Monitorização ambiental em espaços florestais com rede de sensores sem fios

O objectivo deste projecto é desenvolver um sistema de monitorização florestal recorrendo às Redes de Sensores sem Fios. Para a monitorização florestal foi desenvolvido um protótipo cuja função é obter periodicamente os valores de temperatura, humidade, luminosidade, tensão nas baterias e a indicação do nível de sinal de rádio frequência recebido (RSSI- Received Signal Strength Indicator). O equipamento referido foi instalado num ambiente exterior, com características semelhantes à de interesse de modo a permitir avaliar os efeitos do ambiente no desempenho da rede. O funcionamento das Redes de Sensores sem Fios, baseadas no protocolo ZigBee, foi estudado e depois aplicado para transmitir os valores obtidos. Os dados referidos percorrem a rede ZigBee até alcançar a estação base, que tem como função processar, manipular, armazenar numa base de dados e disponibilizar os dados em tempo real através de uma página de Internet. Como os dados são armazenados é sempre possível efectuar uma consulta à base de dados para realização de estudos e estatísticas. Tendo em conta a capacidade limitada dos sistemas de armazenamento de energia utilizados em ambientes exteriores, foi desenvolvido um algoritmo que permite comutar os dispositivos na rede ZigBee de router para end-device e vice-versa, de modo a diminuir o consumo de energia e aumentar o tempo de vida da rede. Este algoritmo foi testado numa situação em que os nós sensores estão colocados em linha, existindo um único salto entre os mesmos.

Oferta e acessibilidade de espaços para a prática de actividade física e desportiva: que relação com a aptidão aeróbia, composição corporal e actividade física em jovens da RAM?

Na última década, tem havido um crescente número de estudos focados na influência do envolvimento físico (EnvF) nos níveis de actividade física (AF). Tem sido assim possível verificar-se que o EnvF incluindo edifícios, infra-estruturas de transporte, elementos de design e instalações recreativas, influenciam os níveis de AF (Powell et al., 2006; Sallis, 2006). A identificação dos factores do EnvF que estão associados à AF dos jovens pode revelar determinantes promissoras e levar ao desenvolvimento de estratégias de intervenção mais eficazes (Sallis, Bauman & Pratt 1998). O presente estudo pretende verificar se, a existência e acessibilidade a determinados espaços físicos para a prática da AF estão associados aos níveis de actividade e Aptidão Física em alunos do 5º e 7º ano de escolaridade da RAM. Metodologia: Neste estudo participaram 2724 sujeitos de ambos os sexos, com uma média de 11,7 + 1,59 anos de idade, pertencentes a oito escolas da RAM. Os alunos foram avaliados nos parâmetros: composição corporal (peso, altura e pregas de adiposidade tricipital e geminal); aptidão aeróbia (teste do vaivém); historial e participação desportiva. A percentagem de Massa Gorda foi calculada através da equação de Slaughter et al. (1988) e os sujeitos classificados em níveis de adiposidade de acordo com as categorias de risco de Lohman (1987). Ao nível do Índice de Massa Corporal (IMC) todos os participantes foram categorizados segundo os valores de referência de Cole et al. (2000 e 2007). Os dados relativos à participação e historial desportivo, grupo de participação, frequência e duração de AF foram obtidos através de questionários. O EnvF foi caracterizado através da oferta de espaços de AF e das características dos mesmos dentro e fora da escola (raio de 800m), com base na observação directa e GPS, e entrevistas aos directores de instalações das escolas. Resultados: Verificou-se a existência de 71 espaços para a prática de AF. Relativamente à totalidade da amostra: 23,6% e 9,2% classificam-se, respectivamente, como sujeitos com excesso de peso e obesidade; 7% revelou participar em AF diária; e 61,7% classifica-se abaixo da zona saudável da aptidão aeróbia. Foram encontradas associações entre a prática desportiva e os indicadores de adiposidade e aptidão aeróbia (p<0,05). A participação desportiva está associada à oferta de espaços existentes dentro e fora das escolas.

Espaços especiais em Natal (moradia e meio ambiente): um necessário diálogo entre direitos e espaços na perspectiva de proteção aos direitos fundamentais na cidade contemporânea

Some protected special spaces on behalf of fundamental rights to the environment and the housing at the city of Natal are fragile by facing actions and attempts to suppress and changing (or omission in the implementation) of standards in furtherance of those rights at the local level, which seems to reflect a situation that goes beyond the context of the city. Based on integrated approach of the housing rights and the environment and its protection of special spaces on the field of fundamental rights, the thesis seeks to understand the weaknesses that affect the legal state duty under the realization/implementation of fundamental rights to the environment and housing in cities, focusing on the issues of flexibility of the founding legislation of special spaces to the detriment of the attributes they protected and the lack of implementation of the legal system that allows their effectiveness. So, it looks initially to understand the environment and housing rights and their special protected areas in the brazilian legal system, looking forward the evolution of its legal protection, as well as the weaknesses that emerge in the field of their effectiveness. Analyzing the trajectory of the environment and housing rights and their special protected areas in Natal, considering its standards, attributes, protection indicators, weaknesses and negative evidence within its legal protections and their enforcement by state entity, this thesis proposes to verify the existence of forms to confronting the weaknesses founded in the maintenance of legal protection and its implementation. At this point it discusses the legal basis and safeguard instruments of protection, especially within the juridical field, as part of a (re)discussion about issues of legislative and administrative discretion in the face of objective legal state duty to realization/implementation of fundamental rights in the urban space. With all these issues together the thesis does not ignore the scenario where the dividing line between public and private (economic) are becoming ever more tenuous in the field of state action and where the city stands as a special commodity to the reproduction of real estate, according to the interests of capitalist logic

Intervenções urbanas em espaços de desvalia. Transformar para valorizar.

The worldwide transformations that took place in the 20th century redefined the cities fate in this new century. The consolidation of urbanization, the technological revolution that fostered globalization, the economic restructuration and informalization, modified space and time concepts, bringing populations closer together and provoking political transformations. They made contemporaries cities protagonists of world events and as a consequence of such processes, worthlessness spaces appeared and cities all over the world started to bet on the strategy of acting in this problematic areas through initiatives aimed at promoting intentional transformations to obtain a multidimensional valorization urban, financial, environmental, cultural and social. In short, such urban initiatives intend to make cities more competitive, sustainable, creative, productive and fair. Also in Brazil, countless worthless spaces appeared in waterfronts, central areas, and deactivated industrial/urbanized areas, as well as in sub-used or misused areas lacking infrastructure and public services where it is imperative and urgent to perform urban initiatives. This research proposes as a thesis that urban initiatives, when carried out based on an adequate politicalinstitutional model, transform and give value to worthless spaces in their multiple dimensions, offering better quality of life to their residents and helping to fulfill the social role of the city. We intend to prove this thesis through the analysis of national and international cases and by introducing thoughts, critique and guidelines as a contribution to the improvement of the urban initiatives implementation processes, in particular to those regarding worthless areas of Brazilian cities

O projeto de arquitetura de espaços temporários com o uso de sistema construtivo remontável: um estudo exploratório

The purpose of this research is to study the portable or reassemblable architectures, which, different from conventional architecture (whose designs are of permanent buildings), corresponds to the designing of spaces with temporary purposes. The focus of the study is the architectural design of spaces that are produced from building systems that can to be moved to different places (process of assembly / disassembly / reassembly) in order to identify the types of spaces generated and the processes used in their design / projecting. The aim is to investigate relationships between the initial project conceived based on a Reassemblable Construction System (RCS) and its application in the architectural design of professionals and students in order to contribute to the understanding of the specificities of this type of design activity. To this end it was developed the exploratory research based on multimedia methods, which includes: documentary analysis, technical visits, interviews, surveys, academic exercise and documentation by images. Although the study is not conclusive, the results indicate significant differences between the point of view of the RCS´s designers and its users (architects and architecture students) since the users demonstrated to have some difficulty to access the features provided for the first group, in particular the students. It is also demonstrated that the use of RCSs seems to change the appreciation / hierarchization of the conditions of project design, since, unlike what happens in traditional architectural design, the designers who use them seem to be more concerned with constructive issues, especially the structural elements (support and covering), instead of functionality, aesthetics and even physical characteristics of the site

Análise bioclimática do bairro do Renascença II São Luis-MA: realidade e perspectiva do conforto térmico em espaços externos

The present research concerns about outdoor s thermal comfort conditions in hot-humid climate cities, understanding that life quality is a result of the urban object s type built for the human being in an environment with specific climate and morphological characteristics. It is presented as object of study the correlation between the neighborhood Renascença II s microclimate in São Luis /MA-Brazil, hot-humid climate city, and its urban morphological changes. As well as the thermal comfort s satisfaction level of its outdoor users. The research has as general goal to diagnosis the way these transformations caused by the urbanization influence the Renascença II s microclimate, identifying critical spots of the studied area, in order to contribute with land use recommendations based on bioclimatic architecture concepts and supply bases to urban design decisions adequate to the São Luis climate. It is presented as theoretical bases the urban climate, its concepts and elements. After that, the thermal comfort conditioners and its prediction models of thermal comfort sensation in outdoor are presented. The predictive models are presented along with bioclimatic assessment methods. Finally the use of bioclimatic assessment as an effective tool to identify places that need changes or preservation in order to seek environment quality. The applied methodology was based on the studies of Katzschner (1997), complemented by Oliveira s (1988) and Bustos Romero s (2001) studies that suggest an analysis and evaluation of maps of topography, buildings floors, land use, green areas and land covering, in order to overlap their characteristics and identify climate variable s measurements points; then a quantitative analysis of the climate variables (air temperature and humidity, wind speed and direction) of the chosen points takes place. It was perceived that Renaissance II has no permanence areas as squares or parks, its outdoor has little vegetation and presets high land impermeability and built density levels. The majority of the people interviewed said that was comfortable in a range of air temperature between 27,28ºC and 30,71ºC. The elaboration of a neighborhood master plan is important, which defines strategies for improvement of the life quality of its inhabitants

Percepção dos usuários nos espaços públicos: avaliação pós-ocupação em três praças de Natal-RN

The research investigates the acting and the importance for the users of the public squares located predominantly in residential areas. It presents the results of the posoccupation evaluations accomplished in three squares, whose physical, environmental characteristics, equipments and fumitures are different in its qualities and amounts, taking in consideration aspects related to the users' physical and psychological comfort and of the inhabitants of the I spill. The collection of data involved physical risings and of files, observations behavious, application of questionnaires and interviews, analyzed qualitative as quantitatively so much for a larger precision and validity of the investigation. The results were obtained through the relationship among the users' perception the environmental attributes and the different levels of apropriation/use of the studied places. They indicate that the aspects composicionais of physical order of the space affects the type and the intensity of use of the squares intimately, contributing positive or negatively for its valor. It is evidenced like this, that the low freqüentation of the public squares of Natal, is due mainly to referring aspects to the physical quality and the amount of the fumitures and urban equipments. It is ended that the investments and the physical planning of these public spaces should be based in the real knowledge of the aspirations of the population objective, in way to allow its largest use and valor

Espaços de pobreza e mobilidade urbana: os deslocamentos da população de baixa renda em Natal/RN

This dissertation is an attempt to understand how families with an income of up to three minimum wages and living in different Areas of Demographic Expansion (AEDs) of Natal municipality specifically in the districts of Igapó and Salinas (North Administrative Zone of the city), Ponta Negra (South Administrative Zone), Santos Reis, Praia do Meio, Areia Preta and Mãe Luíza (East Administrative Zone) and Felipe Camarão (West Administrative Zone) solve their problems of urban mobility. It is, therefore, a reflection upon the mobility needs of poor urban households as expressed in terms of origin-destiny displacements for specific movements (house-work, house-school, house-shopping, house-healthcare and house-leisure), all of which being analyzed within the relationship between public transportation and poverty spaces of the city. In order to develop the study, theoretical aspects and themes related to the production of the urban space, to social and spatial segregation, to urban mobility and to transportation were confronted with the collected data referring to the urban population previously selected. One of the research main findings is the crucial role mobility plays in the social differentiation of such people living in Natal and that any policy for the improvement of their living conditions must take mobility issues into account