ScriptLattes: an open-source knowledge extraction system from the Lattes platform

The Lattes platform is the major scientific information system maintained by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). This platform allows to manage the curricular information of researchers and institutions working in Brazil based on the so called Lattes Curriculum. However, the public information is individually available for each researcher, not providing the automatic creation of reports of several scientific productions for research groups. It is thus difficult to extract and to summarize useful knowledge for medium to large size groups of researchers. This paper describes the design, implementation and experiences with scriptLattes: an open-source system to create academic reports of groups based on curricula of the Lattes Database. The scriptLattes system is composed by the following modules: (a) data selection, (b) data preprocessing, (c) redundancy treatment, (d) collaboration graph generation among group members, (e) research map generation based on geographical information, and (f) automatic report creation of bibliographical, technical and artistic production, and academic supervisions. The system has been extensively tested for a large variety of research groups of Brazilian institutions, and the generated reports have shown an alternative to easily extract knowledge from data in the context of Lattes platform. The source code, usage instructions and examples are available at http://scriptlattes.sourceforge.net/.

Kerteszia subgenus of Anopheles associated with the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest: current knowledge and future challenges

Background: The Atlantic rainforest ecosystem, where bromeliads are abundant, provides an excellent environment for Kerteszia species, because these anophelines use the axils of those plants as larval habitat. Anopheles (K.) cruzii and Anopheles (K.) bellator are considered the primary vectors of malaria in the Atlantic forest. Although the incidence of malaria has declined in some areas of the Atlantic forest, autochthonous cases are still registered every year, with Anopheles cruzii being considered to be a primary vector of both human and simian Plasmodium. Methods: Recent publications that addressed ecological aspects that are important for understanding the involvement of Kerteszia species in the epidemiology of malaria in the Atlantic rainforest in the Neotropical Region were analysed. Conclusion: The current state of knowledge about Kerteszia species in relation to the Atlantic rainforest ecosystem was discussed. Emphasis was placed on ecological characteristics related to epidemiological aspects of this group of mosquitoes. The main objective was to investigate biological aspects of the species that should be given priority in future studies

Students' collective knowledge construction in the virtual learning environment ""ToLigado - your school interactive newspaper""

Introduction. The ToLigado Project - Your School Interactive Newspaper is an interactive virtual learning environment conceived, developed, implemented and supported by researchers at the School of the Future Research Laboratory of the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Method. This virtual learning environment aims to motivate trans-disciplinary research among public school students and teachers in 2,931 schools equipped with Internet-access computer rooms. Within this virtual community, students produce collective multimedia research documents that are immediately published in the portal. The project also aims to increase students' autonomy for research, collaborative work and Web authorship. Main sections of the portal are presented and described. Results. Partial results of the first two years' implementation are presented and indicate a strong motivation among students to produce knowledge despite the fragile hardware and software infrastructure at the time. Discussion. In this new environment, students should be seen as 'knowledge architects' and teachers as facilitators, or 'curiosity managers'. The ToLigado portal may constitute a repository for future studies regarding student attitudes in virtual learning environments, students' behaviour as 'authors', Web authorship involving collective knowledge production, teachers' behaviour as facilitators, and virtual learning environments as digital repositories of students' knowledge construction and social capital in virtual learning communities.

Influence of the technological innovation degree on knowledge creation: Evidence from a Brazilian firm

The aim of this paper is to analyze the process of knowledge creation when developing high technology products in projects having various innovation degrees. The main contribution to the literature is the systematization of an approach to analyze knowledge creation during the product innovation process. Three innovation projects developed by a company specialized in industrial automation systems were investigated using case studies. The knowledge creation processes, which took place in these three projects, were analyzed comparatively. As a distinctive result of this paper, the main features of the knowledge creation processes influenced by a degree of technological innovation are identified.

A primeira planta cartográfica da cidade de São Paulo

The first known plan of the city of Sao Paulo, made in 1810 by Rufino Felizardo e Costa, is analyzed with emphasis on the cartographic and astronomical details: the precision, scale, magnetic declination, and orientation in relation to the north, the prime meridian, the precision of the coordinates (latitude and longitude) and others. An analytic methodology is followed, observing the plan and formulating questions. To answer then, resources of modern technologies are employed (digital cartography, GPS) as well as knowledge of the history of cartography. The work is justified by the fact that there are no cartographic studies about this important document.

Living Our Lives on the Edge: Power, Space and Sexual Orientation in Cape Town Townships, South Africa

Much of social science literature about South African cities fails to represent its complex spectrum of sexual practices and associated identities. The unintended effects of such representations are that a compulsory heterosexuality is naturalised in, and reiterative with, dominant constructions of blackness in townships. In this paper, we argue that the assertion of discreet lesbian and gay identities in black townships of a South African city such as Cape Town is influenced by the historical racial and socio-economic divides that have marked urban landscape. In their efforts to recoup a positive sense of gendered personhood, residents have constructed a moral economy anchored in reproductive heterosexuality. We draw upon ethnographic data to show how sexual minorities live their lives vicariously in spaces they have prised open within the extant sex/gender binary. They are able to assert the identities of moffie and man-vrou (mannish woman) without threatening the dominant ideology of heterosexuality.

A Paradigm Shift in Predoctoral Dental Curricula in Brazil: Evaluating the Process of Change

In 2002, the Brazilian Ministry of Education approved the official curricular guidelines for undergraduate courses in Brazil to be adopted by the nation's 188 dental schools. In 2005-06, the Brazilian Dental Education Association (BDEA) promoted workshops in forty-eight of the schools to verify the degree of transformation of the curriculum based on these guidelines. Among the areas analyzed were course philosophy (variables were v1: knowledge production based on the needs of the Brazilian Public Health System [BPHS]; v2: health determinants; and v3: postgraduate studies and permanent education); pedagogical skills (v4: curricular structure; v5: changes in pedagogic and didactic skills; and v6: course program orientation); and dental practice scenarios (v7: diversity of the scenarios for training/learning; v8: academic health care centers opened to the BPHS; and v9: participation of students in health care delivery for the population). The subjects consisted of faculty members (n=711), students (n=228), and employees (n=14). The results showed an incipient degree of curriculum transformation. The degree of innovation was statistically different depending on the type of university (public or private) for variables I, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7. Private schools reported a higher level of innovation than public institutions. Resistance to transforming the dental curriculum according to the official guidelines may be linked to an ideological conception that supports the private practice model, continues to have faculty members direct all classroom activities, and prevents students from developing an understanding of professional practice as targeted towards the oral health needs of all segments of society.

Knowledge acquisition by networks of interacting agents in the presence of observation errors

In this work we investigate knowledge acquisition as performed by multiple agents interacting as they infer, under the presence of observation errors, respective models of a complex system. We focus the specific case in which, at each time step, each agent takes into account its current observation as well as the average of the models of its neighbors. The agents are connected by a network of interaction of Erdos-Renyi or Barabasi-Albert type. First, we investigate situations in which one of the agents has a different probability of observation error (higher or lower). It is shown that the influence of this special agent over the quality of the models inferred by the rest of the network can be substantial, varying linearly with the respective degree of the agent with different estimation error. In case the degree of this agent is taken as a respective fitness parameter, the effect of the different estimation error is even more pronounced, becoming superlinear. To complement our analysis, we provide the analytical solution of the overall performance of the system. We also investigate the knowledge acquisition dynamic when the agents are grouped into communities. We verify that the inclusion of edges between agents (within a community) having higher probability of observation error promotes the loss of quality in the estimation of the agents in the other communities.

Substrate orientation effect on potential fluctuations in multiquantum wells of GaAs/AlGaAs

The photoluminescence (PL) technique as a function of temperature and excitation intensity was used to study the optical properties of multiquantum wells (MQWs) of GaAs/Al(x)Ga(1-x)As grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs substrates oriented in the [100], [311]A, and [311]B directions. The asymmetry presented by the PL spectra of the MQWs with an apparent exponential tail in the lower-energy side and the unusual behavior of the PL peak energy versus temperature (blueshift) at low temperatures are explained by the exciton localization in the confinement potential fluctuations of the heterostructures. The PL peak energy dependence with temperature was fitted by the expression proposed by Passler [Phys. Status Solidi B 200, 155 (1997)] by subtracting the term sigma(2)(E)/k(B)T, which considers the presence of potential fluctuations. It can be verified from the PL line shape, the full width at half maximum of PL spectra, the sigma(E) values obtained from the adjustment of experimental points, and the blueshift maximum values that the samples grown in the [311]A/B directions have higher potential fluctuation amplitude than the sample grown in the [100] direction. This indicates a higher degree of the superficial corrugations for the MQWs grown in the [311] direction. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Elderly online: Effects of a digital inclusion program in cognitive performance

There is little empirical data about the impact of digital inclusion on cognition among older adults. This paper aimed at investigating the effects of a digital inclusion program in the cognitive performance of older individuals who participated in a computer learning workshop named ""Idosos On-Line`` (Elderly Online). Forty-two aged individuals participated in the research study: 22 completed the computer training workshop and 20 constituted the control group. All subjects answered a sociodemographic questionnaire and completed the Addenbrooke`s cognitive examination, revised (ACE-R), which examines five cognitive domains: orientation and attention, memory, verbal fluency, language, and visuo-spatial skills. It was noted that the experimental group`s cognitive performance significantly improved after the program, particularly in the language and memory domains, when compared to the control group. These findings suggest that the acquisition of new knowledge and the use of a new tool, that makes it possible to access the Internet, may bring gains to cognition. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Religiosity and Sexuality: Experiences of Brazilian Catholic Women

The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of a group of Catholic women related to the orientations received from priests and parents and their influence on sexual attitudes. The oral history method was used to interview 17 Catholic women. Three categories summarize women`s experiences: orientations about sexuality received from priests; lack of orientation or existence of open dialogue about sexuality: distinct experiences in the family context; adherence or repudiation; and distinct attitudes toward orientations received. Health professionals systematically should seek knowledge about women`s religious principles, because this is essential for meaningful and ethical health care.

Pressure Ulcer Knowledge Among Nurses in a Brazilian University Hospital

To facilitate the implementation of evidence-based skin and pressure ulcer (PU) care practices and related staff education programs in a university hospital in Brazil, a cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate nurses` knowledge about PU prevention, wound assessment, and staging. Of the 141 baccalaureate nurses (BSN) employed by the hospital at the time of the study, 106 consented to participate. Using a Portuguese version of Pieper`s Pressure Ulcer Knowledge Test (PUKT), participants were asked to indicate whether 33 statements about PU prevention and eight about PU assessment and staging were true or false. For the 33 prevention statements, the average number answered correctly was 26.07 (SD 4.93) and for the eight assessment statements the average was 4.59 (SD 1.62). Nurses working on inpatient clinical nursing units had significantly better scores (P = 0.000). Years of nursing experience had a weak and negative correlation with correct PUKT scores (r = -0.21, P = 0.033) as did years of experience working in the university hospital (r = -.179, P <071). Incorrect responses were most common for statements related to patient positioning, massage, PU assessment, and staging definitions. The results of this study confirm that nurses have an overall understanding of PU prevention and assessment principles but important knowledge deficits exist. Focused continuing education efforts are needed to facilitate the implementation of evidence-based care.

Learning benefits of self-controlled knowledge of results in 10-year-old children

PIBIC-CNPq-Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Technologico

Relative frequency of knowledge of results and task complexity in the motor skill acqusition

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of knowledge of results (KR) frequency and task complexity on motor skill acquisition. The task consisted of throwing a bocha ball to place it as close as possible to the target ball. 120 students ages 11 to 73 years were assigned to one of eight experimental groups according to knowledge of results frequency (25, 50, 75, and 100%) and task complexity (simple and complex). Subjects performed 90 trials in the acquisition phase and 10 trials in the transfer test. The results showed that knowledge of results given at a frequency of 25% resulted in an inferior absolute error than 50% and inferior variable error than 50, 75, and 100 I frequencies, but no effect of task complexity was found.

Effect of bandwidth knowledge of results on the learning of a grip force control task

An experiment was conducted to investigate the persistence of the effect of ""bandwidth knowledge of results (KR)"" manipulated during the learning phase of performing a manual force-control task. The experiment consisted of two phases, an acquisition phase with the goal of maintaining 60% maximum force in 30 trials, and a second phase with the objective of maintaining 40% of maximum force in 20 further trials. There were four bandwidths of KR: when performance error exceeded 5, 10, or 15% of the target, and a control group (0% bandwidth). Analysis showed that 5, 10, and 15% bandwidth led to better performance than 0% bandwidth KR at the beginning of the second phase and persisted during the extended trials.