Aplicação das ferramentas da qualidade em uma trefilaria de arames

In today's competitive environment the search for continuous improvement becomes an important factor for maintaining competitiveness. The present work aims to enable the reduction in the number of interruptions of production in a wire drawing mill, with the method of analysis and problem solving (MASP) and the use of quality tools. In this study, it was observed that the use of quality tools is indispensable when it comes to routine management or process improvement because it will enable the identification of improvement opportunities, as well as the definition of an action plan

Um estudo sobre a resolução de problemas e suas relações com a afetividade

This research aims at examining the relationship between the performance of elementary school students Cycle I in problem solving and attitudes toward mathematics. For this, a research was conducted at a state school in the city of Bauru which was selected for convenience. Participants were randomly selected consisting of 75 students, of whom 21 were third years and 57 were of three classes of fifth year. The instruments used for data collection were: a informative questionnaire to characterize the students in age, grade, favorite subjects and the least liked, among others, an attitude scale, Likert type, to examine the attitudes toward mathematics; a interviews with 11 selected students according to scores on the attitudes and mathematical problems to be solved through the method of thinking aloud. The results showed that the major difficulties encountered by students in solving problems were: to understand the problems, formalizing the reasoning, recognize in the problem the algorithms needed for its resolution, make calculations with decimal numbers, do combinatorics, using the sum of equal portions instead of multiplying, self-confidence and autonomy in what he was doing, and others; participants with positive attitudes towards mathematics showed greater confidence to solve problems as well as a greater understanding on what was required by them, but were not detected significant relation between the attitudes and performance, since it was unfavorable

Metodologias de Inovação: Soluções da TRIZ aplicadas em um ambiente design thinking

This work discusses the theories of TRIZ and Design Thinking, as well as the association of the two theories by a tool for the application of TRIZ in a Design Thinking environment. This work proposes the association of the theories by an easy and systematic method constituted by a step by step process. The objective of this work is to create a method that facilitates the application of the two innovation theories helping the inventors to develop new products without the necessity of being creative people. By the end of the work is shown the research case accomplished as an empirical analysis of this tool that can be a fast and efficient method to solve inventive problems focused in the expectations and necessities of the clients

Metodologias de Inovação: Soluções da TRIZ aplicadas em um ambiente design thinking

This work discusses the theories of TRIZ and Design Thinking, as well as the association of the two theories by a tool for the application of TRIZ in a Design Thinking environment. This work proposes the association of the theories by an easy and systematic method constituted by a step by step process. The objective of this work is to create a method that facilitates the application of the two innovation theories helping the inventors to develop new products without the necessity of being creative people. By the end of the work is shown the research case accomplished as an empirical analysis of this tool that can be a fast and efficient method to solve inventive problems focused in the expectations and necessities of the clients

A Chaotic Approach of Differential Evolution Optimization Applied to Loudspeaker Design Problem

Over the past few years, the field of global optimization has been very active, producing different kinds of deterministic and stochastic algorithms for optimization in the continuous domain. These days, the use of evolutionary algorithms (EAs) to solve optimization problems is a common practice due to their competitive performance on complex search spaces. EAs are well known for their ability to deal with nonlinear and complex optimization problems. Differential evolution (DE) algorithms are a family of evolutionary optimization techniques that use a rather greedy and less stochastic approach to problem solving, when compared to classical evolutionary algorithms. The main idea is to construct, at each generation, for each element of the population a mutant vector, which is constructed through a specific mutation operation based on adding differences between randomly selected elements of the population to another element. Due to its simple implementation, minimum mathematical processing and good optimization capability, DE has attracted attention. This paper proposes a new approach to solve electromagnetic design problems that combines the DE algorithm with a generator of chaos sequences. This approach is tested on the design of a loudspeaker model with 17 degrees of freedom, for showing its applicability to electromagnetic problems. The results show that the DE algorithm with chaotic sequences presents better, or at least similar, results when compared to the standard DE algorithm and other evolutionary algorithms available in the literature.

Numerical solutions of elliptic inverse problems via the equation error method

To estimate a parameter in an elliptic boundary value problem, the method of equation error chooses the value that minimizes the error in the PDE and boundary condition (the solution of the BVP having been replaced by a measurement). The estimated parameter converges to the exact value as the measured data converge to the exact value, provided Tikhonov regularization is used to control the instability inherent in the problem. The error in the estimated solution can be bounded in an appropriate quotient norm; estimates can be derived for both the underlying (infinite-dimensional) problem and a finite-element discretization that can be implemented in a practical algorithm. Numerical experiments demonstrate the efficacy and limitations of the method.

Children's performance estimation in mathematics and science tests over a school year: A pilot study

The metacognitve ability to accurately estimate ones performance in a test, is assumed to be of central importance for initializing task-oriented effort. In addition activating adequate problem-solving strategies, and engaging in efficient error detection and correction. Although school children's' ability to estimate their own performance has been widely investigated, this was mostly done under highly-controlled, experimental set-ups including only one single test occasion. Method: The aim of this study was to investigate this metacognitive ability in the context of real achievement tests in mathematics. Developed and applied by a teacher of a 5th grade class over the course of a school year these tests allowed the exploration of the variability of performance estimation accuracy as a function of test difficulty. Results: Mean performance estimations were generally close to actual performance with somewhat less variability compared to test performance. When grouping the children into three achievement levels, results revealed higher accuracy of performance estimations in the high achievers compared to the low and average achievers. In order to explore the generalization of these findings, analyses were also conducted for the same children's tests in their science classes revealing a very similar pattern of results compared to the domain of mathematics. Discussion and Conclusion: By and large, the present study, in a natural environment, confirmed previous laboratory findings but also offered additional insights into the generalisation and the test dependency of students' performances estimations.

Beyond questionnaires – Exploring adult education teachers' mathematical beliefs with pictures and interviews

Because of the impact that mathematical beliefs have on an individual’s behaviour, they are generally well researched. However, little mathematical belief research has taken place in the field of adult education. This paper presents preliminary results from a study conducted in this field in Switzerland. It is based on Ernest’s (1989) description of mathematics as an instrumental, Platonist or problem solving construct. The analysis uses pictures drawn by the participants and interviews conducted with them as data. Using a categorising scheme developed by Rolka and Halverscheid (2011), the author argues that adults’ mathematical beliefs are complex and especially personal aspects are difficult to capture with said scheme. Particularly the analysis of visual data requires a more refined method of analysis.

The SureMath Approach to Success in Freshman Chemistry

The SureMath scheme is an alternate algebraic approach to "word problem" solving. It is used here in a freshman chemistry setting to aid students who need another method for solving chemistry problems.

Measuring the influence of Cooperative Learning and Project Based Learning on problem solvin skill.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects obtained after applying two active learning methodologies (cooperative learning and project based learning) to the achievement of the competence problem solving. This study was carried out at the Technical University of Madrid, where these methodologies were applied to two Operating Systems courses. The first hypothesis tested was whether the implementation of active learning methodologies favours the achievement of ?problem solving?. The second hypothesis was focused on testing if students with higher rates in problem solving competence obtain better results in their academic performance. The results indicated that active learning methodologies do not produce any significant change in the generic competence ?problem solving? during the period analysed. Concerning this, we consider that students should work with these methodologies for a longer period, besides having a specific training. Nevertheless, a close correlation between problem solving self appraisal and academic performance has been detected.

Implementation of Boundary Elements in Microcomputers

In this chapter we are going to develop some aspects of the implementation of the boundary element method (BEM)in microcomputers. At the moment the BEM is established as a powerful tool for problem-solving and several codes have been developed and maintained on an industrial basis for large computers. It is also well known that one of the more attractive features of the BEM is the reduction of the discretization to the boundary of the domain under study. As drawbacks, we found the non-bandedness of the final matrix, wich is a full asymmetric one, and the computational difficulties related to obtaining the integrals which appear in the influence coefficients. Te reduction in dimensionality is crucial from the point of view of microcomputers, and we believe that it can be used to obtain competitive results against other domain methods. We shall discuss two applications in this chapter. The first one is related to plane linear elastostatic situations, and the second refers to plane potential problems. In the first case we shall present the classical isoparametric BEM approach, using linear elements to represent both the geometry and the variables. The second case shows how to implement a p-adaptive procedure using the BEM. This latter case has not been studied until recently, and we think that the future of the BEM will be related to its development and to the judicious exploitation of the graphics capabilities of modern micros. Some examples will be included to demonstrate the kind of results that can be expected and sections of printouts will show useful details of implementation. In order to broaden their applicability, these printouts have been prepared in Basic, although no doubt other languages may be more appropiate for effective implementation.

Wind tunnel experiments to teach physics

Innovative teaching experimental activities for secondary school students have been developed in order to introduce some aerodynamic concepts, with the aim of making science subjects such as mathematics and physics more attractive. Post-graduate students of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) and teachers of Deutsche Schule Madrid (DSM) have constructed a small wind tunnel. The main goal has been to provide a tool for secondary school students to become familiar with the scientific method developing curiosity, imagination, initiative, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Students of DSM have performed wind tunnel experiments, resulting in a successful and amusing experience. The students were able to relate the experimental results obtained with the physic principle of flight, previously explained in class. Evaluations reveal that both, the teacher and the students, considered the experience as interesting and helpful to lead with teaching physics, mathematics and engineering sciences. The teacher observed the strong motivation factor developed for the students to continue learning engineering sciences. Some of the students expressed that this experience had changed their prejudices about physics and mathematics, based only on theoretical approaches.

O AGENDAMENTO DE TELEJORNAIS BRASILEIROS EM SITES NOTICIOSOS DE CONTEÚDO COLABORATIVO

The thesis investigates if with the free news production, people who post information on collaborative content sites, known as interacting, tend to reproduce information that was scheduled for Tv news. This study is a comparison of the collaborative content vehicles Vc reporter, Vc no G1 and Eu reporter with TV news SBT Brasil, Jornal Nacional, Jornal da Record and Jornal da Band. We sought to determine whether those newscasts guide the collaborative platforms. The hypothesis assumes that Brazilian TV news have been building over time a credible relationship with the viewer, so it is possible to think that the interacting use the same criteria for selecting the broadcasts and reproduce similar information in collaborative content sites. The method used was content analysis, based on the study of Laurence Bardin and the type of research used was quantitative. This research concluded that, within a small portion of the universe surveyed, there are schedules of television news across the collaborative content.

COMUNICAÇÃO INSTITUCIONAL E UNIVERSIDADE: diretrizes para a divulgação científica no estado de Mato Grosso

O estudo visa identificar as iniciativas de Divulgação Científica empreendidas pela Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso (UFMT) e Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso (Unemat), com vistas à atualização e ao aperfeiçoamento da comunicação institucional, maior interação com interlocutores e fortalecimento da imagem do estado como produtor de CT&I. Foram empreendidas pesquisas bibliográficas e documentais, áreas prioritárias de fomento e difusão científica; entrevistas; auditoria de imagem na mídia estadual; diagnóstico dos principais produtos de jornalismo científico desenvolvidos pela UFMT e Unemat, assim como iniciativas conjuntas (revista Fapemat Ciência e Rede de Divulgação Científica). O método investigativo adotado pode ser caracterizado como Pesquisa Participante, concebido em estreita associação com resolução de problemas, tomada de consciência ou produção de novos conhecimentos (THIOLLENT, 1996, 1997). Tal estratégia agrega distintas técnicas de pesquisa social, definidas em função de cada fase do processo de investigação. A partir da análise dos conteúdos científicos publicados nos jornais estaduais, foi possível verificar que essas IES públicas ainda não ocupam lugar relevante em tais veículos, o que pode ser justificado pela inadequação de linguagem ou canais de relacionamento, assim como, pela necessidade de uma política de divulgação mais eficiente. O mapeamento dos portais e canais de mídias sociais institucionais evidenciou que a utilização desses veículos ainda pode ser mais bem dinamizada. Por fim, as conclusões apontam que diferenças culturais e institucionais entre as duas IES inviabilizam a adoção de uma Política de Comunicação Científica integrada, comum entre UFMT e Unemat. O que pode ser considerado, é o desenvolvimento de ações para a dinamização de divulgação dessas instituições, no âmbito do Sistema Estadual de CT&I.

Estudo comparativo de técnicas numéricas de inversão para obtenção de distribuição de tamanho de gotas em emulsões.

O desenvolvimento de algoritmos computacionais para a obtenção de distribuições de tamanho de partícula em dispersões e que utilizam dados espectroscópicos em tempo real e in-line a partir de sensores permitirá uma variedade de aplicações, como o monitoramento de propriedades em fluidos de corte industriais, acompanhamento de processos de polimerização, tratamento de efluentes e sensoriamento atmosférico. O presente estudo tem como objetivo a implementação e comparação de técnicas para resolução de problemas de inversão, desenvolvendo algoritmos que forneçam distribuição de tamanho de partículas em dispersões a partir de dados de espectroscopia UV-Vis-Nir (Ultravioleta, Visível e Infravermelho próximo). Foram implementadas quatro técnicas, sendo uma delas um método alternativo sem a presença de etapas de inversão. Os métodos que utilizaram alguma técnica de inversão evidenciaram a dificuldade em se obter distribuições de tamanho de gotas (DTG) de boa qualidade, enquanto o método alternativo foi aquele que se mostrou mais eficiente e confiável. Este estudo é parte de um programa cooperativo entre a Universidade de São Paulo e a Universidade de Bremen chamado programa BRAGECRIM (Brazilian German Cooperative Research Initiative in Manufacturing) e é financiado pela FAPESP, CAPES, FINEP e CNPq (Brasil) e DFG (Alemanha).