and between core users of the system is essential to enable the implementation of the system. Originality/value – This paper adds empirical insight to a predominantly theoretical literature. The case evidence indicates some conflicting implications in the concurrent adoption of PBO and ERP.

The pre-treatment and pyrolysis of biomass for the production of liquids for fuels and speciality chemicals

Fast pyrolysis of biomass is a significant technology for producing pyrolysis liquids [also known as bio-oil], which contain a number of chemicals. The pyrolysis liquid can be used as a fuel, can be produced solely as a source of chemicals or can have some of the chemicals extracted and the residue used as a fuel. There were two primary objectives of this work. The first was to determine the fast pyrolysis conditions required to maximise the pyrolysis liquid yield from a number of biomass feedstocks. The second objective was to selectively increase the yield of certain chemicals in the pyrolysis liquid by pre-treatment of the feedstock prior to pyrolysis. For a particular biomass feedstock the pyrolysis liquid yield is affected by the reactor process parameters. It has been found that, providing the other process parameters are restricted to the values shown below, reactor temperature is the controlling parameter. The maximum pyrolysis liquid yield and the temperature at which it occurs has been found by a series of pyrolysis experiments over the temperature range 400-600°C. high heating rates > 1000°C/s; pyrolysis vapour residence times <2 seconds; pyrolysis vapour temperatures >400 but <500°C; rapid quenching of the product vapours. Pre-treatment techniques have been devised to modify the chemical composition and/or structure of the biomass in such a way as to influence the chemical composition of the pyrolysis liquid product. The pre-treatments were divided into two groups, those that remove material from the biomass and those which add material to the biomass. Component removal techniques have selectively increased the yield of levoglucosan from 2.45 to 18.58 mf wt.% [dry feedstock basis]. Additive techniques have selectively increased the yield of hydroxyacetaldehyde from 7.26 to 11.63 mf w.% [dry feedstock basis]. Techno-economic assessment has been carried out on an integrated levoglucosan production process [incorporating pre-treatment, pyrolysis and chemical extraction stages] to assess which method of chemical production is the more cost effective. It has been found that it is better to pre-treat the biomass in order to increase the yield of specific chemicals in the pyrolysis liquid and hence improve subsequent chemicals extraction.

Estimation of the production cost of fast pyrolysis bio-oil

A number of papers and reports covering the techno-economic analysis of bio-oil production has been published. These have had different scopes, use different feedstocks and reflected national cost structures. This paper reviews and compares their cost estimates and the experimental results that underpin them. A comprehensive cost and performance model was produced based on consensus data from the previous studies or stated scenarios where data is not available that reflected UK costs. The model takes account sales of bio-char that is a co-product of pyrolysis and the electricity consumption of the pyrolysis plant and biomass pre-processing plants. It was concluded that it should be able to produce bio-oil in the UK from energy crops for a similar cost as distillate fuel oil. It was also found that there was little difference in the processing cost for woodchips and baled miscanthus. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.

Analysis of transport costs for energy crops for use in biomass pyrolysis plant networks

Fast pyrolysis of biomass produces a liquid bio-oil that can be used for electricity generation. Bio-oil can be stored and transported so it is possible to decouple the pyrolysis process from the generation process. This allows each process to be separately optimised. It is necessary to have an understanding of the transport costs involved in order to carry out techno-economic assessments of combinations of remote pyrolysis plants and generation plants. Published fixed and variable costs for freight haulage have been used to calculate the transport cost for trucks running between field stores and a pyrolysis plant. It was found that the key parameter for estimating these costs was the number of round trips a day a truck could make rather than the distance covered. This zone costing approach was used to estimate the transport costs for a range of pyrolysis plants size for willow woodchips and baled miscanthus. The possibility of saving transport costs by producing bio-oil near to the field stores and transporting the bio-oil to a central plant was investigated and it was found that this would only be cost effective for large generation plants.

Solar thermal collectors for use in hybrid solar-biomass power plants in India

This thesis examined solar thermal collectors for use in alternative hybrid solar-biomass power plant applications in Gujarat, India. Following a preliminary review, the cost-effective selection and design of the solar thermal field were identified as critical factors underlying the success of hybrid plants. Consequently, the existing solar thermal technologies were reviewed and ranked for use in India by means of a multi-criteria decision-making method, the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Informed by the outcome of the AHP, the thesis went on to pursue the Linear Fresnel Reflector (LFR), the design of which was optimised with the help of ray-tracing. To further enhance collector performance, LFR concepts incorporating novel mirror spacing and drive mechanisms were evaluated. Subsequently, a new variant, termed the Elevation Linear Fresnel Reflector (ELFR) was designed, constructed and tested at Aston University, UK, therefore allowing theoretical models for the performance of a solar thermal field to be verified. Based on the resulting characteristics of the LFR, and data gathered for the other hybrid system components, models of hybrid LFR- and ELFR-biomass power plants were developed and analysed in TRNSYS®. The techno-economic and environmental consequences of varying the size of the solar field in relation to the total plant capacity were modelled for a series of case studies to evaluate different applications: tri-generation (electricity, ice and heat), electricity-only generation, and process heat. The case studies also encompassed varying site locations, capacities, operational conditions and financial situations. In the case of a hybrid tri-generation plant in Gujarat, it was recommended to use an LFR solar thermal field of 14,000 m2 aperture with a 3 tonne biomass boiler, generating 815 MWh per annum of electricity for nearby villages and 12,450 tonnes of ice per annum for local fisheries and food industries. However, at the expense of a 0.3 ¢/kWh increase in levelised energy costs, the ELFR increased saving of biomass (100 t/a) and land (9 ha/a). For solar thermal applications in areas with high land cost, the ELFR reduced levelised energy costs. It was determined that off-grid hybrid plants for tri-generation were the most feasible application in India. Whereas biomass-only plants were found to be more economically viable, it was concluded that hybrid systems will soon become cost competitive and can considerably improve current energy security and biomass supply chain issues in India.

Why are optimistic entrepreneurs successful? An application of the regulatory focus theory

Does entrepreneurial optimism affect business performance? Using a unique data set based on repeated survey design, we investigate this relationship empirically. Our measures of ëoptimismí and ërealismí are derived from comparing the turnover growth expectations of ...133 owners-managers with the actual outcomes one year later. Our results indicate that entrepreneurial optimists perform significantly better in terms of profits than pessimists. Moreover, it is the optimist-realist combination that performs best. We interpret our results using regulatory focus theory.

Why are optimistic entrepreneurs successful? An application of the regulatory focus theory

Does entrepreneurial optimism affect business performance? Using a unique data set based on repeated survey design, we investigate this relationship empirically. Our measures of ‘optimism’ and ‘realism’ are derived from comparing the turnover growth expectations of 133 owners-managers with the actual outcomes one year later. Our results indicate that entrepreneurial optimists perform significantly better in terms of profits than pessimists. Moreover, it is the optimist-realist combination that performs best. We interpret our results using regulatory focus theory.