Beco da lama: formas e cores de uma plástica da vida

Our research goes a remarkable setting of Natal-RN. This is a place where we find art practices and artworks territorialities building the margin of museums, art galleries and institutional galleries. Its geography includes an area popularly known as Mud Alley. Along geography that we critically about how some processes of sociability, which formed the margins of institutional fields, can, and its progeny, compose new possibilities to relate to art and artistic practices. Thinking about the dialogues and clashes that positioning the margins can offer, we investigated the role of bookstores, bars and other spaces of the Alley in the promotion and dissemination of artistic practices, focusing on how these spaces handle the work, the artists and the patrons Beco da Lama. Our integration into the search field resulted in collecting testimonials, pictures and watching expressions which, together with sensations obtained during the years of integration in that setting, help make our empirical material. To follow us methodologically this investigation, we looked at a higher frequency, a theoretical support of authors: Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari and Giorgio Agamben. With them compose an investigative diagram to think about the art of Alley, noting the relationship of the Alley with the established field of art, as well as towards the rest of the city. The results point to the view of a singular event that shows artistic practices writing in the margins of institutional spaces, new territoriality for contact with art. The term territoriality points to situations formed by practices, feelings, wishes, expressions, and poetic subjectivity that can tell us we are confronted with an event comprising it as the moment of realization of potentialities, desires, subjectivities and spatialities training, flocks, movements. In our case, the event while the Mud Alley Alley Arts forced us to rethink the role and the place of art and artist in Natal-RN

A mediação do diálogo e da reflexão na prática do supervisor pedagógico no município de Jardim de Piranhas/RN

In preparation for reviewing and reflect about the pedagogical practice of teaching supervisor, noting instances of continuing education in service, dialogue-based, reflective and shared as propelling in the construction of theoretical and practical knowledge is that we propose to undertake this research. Based in our professional practice and stimulated by the desire to contribute with the education in the city of Jardim de Piranhas-RN our intention was to highlight issues which arising from practice teaching, especially those guided in the principles of a continuing, dialogic and reflexive teachers training. In that sense we are encouraged to answer the following question. How has been developed the work of teaching supervisor in the city of Jardim de Piranhas and what kind of elements should be constituted by a continuing education in school if those elements are enhanced by a reflexive action and dialogue-based? Thus, we performed studies of theoretical foundation based in Nóvoa (1995, 2001, 2003), where he emphasizes the importance of take in account the practice itself as a source for the study in the construction of a new teaching practice process, in Alarcão (1999; 2001; 2002; 2003), Schön (1995, 2000), Tardif (2003) and Perrenoud (2002), Gomes (1998), Navarro (2005) and Oliveira (2006), among others, provided the basis to discuss the role of reflection and dialogue in the school and classroom. We still emphasize the ideas of Paulo Freire (1981; 1992; 1996; 2001; 2002), which is consistent with the proposal for a reflexive action and training. For this we adopted a methodology based in the qualitative research with field note, intending to observe the strategies which emerge in the educational supervisor practice. This practice should contribute to the training of teachers. In this process we chose three dimensions that provide structure and power in their work. So, we can describe as conceptual, strategic and changeable

Aí eu era Antônio Brasil: contribuições de situações didáticas com conhecimentos históricos para a construção da identidade pessoal da criança na educação infantil

L'objectif de cette étude est de comprendre la relation entre les situations didactiques faisant appel aux connaissances historiques et la construction de l'identité personnelle pour les enfants dans l'éducation de la petite enfance. Sa question centrale se demande si les connaissances sont offrent des contributions à la construction de l'identité personnelle par les enfants de la petite enfance. Se distingue, lui aussi, entend contribuer à élargir le débat sur l'enseignement et l'apprentissage des thèmes historiques dans l'éducation des enfants, et permettre un dialogue avec d'autres enseignants dans cette étape de l'éducation. Ont été analysés par des principes théoriques et méthodologiques de qualité et a assumé les orientations méthodologiques de la recherche collaborative. Il a été constaté que la systématisation des situations didactiques impliquant la connaissance historique dans l'éducation de la petite enfance contribue à la construction de l'identité personnelle de l'enfant. Ceci, pour prendre possession de ces connaissances, ils recueillent des renseignements qui permet le plus large éventail de relations, afin de comparer les pratiques culturelles de son temps avec des pratiques à d'autres moments. Ainsi orientée, l'enfant cherche à raconter son histoire avec le thème historique à laquelle elle a eu accès, d'organiser et de construire des réponses des explications sur leur environnement et de lui-même. Tout cela montre à la réalisation que le processus d'internalisation des connaissances historiques de l'enfant est construit comme un sujet et, par conséquent, cette connaissance peut être conçu comme un médiateur dans la formation de l'identité personnelle

DANÇA: linguagem do corpo na educação infantil

This production is a reflection about the practices/experiences involving the teaching of the dance developed by the teachers in the Núcleo de Educação Infantil (NEI/UFRN), with the children from 2 to 7 years old, having as objectives: describe and interpret the lived experiences with the dance focusing on the meaning of the dance and organization of the pedagogic job, identify blanks in the pedagogic practices of dance and appoint possible perspectives to the teaching of dance on the infant education. The way from the investigation has begun with the following question: Who do the teachers understand the dance and live it on the Núcleo de Educação Infantil? The research of phenomenological orientation toke as methodological reference the qualitative approach from the placed phenomenon type, this one has as beginning the interest on the phenomenon by the way as it happens on the lived experience from where comes the knowledge with we can present about the world, trying to interpret it, understand it on its essence/existence. The interviews showed that the researched subjects give to the dance different meanings and consequently present variations on the manner to organize the work around this knowledge. The most of the teachers recognizes the dance as a culture expression, being a priority on the school the job with the folkloric dances. They recognize too the dance as knowledge/content coming from the Arts and Physical Education areas and its relation with the knowledge from others areas on the pedagogic action. There were found different process on the way to conduct the job with the dance in relates from experiences done with dance at NEI and, therefore, of teach/learn this knowledge. Its perceptible that exists a systematic work with the objective of develop the dance and its various educative possibilities, starting from the research about its origins, the exploration of the movement, the contextualization until the artistic practice. Those possibilities are reinforced on the school s curricular propose. Some experiences have as a priority the free expression, the dance s vision without context or the reproduction of movements as stand manners of teaching dance, situations like those observed on the investigation as products from the blanks on the academic formation from the teachers with must be fixed. The interpretation of the experiences with dance, described by the teachers from NEI, connected with the theoretical referential from the investigation, allowed to appoint three perspectives to the work with dance in the infant education, having as main interlocutors Merleau-Ponty and Rudolf Laban: the dance as the body s language; the dance and its movement factors; imitate, improvise and play: manners of draw ways to dance. On those process are emphasized the dance on the scholar context, the elements that constitute this language and the forms of appropriate from it supported in a ludicrous, poetic and educative vision, having as focus the children s education on its peculiarities and possibilities

A Formação docente no fazer e refazer da prática pedagógica

This work dealt with formative actions that were developed by Educational Practice in Movement (GEPEM) at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN). This group aims to transform the way education is carried out. This is done either through intervention or in research considering that school has an explicit objective, to change action, and this presupposes an educator formation process. The methodology used is a reflection on educational practice, aiming to built knowledge that can be generalized to other realities. The analysis of the group s prior work was done considering what has been used as a parameter for decision making, the regularity in the process itself, all of which allowed the identification of their principles, once these were always mentioned in the documents that were analyzed. Some principles for formative actions of the GEPEM were identified: the subject as a social historical being is part of a given community; knowledge is built through social relations and local reality is a content generator; dialogically, collective construction and awareness process. The research also pointed out four characterized organizers, parameters and action criteria that make articulation with practice possible. Thus, these are used in order to analyze two initial formation proposals (secondary and higher education) of rural settlement educators

Não é que eu sei ser professora!: formação continuada e construção do currículo da matemática para o ciclo de alfabetização

Esta dissertação investiga como a prática da formação continuada em Matemática dos professores do Núcleo de Educação da Infância/Colégio de Aplicação (NEI/CAp) tem possibilitado a construção do currículo da Matemática para o ciclo de alfabetização nessa instituição. Assumimos os princípios metodológicos da abordagem qualitativa com ênfase na pesquisa colaborativa. Privilegiamos atividades de formação continuada organizadas em sessões de estudos e reflexões sobre a prática pedagógica que envolveram todos os partícipes. Para a construção dos dados realizamos a escolha de instrumentos e procedimentos metodológicos como a entrevista individual e as sessões reflexivas de videoformação e de estudo. Com a intensão de responder a questão central da pesquisa definimos duas categorias de interpretação: a formação continuada em Matemática dos professores do NEICAp dos anos iniciais do Ensino Fundamental e a construção do currículo da Matemática dos anos iniciais do Ensino Fundamental nesta escola. Constatamos que a prática da formação continuada em Matemática acontece dentro da própria instituição e tem como interesse, além da formação permanente dos seus professores, o desenvolvimento da escola e a aprendizagem dos alunos. Avaliamos que por meio de estudos e reflexões sobre as práticas docentes, análises de propostas pedagógicas de Secretarias de Educação e de outros documentos oficiais do Ministério da Educação, em momentos de formação continuada em contextos vivenciadas pelos professores do NEI/CAp, vem sendo possível construir o currículo desta instituição e, consequentemente, a sua proposta curricular, na qual privilegiamos a área da Matemática

Cultura organizacional orientada à qualidade: um survey nas concessionárias automotivas brasileiras certificadas com a ISO 9001

The study aims identify the existence of quality culture in Brazilian automotive dealerships with ISO 9001, motivated by this research problem: exist a quality culture in this dealerships, which facilitates the adoption of quality practices supported by ISO 9001? For referencing, the theoretical review was written in five themes: organizational culture, quality culture, total quality management, ISO 9001 quality management system and the Brazilian automobile industry. As regards the methodological aspects, the research has an applied nature, with a quantitative approach, being exploratory in their objectives, and bibliographic, documental and survey as technical procedures. The organizations participating in the study were all Brazilian automotive dealerships certified with ISO 9001. The research intended cover all the 80 active dealers with ISO 9001 certification identified by the Brazilian Committee for Quality (ABNT CB-25). The survey recorded participation of 32 companies (response rate 40%). The questionnaire was sent to seller managers, formatted into five sections: 1) introductory message 2) manager profile, 3) reasons for implementation and benefits generated by ISO 4) adoption levels of quality practices and 5) diagnosis of organizational culture. The questions contained in sections 2 and 3 were structured in multiple choice, and in the remaining sections were structured in Likert 5-point scale. The statistical method used (data analysis), was the descriptive statistics, for data representation in frequency percentage (FP) and standard level (SL). The results showed that the interviewed dealerships have an organizational culture with very high levels of prevalence in "outcome orientation" and "attention to detail" cultural dimensions. In addition, about the other two dimensions considered conducive to quality (innovation and teamwork/respect for people), both observed high prevalence. Based on the present results, concluded that the organizational culture of Brazilian dealerships with ISO 9001 are quality oriented, being conducive to adoption of quality practices supported by TQM Systems. However, it is important to mention that the quality culture identified is not sufficiently developed to adopt quality practices at optimal levels, which sets up an unfavorable scenario to deals with highly rigorous customer

Análise tribológica de um sistema de acionamento alternativo de pigs para a indústria do petróleo

It is analyzed through the concepts of tribology and mechanical contact and damage the suggestion of implementing a backup system for traction and passage of Pipeline Inspection Gauge (Pig) from the inside of pipelines. In order to verify the integrity of the pipelines, it is suggested the possibility of displacement of such equipment by pulling wires with steel wires. The physical and mechanical characteristics of this method were verified by accelerated tests in the laboratory in a tribological pair, wire versus a curve 90. It also considered the main mechanisms of wear of a sliding system with and without lubricant, in the absence and presence of contaminants. To try this, It was constructed a test bench able to reproduce a slip system, work on mode back-and-forth ("reciprocation"). It was used two kinds of wires, a galvanized steel and other stainless steel and the results achieved using the two kinds of steel cables were compared. For result comparative means, it was used steel cables with and without coating of Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC). The wires and the curves of the products were characterized using metallographic analysis, microhardness Vickers tests, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-Ray Refraction (XRF) and tensile tests. After the experiments were analyzed some parameters that have been measurable, it demonstrates to the impracticality of this proposed method, since the friction force and the concept of alternating request at the contact between the strands of wire and the inner curves that are part ducts caused severe wear. These types of wear are likely to cause possible failures in future products and cause fluid leaks

Referenciação anafórica :as anáforas não-correfereciais no livro didático da língua portuguesa

On recent years, it has been observed an increasing interest on referentiation processes, which involves an important field of Text Linguistics and Discourse Analysis studies. The existence of a significant number of international and national publications which focus on this perspective corroborate this finding. Given the textbook importance as a teaching instrument, and the relevance of the referentiation processes to text production and comprehension, we realize that the study of these two topics articulation is taken as a relevant research theme, with consequences to the improvement of Portuguese Language teaching. Taking this into consideration, we intend to analyze the non-coreference anaphors in texts of Portuguese Language textbooks from fifth to eighth grades, adopted in many schools of Pau dos Ferros RN, considering the frequency, genre, kind of anaphor and manifestation form. This study is classified as a documental and qualitative research. We have found out that the indirect anaphor was used in more than a half of the corpus. We have found out, as well, that the literary and press genres do not favor the use of labeling and metadiscursive anaphors. On the other hand, concerning the indirect anaphor, it is clear its abundant use in the literary genre. In what concerns the manifestation forms, we have verified that on labeling and metadiscursive anaphors it is significant the predominance of demonstrative pronouns working as determiners. On the indirect anaphor, we have verified that most of the occurrences do not present a determiner, and for the ones which present it, the majority occurs under the form of definite and indefinite articles. We believe that this work can contribute to the activities which involve questions related to text production and comprehension, since the referentiation processes are intimately related to them

O Uso de operações linguístico-discursivas da crítica genética na reescritura de textos

As a professor in Curso de Licenciatura em Letras, from Campus Avançado Profa Maria Eliza Albuquerque Maia (CAMEAM),do Estado do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte (UERN), in the town of Pau do Ferros, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, we had the chance to carry out several writing activities , as well as guiding re-writing activities for the texts produced. From this experience, we started looking at the need of reflecting upon the writing process in higher education. Thus, we aim at analyzing, in this research, the methodology used in the moment of carrying out the writing practices activities in higher education, investigating, in particular, the rewriting practices, concerning the operations used for carrying out such activities, as well as the sense effects produced from the alterations which were made in the texts. Our theoretical foundation is grounded on a conception of text as a verbal action , what reveals a socio-interactional view of the language (MARCUSCHI, 2008; SAUTCHUK, 2003). As the production of written texts, our research focus, we assume that, for this activity, we deal with distinct figures (active writer and internal reader), so that we can, apart from writing, reflecting upon our writing and, this way, deciding about operations which are carried out to make the alterations which are necessary to the rewriting of our texts (SAUTCHUK, 2003). Still about the theoretical foundations used in this research, we made use of the theories from the Textual Analysis of Discourse (TAD) which discusses the belief on the evidence on the existence of the texts, which is opposite to the fixist view of textuality which believes that the texts exist by themselves. (ADAM, 2008; [2005]2010). Under this perspective, we have also adopted, the concepts which come from genetics criticism which is concerned about the relation between text and genesis, using as objects documents which bring traits of the text in progress, on the ground that the text is the result of work in progress, and the writing practice, on the other hand, as an activity in a continuous movement (HAY, [1975]2002; DE BIASI, [2000]2010; GRÉSILLON, 1989; [1990]2008; [1992]2002; SALLES, 2008a). The methodology in this research is an ethnography-based one, an approach which focuses on the process, as well as is meaning-based. To understand the objectives proposed in our research, we made use of different procedures of collecting data which include an ethnographic study, such as: observation, note-taking, document analysis. The data which were analyzed were collected during the semester of 2008.2, in a first term classroom of Curso de Letras from CAMEAM, when we were able to collect twenty-one written texts and all of them were rewritten based on rewriting activities, what provides a corpus of forty-two texts which will be analyzed based on the linguistics operations identified by Generative Grammar and adopted by Lebrave and Grésillon (2009). From these analyses, we were able to confirm that writing is a process, and rewriting has become an extremely important activity for this process. Still due to these data, we observed that substitution was the most used operation by text authors. We believe that this result is justified by the fact that the substitution, according to what proposes the Genetic Criticism, constitutes the source of all erasure, from which one can easily make a change in writing. Regarding the operations of addition and deletion, we found that they were used in quantitative terms, almost equivalently, which can be explained when we see that the two operations require, by the author of the text, different strategies from those used for the replacement, what includes , respectively, adding or removing a segment. Finally, we found out that the shift operation was the least used, since it works with a segment that will not be replaced, added or deleted, but transferred to another place of text, which requires a greater ability of the author to perform this operation and not compromising the meaning of his/her writing. As a result, we hope to contribute to the reflection on the teaching of writing, considering, in a particular way, those with a Bachelor in Arts. Our analysis will contribute to the teaching of Portuguese language, specifically for activities that guide the production of texts in order to explore with students the ability to rewrite their own text

Controle profissional de biofilme dentário como estratégia para manutenção da saúde periodontal de pacientes com aparelho ortodôntico fixo: análise comparativa entre diferentes períodos

The presence of fixed orthodontics appliances interfere on sanitation, allowing periodontal diseases to appear, despite the fact patients keep on visiting the dentist every month. This research aims to determine a protocol for the mechanical control of the dental biofilm performed by the professional. A protocol that was able to maintain the periodontal health of the patients under orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances, and in order to do so, it used a non-controlled, randomized and blind clinical essay. The sample involved 40 adolescents who were under the installation of fixed orthodontics appliances and it was divided in three groups, as follows: monthly controlled group (group 1) composed of 11 patients, the quarterly controlled group (group 2) with 16 patients and the semestrial controlled group (group 3) with 13 patients. For data collection, an interview and clinical exams with probing depth measurement, quantity of keratinized mucosa, Gingival Index and the Plaque Index were used. On the initial exam all patients received brushing guidelines as well as the professional control of dental biofilm, with periodontal scaler, Robinson s brush and prophylactic paste. However, Group 1 returned every month for control procedures; Group 2 every three months and Group 3 after six months. The intervention had a six-month duration (for all the three groups), when all the exams were repeated by another examiner who did not know which group each patient was inserted in. Finally, the research concluded that despite the fact there is no statistically significant difference among the three groups, clinically the patients from the monthly group presented a better response to professional control, with less accumulation of dental biofilm and less rate of gingival inflammation. Thus, the mechanical control of the dental biofilm performed by the professional could not avoid gingival increase, characterized by the raise of probing depth measurement, neither the quantity of keratinized mucosa

Avaliação clínica do efeito da irradiação pós-opratória do laser de baixa intensidade na cicatrização de gengivoplastias em humanos

Many studies have been made to understand the process of tissular cicatrization, as well as the possible effects of laser therapy in the wound healing. However, the influence of low frequency laser irradiation in the repairing process is not completely understood. Our study has the purpose to assess clinically the effect of postoperative irradiation of the low frequency laser in humans, and the gingival repairing process postgingivoplasty performed with the extern bevel technique. Twenty-four patients with inflammatory gingival hyperplasia were enrolled in this study, which did not reduce with basic periodontal procedures, and patients with melanin pigmentation, with esthetic indications. After surgery the test group, randomly selected by a drawing, received laser application with energy density of 4 J/cm2, immediately after surgery and each 48 hours, during a week, with a total of 4 sections. The control group did not receive irradiation. The visual clinical analyses were performed by a single blind examiner, in the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 15th and 21st days post surgery. For statistic analyses of the data was used a Q-square test. Concerning the color, the results showed a better wound healing during days 6 to 8. when assessed the degree of progress of surgical wound, the results showed that the test group had a better cicatrization compared with the control group in the 2nd, 6th, 8th and 15th days post surgery, and at the 21st day both groups had the same results. Our results confirm that the laser had clinical influence in the repairing process after gingivoplasty surgery during days 2 to 15 post surgery

Adesão de células mesenquimais da medula óssea de camundongos e do ligamento periodontal de ratos a diferentes superfícies de titânio: estudo comparativo in vitro

The present experiment used cell culture to analyze the adhesion capacity of mouse mesenchymal bone marrow cells and rat periodontal ligament to different titanium surfaces. Grade II ASTM F86 titanium discs 15mm in diameter and 1.5mm thick were used and received 2 distinct surface treatments (polished and cathodic cage plasma nitriding). The cells were isolated from the mouse bone marrow and rat periodontal ligament and cultured in α-MEM basic culture medium containing antibiotics and supplemented with 10% FBS and 5% CO2, for 72 hours at 37ºC in a humidified atmosphere. Subculture cells were cultured in a 24-well plate with a density of 1 x 104 cells per well. The titanium discs were distributed in accordance with the groups, including positive controls without titanium discs. After a 24-hour culture, the cells were counted in a Neubauer chamber. The results show that both the mouse mesenchymal bone marrow cells and rat periodontal ligament cells had better adhesion to the control surface. The number of bone marrow cells adhered to the polished Ti surface was not statistically significant when compared to the same type of cell adhered to the Ti surface treated by cathodic cage plasma nitriding. However a significant difference was found between the control and polished Ti groups. In relation to periodontal ligament cell adhesion, a significant difference was only found between the control and plasma-treated Ti surfaces. When comparing equal surfaces with different cells, no statistically significant difference was observed. We can therefore conclude that titanium is a good material for mesenchymal cell adhesion and that different material surface treatments can influence this process

O tratamento odontológico sob o olhar da criança :um estudo de representações sociais

Oral health measures directed to children are characterized by the lack of policies that consider the individual and his biopsychosocial aspects. As a consequence, it can be observed that a child´s dental experience has normally been prejudged as unpleasant and threatening. Thus, this study is aimed at investigating dental treatment from the child´s viewpoint using the theory of social representations for theoretical/methodological support. This theory was selected for being able to build practical knowledge surrounding the interrelations between social actors, the phenomenon and the world around them. The investigation was performed at the Professor José Fernandes Machado State School, located in the Ponta Negra district of Natal-RN-Brazil. The participants consisted of 30 children from the public elementary school system in the 6-10 year age group, who had undergone dental treatment within the previous year or were being treated at the time of data collection. An in-depth interview and story drawing within a theme were used as collection instruments. Thematic Content Analysis (Bardin, 2002) was used to analyze the material collected in the interviews, whereas for story drawing within a theme, in addition to content analysis, the data were also analyzed by the Coutinho model (2001). The two instruments demonstrated similarity of content as well as complementarity and contained categories associated to the model for dental treatment in children, the description of the dental office environment., the perception of the image of the dentist, as well as psychological and behavioral manifestations. The results enable us to understand determinate reactions of the children in relation to dental treatment, which has been characterized by its technical-curative approach, where the motive for seeking treatment, the manner in which it is performed and the relation of the dentist with the child are all in evidence. Thus, this study intends not only to reveal the viewpoint of children faced with dental treatment, but also to contribute to a dental practice directed towards them, in this way instilling in the professionals who attend them a more concrete awareness of the needs, anxieties and feelings of these young patients

A influência da criopreservação nas células mesenquimais indiferenciadas do ligamento periodontal de humanos análise comparativa in vitro

Cryopreservation is a process where cells or biological tissues are preserved by freezing at very low temperatures and aims to cease reversibly, in a controlled manner, all the biological functions of living tissues, i.e., maintain cell preservation so that it can recover with high degree of viability and functional integrity. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of cryopreservation on the mesenchymal stem cells originating from the periodontal ligament of human third molars by in vitro experiments. Six healthy teeth were removed and the periodontal cells grown in culture medium containing α-MEM supplemented with antibiotics and 15% FBS in a humidified atmosphere with 5% CO2 at 37° C. Cells isolated from each sample were divided into two groups: Group I - immediate cell culture (not fresh cryopreserved cells) and Group II - cell cryopreservation, during a period of 30 days. Analyses of rates of cell adhesion and proliferation in different groups were performed by counting the cells adhered to the wells, in intervals of 24, 48 and 72 hours after the start of cultivation. The number of cells in each well was obtained by counting viable cells with the use of hemocytometer and the method of exclusion of cells stained by trypan blue. The difference between groups for each of the times was analyzed by Wilcoxon test. Regarding the temporal evolution for each group, analysis was done by Friedman's test to verify the existence of differences between times and, when it existed, the Wilcoxon penalty was applied. The results showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups analyzed in this study. Therefore, we conclude that the cryopreservation process, after a period of 30 days, did not influence the cell type studied, and there was no difference in growth capacity in vitro between the groups