Improving surgery operations by means of cloud systems and distributed user interfaces

Surgical interventions are usually performed in an operation room; however, access to the information by the medical team members during the intervention is limited. While in conversations with the medical staff, we observed that they attach significant importance to the improvement of the information and communication direct access by queries during the process in real time. It is due to the fact that the procedure is rather slow and there is lack of interaction with the systems in the operation room. These systems can be integrated on the Cloud adding new functionalities to the existing systems the medical expedients are processed. Therefore, such a communication system needs to be built upon the information and interaction access specifically designed and developed to aid the medical specialists. Copyright 2014 ACM.

POLITICAS PÚBLICAS EDUCACIONAIS PARA A POPULAÇÃO DO CAMPO E A INSERÇÃO DA AGRICULTURA FAMILIAR NO PROGRAMA NACIONAL DE PRODUÇÃO DE BIOCOMBUSTÍVEIS - PNPB: INTERFACES E CONTROVÉRSIAS

O Selo Combustível Social instituído pelo Governo Federal como Política Pública de Estado, a finalidade de concessão de créditos aos produtores de biodiesel que promovam a inclusão social e o desenvolvimento regional por meio da compra de 10% da matéria-prima para fabricação do biodiesel de pequenos produtores rurais. Nesse contexto, estão inseridos os pequenos agricultores nos Assentamentos do Município de Campo Verde – MT que comercializam parte da produção com empresas como a BIOCAMP e a BIOBRAS . Diante da realidade descrita, a presente pesquisa busca investigar em que medida o Selo Combustível Social, aplicado à política do Biodiesel em Mato Grosso, propicia a maior autonomia do pequeno produtor rural. A metodologia utilizada foi a pesquisa social empregando técnicas de análise documental, observação direta e a realização de entrevistas estruturadas e semi- estruturadas. Observou-se que para as empresas o selo combustível social é uma maneira de participar do leilão da Petrobrás. Para o poder público, o Selo Social uma maneira de apoiar o Pequeno Produtor Rural, através de parcerias, mas é notável que o mesmo não consegue gerenciar a sua produção, gerenciado pelo Empresário. Na visão dos assentados, esse selo é “só documento”, ficando o pequeno produtor sempre com os prejuízos.

LAÇOS & NÓS: DINÂMICAS SUB-REGIONAIS E INTERFACES CIDADE-RIO NA AMAZÔNIA

O trabalho objetiva compreender a relação cidade-rio na Amazônia, levando-se em conta mudanças e permanências referentes à dinâmica e à caracterização de cidades consideradas ribeirinhas em três contextos sub-regionais distintos (Sudeste do Pará, Oeste Paraense e baixo Tocantins), na Amazônia oriental brasileira. A contribuição geográfica da análise assenta-se nas repercussões decorrentes da reestruturação mais recente do espaço amazônico e seus rebatimentos na forma de articulação da cidade com o rio, considerando espaços de vivências (laços) e de fluxos (nós) que marcam a organização intra-urbana atual. Para esse empreendimento, assume-se a perspectiva teórico-metodológica que considera o espaço geográfico como sendo relacional e multidimensional (concebido, percebido e vivido). Do ponto de vista empírico, o procedimento metodológico considerou três cidades paraenses (Marabá, Santarém e Cametá), de nível intermediário na rede urbana regional. A partir delas procurou-se destacar o papel que a cidade ribeirinha amazônica assume em realidades sub-regionais que se inseriram de forma diferenciada nas políticas de ordenamento territorial das últimas décadas. Com base em levantamentos de campo são sistematizados elementos das particularidades socioespaciais das três sub-regiões consideradas e que demarcam espacialidades e territorialidades diversas em nível intra-urbano, sugerindo, em consequência, políticas públicas diferenciadas quando se considera a relação cidade-rio na Amazônia.

LAÇOS & NÓS: DINÂMICAS SUB-REGIONAIS E INTERFACES CIDADE-RIO NA AMAZÔNIA

O trabalho objetiva compreender a relação cidade-rio na Amazônia, levando-se em conta mudanças e permanências referentes à dinâmica e à caracterização de cidades consideradas ribeirinhas em três contextos sub-regionais distintos (Sudeste do Pará, Oeste Paraense e baixo Tocantins), na Amazônia oriental brasileira. A contribuição geográfica da análise assenta-se nas repercussões decorrentes da reestruturação mais recente do espaço amazônico e seus rebatimentos na forma de articulação da cidade com o rio, considerando espaços de vivências (laços) e de fluxos (nós) que marcam a organização intra-urbana atual. Para esse empreendimento, assume-se a perspectiva teórico-metodológica que considera o espaço geográfico como sendo relacional e multidimensional (concebido, percebido e vivido). Do ponto de vista empírico, o procedimento metodológico considerou três cidades paraenses (Marabá, Santarém e Cametá), de nível intermediário na rede urbana regional. A partir delas procurou-se destacar o papel que a cidade ribeirinha amazônica assume em realidades sub-regionais que se inseriram de forma diferenciada nas políticas de ordenamento territorial das últimas décadas. Com base em levantamentos de campo são sistematizados elementos das particularidades socioespaciais das três sub-regiões consideradas e que demarcam espacialidades e territorialidades diversas em nível intra-urbano, sugerindo, em consequência, políticas públicas diferenciadas quando se considera a relação cidade-rio na Amazônia.

A Low Cost Controller Board for Teaching Robotics

This paper presents the Smarty Board; a new micro-controller board designed specifically for the robotics teaching needs of Australian schools. The primary motivation for this work was the lack of commercially available and cheap controller boards that would have all their components including interfaces on a single board. Having a single board simplifies the construction of programmable robots that can be used as platforms for teaching and learning robotics. Reducing the cost of the board as much as possible was one of the main design objectives. The target user groups for this device are the secondary and tertiary students, and hobbyists. Previous studies have shown that equipment cost is one of the major obstacles for teaching robotics in Australia. The new controller board was demonstrated at high-school seminars. In these demonstrations the new controller board was used for controlling two robots that we built. These robots are available as kits. Given the strong demand from high-school teachers, new kits will be developed for the next robotic Olympiad to be held in Australia in 2006.

Open Source Enterprise Systems: Towards a Viable Alternative

Enterprise systems are located within the antinomy of appearing as generic product, while being means of multiple integrations for the user through configuration and customisation. Technological and organisational integrations are defined by architectures and standardised interfaces. Until recently, technological integration of enterprise systems has been supported largely by monolithic architectures that were designed, and maintained by the respective developers. From a technical perspective, this approach had been challenged by the suggestion of component-based enterprise systems that would allow for a more user-focused system through strict modularisation. Lately, the product nature of software as proprietary item has been questioned through the rapid increase of open source programs that are being used in business computing in general, and also within the overall portfolio that makes up enterprise systems. This suggests the potential for altered technological and commercial constellations for the design of enterprise systems, which are presented in different scenarios. The technological and commercial decomposition of enterprise software and systems may also address some concerns emerging from the users’ experience of those systems, and which may have arisen from their proprietary or product nature.

Designing usable ubiquitous computing

This paper demonstrates that in order to design successful ubiquitous computing, designers must consider concurrently both the end user interactions in the context of use and the sustainability of the technology and its underlying infrastructure. We describe methods used to create more useful collaboration and communication between users, designers and engineers in designing ubiquitous computing systems. We tested these methods in a real domain in an attempt to create a system that is affordable, minimally disrupts the end-user's workplace and improves human-computer interaction.

Meaning in movement : a gestural design game

This paper describes a design game that we called 'Meaning in Movement'. The purpose was to explore notions of professional dental practice with dental practioners in terms of gestures, actions and movements. The game represents a first step towards involving gestures, actions and movements in a design dialog with practioners for the purpose of designing future interactive systems which are more appropriate to the type of skilful actions and richly structured environments of dentists and dental assistants.

Work at hand : an exploration of gesture in the context of work and everyday life to inform the design of gestural input devices

This research explores gestures used in the context of activities in the workplace and in everyday life in order to understand requirements and devise concepts for the design of gestural information applicances. A collaborative method of video interaction analysis devised to suit design explorations, the Video Card Game, was used to capture and analyse how gesture is used in the context of six different domains: the dentist's office; PDA and mobile phone use; the experimental biologist's laboratory; a city ferry service; a video cassette player repair shop; and a factory flowmeter assembly station. Findings are presented in the form of gestural themes, derived from the tradition of qualitative analysis but bearing some similarity to Alexandrian patterns. Implications for the design of gestural devices are discussed.

A participatory design agenda for ubiquitous computing : a case study in dental practice

This paper reflects upon our attempts to bring a participatory design approach to design research into interfaces that better support dental practice. The project brought together design researchers, general and specialist dental practitioners, the CEO of a dental software company and, to a limited extent, dental patients. We explored the potential for deployment of speech and gesture technologies in the challenging and authentic context of dental practices. The paper describes the various motivations behind the project, the negotiation of access and the development of the participant relationships as seen from the researchers' perspectives. Conducting participatory design sessions with busy professionals demands preparation, improvisation, and clarity of purpose. The paper describes how we identified what went well and when to shift tactics. The contribution of the paper is in its description of what we learned in bringing participatory design principles to a project that spanned technical research interests, commercial objectives and placing demands upon the time of skilled professionals.