O director de turma como mediador entre o concelho de turma, os alunos, e os encarregados de educação: Contributos para a avaliação da direcção de turma

O presente estudo tem como objectivo investigar o reconhecimento e a relevância do papel do Director de Turma enquanto gestor intermédio para os alunos, os encarregados de educação e para os próprios, tendo em conta a interface inter-relacionai em que a função se desenvolve. Este trabalho teve como pressupostos de base a convicção de que a Educação é um fenómeno complexo que, para além de outras, mobiliza dimensões sociológicas, psicológicas e epistemológicas, além de necessitar, constantemente, de reflexão sobre as suas práticas. Assim, conscientes de que o papel do Director de Turma é de grande importância nas organizações escolares, foi nosso objectivo estudá-lo sob o ponto de vista teórico a partir de uma reflexão na prática e efectuar um estudo empírico do modo como a função é percepcionada como elo de ligação entre os Alunos, os Encarregados de Educação e a Escola. Aborda-se a figura do Director de Turma, enquanto gestor pedagógico intermédio da organização escolar, tendo em conta as atribuições que lhe são consagradas na lei e a forma como os demais parceiros vêm a sua função, em especial numa Escola do 2º e 3° ciclos do Ensino Básico, de acordo com as perspectivas/representações dos próprios actores educativos. O estudo visou em concreto, proporcionar uma análise sustentada do reconhecimento e valorização da figura do Director de Turma enquanto mediador entre o aluno, os encarregados de educação e a Escola. Pretendeu-se, nomeadamente, questionar teórica e empiricamente, a interacção e a articulação entre a formação pessoal, a actuação e as representações dos Directores de Turma. Assim, investigou-se de que modo o Director de Turma, considerado como um agente de mediação, é ou não reconhecido e valorizado enquanto figura responsável pela ligação do aluno e do seu encarregado de educação à Escola. Como opção metodológica optou-se por um estudo de caso, recorrendo à complementaridade entre os procedimentos quantitativos e qualitativos, de acordo com os objectivos visados. Assim, as técnicas de recolha de dados utilizados neste estudo foram o inquérito, por questionário, e a entrevista. Estes instrumentos foram sendo sucessivamente aperfeiçoados. Participaram, a nível do inquérito por questionário, duas turmas, uma do 2° ciclo e outra do 3° ciclo (num total de 45 alunos e respectivos encarregados de educação) e a nível da entrevista, os dois Directores de Turma das turmas envolvidas. Procurou-se, deste modo, contribuir para elucidar em que medida a figura do Director de Turma é reconhecida e valorizada como elo de ligação entre os Alunos, os Encarregados de Educação e a Escola enquanto gestor intermédio. Nas Conclusões após o confronto entre as questões de partida, o quadro teórico e os resultados do estudo empírico, discutem-se as dificuldades e limitações que um estudo desta natureza envolve. Avança-se, por fim, com algumas sugestões que a investigação realizada permite, no sentido de utilizar o conhecimento produzido para melhorar o relacionamento entre o Aluno, os Encarregados de Educação e a Escola e, consequentemente, o processo ensino-aprendizagem. ABSTRACT; The purpose of this study is to investigate the recognition and relevance of the role of the classroom director as an intermediate supervisor to the students, the parents and the classroom director himself, having in mind the inner- relation interface the function takes place. This work was conceived on the basic notion that Education is a complex-phenomenon, setting in motion, among other things, sociological, psychological and epistemological dimensions, as well as requiring, frequently, reflection about its practices. Therefore, conscious of the fact that the role of the class director is of enormous importance within a school environment, our aim was to study it from the theoretical point of view by a reflection in practice and performing an empirical analysis on the way it is understood as a link among the students, parents and the school. The role of classroom director is thus analysed as a pedagogical director in a school setting. Taking into consideration the rights conferred to him/her by law and the way all the other partners assign to the class director, particularly in a 2nd and 3rd cycle of the Elementary School system, in accordance with the perspectives/representations of the education actors. More specifically, this study is an in-depth analysis of the recognition and the valuation of the class director figure as a mediator among the pupils, the parents and the school. ln other words, the interaction between theory and practice in the daily performance of the classroom director were questioned and studied for further analysis. Hence, questioned the way in which the classroom director, seen as a mediation agent, could be considered as a coordinator, recognized and valorized as the responsible figure by the linking among the pupil and his/her parents to the school. The case was realized in the 2nd and 3rd cycle of an elementary school in the Alentejo. As a methodological option, quantitative and qualitative processes were both employed, thus keeping in line with the main objective of this work. Therefore, the data collected and herein utilized were the result of queries, i.e., questionnaires and personal interviews. The former were addressed at the pupils of two classes, one of the 2nd cycle and another of the 3rd cycle of the school and their parents (45 pupils and the same number of parents in total), and the two classroom directors of the classes implicated in the study. ln the Conclusion, a balance of the study is presented, comparing the initial research questions, the theoretical framework, and the results of the empirical analysis developed. A few suggestions are presented from the experience gained in this investigation, i.e., using the knowledge acquired in order to improve and enrich the relationship among the pupils, the parents, the school, and the teaching learning process.

'Danger Theory: The Link between AIS and IDS?'

Abstract We present ideas about creating a next generation Intrusion Detection System (IDS) based on the latest immunological theories. The central challenge with computer security is determining the difference between normal and potentially harmful activity. For half a century, developers have protected their systems by coding rules that identify and block specific events. However, the nature of current and future threats in conjunction with ever larger IT systems urgently requires the development of automated and adaptive defensive tools. A promising solution is emerging in the form of Artificial Immune Systems (AIS): The Human Immune System (HIS) can detect and defend against harmful and previously unseen invaders, so can we not build a similar Intrusion Detection System (IDS) for our computers? Presumably, those systems would then have the same beneficial properties as HIS like error tolerance, adaptation and self-monitoring. Current AIS have been successful on test systems, but the algorithms rely on self-nonself discrimination, as stipulated in classical immunology. However, immunologist are increasingly finding fault with traditional self-nonself thinking and a new 'Danger Theory' (DT) is emerging. This new theory suggests that the immune system reacts to threats based on the correlation of various (danger) signals and it provides a method of 'grounding' the immune response, i.e. linking it directly to the attacker. Little is currently understood of the precise nature and correlation of these signals and the theory is a topic of hot debate. It is the aim of this research to investigate this correlation and to translate the DT into the realms of computer security, thereby creating AIS that are no longer limited by self-nonself discrimination. It should be noted that we do not intend to defend this controversial theory per se, although as a deliverable this project will add to the body of knowledge in this area. Rather we are interested in its merits for scaling up AIS applications by overcoming self-nonself discrimination problems.

Analysis and control of transient spectra using time-dependent density functional theory.

215 p.

Random matrix theory eta aplikazioa kaos kuantikoan

[eus] Gradu amaierako lan honetan ausazko matrizeen teoriari, RMT-ri, buruzko sarrera orokor bat egiten da ondoren aplikazio fisiko bat emateko. Teoriaren aplikazioa egiteko Kaos kuantikoa deritzon fisikaren arloa erabiliko da. Lehenik eta behin, RMT-ren kontzeptu batzuk azalduko dira helburutzat lehen auzokideen distantziaren distribuzioaren espresio lortzea izanik. Izan ere, distribuzio honek erakutsiko baititu Kaosak kuantikoki uzten dituen aztarnak. Bigarren kapituluan, aplikazio fisikoa azalduko da. Lehenengo Kaosean RMT nola aplikatzen den ikusiko da, ondoren adibide batzuen bidez argituz, eremu magnetiko batean dagoen hidrogeno atomoa eta billar kuantikoak izenarekin ezagutzen diren sistemak, batik bat.

Relatório de Estágio de Intervenção Comunitária

Presentemente, a nossa sociedade sofre alterações diárias para as quais é exigido, aos enfermeiros, um elevado nível de qualificações que permitam dar resposta às necessidades e determinantes de saúde de cada comunidade. Assim, cabe cada vez mais aos enfermeiros enfatizar práticas conducentes a estilos de vida saudáveis, através da Promoção da Saúde, com o objetivo da obtenção de ganhos em saúde. Muitas doenças da idade adulta têm o seu início na adolescência, devido a hábitos de vida e à adoção de comportamentos de risco. É neste grupo etário, de grande vulnerabilidade, que deve incidir o papel da Educação para a Saúde, de forma a capacitar os adolescentes para opções saudáveis. O presente Relatório reflete o desenvolvimento do Estágio na área de Especialização em Enfermagem Comunitária e as competências adquiridas neste percurso. O Estágio decorreu no período de 16 de setembro de 2013 a 31 de janeiro de 2014 (2º Ano – 1º semestre), na Escola Secundária Mouzinho da Silveira, em Portalegre. Com base na Metodologia do Planeamento em Saúde, toda a intervenção foi dirigida para os problemas identificados através do Diagnóstico de Situação de Saúde. Assim, o Estágio teve como intervenção a Promoção de Hábitos de Vida Saudáveis dos Adolescentes do 8º e 9º Ano, da respetiva Escola. Dada a aplicabilidade da Teoria da Aprendizagem Social de Bandura na Promoção da Saúde, as sessões de Educação para a Saúde sustentaram-se nesta teoria com o intuito de capacitar os jovens para agirem de forma correta e consciente. O Estágio de intervenção comunitária foi enriquecedor do ponto de vista da diversidade de experiências que proporcionou, permitindo a aquisição das competências específicas do Enfermeiro Especialista em Enfermagem Comunitária definidas pela Ordem dos Enfermeiros

The economics of credit markets: theory and evidence.

Doutoramento em Economia.

Matching theory based travel plan aware charging algorithms in V2G smart grid networks

The frequency, time and places of charging have large impact on the Quality of Experience (QoE) of EV drivers. It is critical to design effective EV charging scheduling system to improve the QoE of EV drivers. In order to improve EV charging QoE and utilization of CSs, we develop an innovative travel plan aware charging scheduling scheme for moving EVs to be charged at Charging Stations (CS). In the design of the proposed charging scheduling scheme for moving EVs, the travel routes of EVs and the utility of CSs are taken into consideration. The assignment of EVs to CSs is modeled as a two-sided many-to-one matching game with the objective of maximizing the system utility which reflects the satisfactory degrees of EVs and the profits of CSs. A Stable Matching Algorithm (SMA) is proposed to seek stable matching between charging EVs and CSs. Furthermore, an improved Learning based On-LiNe scheduling Algorithm (LONA) is proposed to be executed by each CS in a distributed manner. The performance gain of the average system utility by the SMA is up to 38.2% comparing to the Random Charging Scheduling (RCS) algorithm, and 4.67% comparing to Only utility of Electric Vehicle Concerned (OEVC) scheme. The effectiveness of the proposed SMA and LONA is also demonstrated by simulations in terms of the satisfactory ratio of charging EVs and the the convergence speed of iteration.

Perturbative Ward identities for Yang-Mills field theory stochastically quantized

%'e compute the divergent part of the three-point vertex function of the non-Abelian Yang-Mills gauge field theory within the stochastic quantization approach to the one-loop order. This calculation allows us to find four renormalization constants which, together with the four previously obtained, verify, to the calculated order, some Ward identities.

Travellers’ intention to purchase travel online: integrating trust and risk to the theory of planned behaviour

This study aims to determine which factors influence travellers’ intentions to purchase travel online by proposing and empirically testing a new model grounded on the theory of planned behaviour. In order to validate the model, a web-based questionnaire was applied and a total of 1732 valid responses were obtained. The findings show that attitudes, perceived risk, and perceived behavioural control have significant effects on intentions to purchase travel online. However, contrary to what was expected, neither trust nor the influence of others seems to directly affect intentions to purchase travel online. Finally, the paper discusses the findings with the implicationsfor theory and practice and makes several suggestions for future research.

Travellers’ intention to purchase travel online: integrating trust and risk to the theory of planned behaviour

This study aims to determine which factors influence travellers’ intentions to purchase travel online by proposing and empirically testing a new model grounded on the theory of planned behaviour. In order to validate the model, a web-based questionnaire was applied and a total of 1732 valid responses were obtained. The findings show that attitudes, perceived risk, and perceived behavioural control have significant effects on intentions to purchase travel online. However, contrary to what was expected, neither trust nor the influence of others seems to directly affect intentions to purchase travel online. Finally, the paper discusses the findings with the implications for theory and practice and makes several suggestions for future research.

Behavioural theory and the family business

Fifty years have passed since Cyert and March’s 1963 A Behavioral Theory of the Firm. During this time, BTOF has been adopted across different research domains to investigate how organizations set goals, how they determine aspirations and how they finally react to performance aspiration discrepancies. Cyert and March’s framework has also recently emerged as one of the dominant paradigms to understand the ways in which family business organizations make decisions. In this chapter, I review the theoretical development and empirical results of BTOF and its application in the family business field of study in order to identify theoretical and empirical gaps and propose suggestions for future research. The conclusions suggest that BTOF is both a theoretically and empirically valid perspective in family business research, particularly when combined with other theoretical frameworks. The principal recommendation is to apply behavioral theory to enhance scholarly understanding of  how family organisations define their aspiration levels and respond to organizational problems. 

Critical pedagogy theory and the family business

In contemporary times family business research has been dominated by three theoretical perspectives; principal-agent theory, stewardship theory, and resource-based view theory (Siebels 2012) but at the same time scholars argue that what still needs further attention is how underlying processes and phenomena can be explained (Melin, Nordqvist & Sharma  2014). In order to understand themes such as repression or relations of asymmetry the suggestion in this chapter is to move towards a critical stance of thinking which involves problematizing the obvious issues in family firms (Alvesson & Deetz 2000) and moreover allowing the critical perspective to destabilize assumptions made within earlier research (Freire, 1974). By discussing critical theory in general but foremost the Freirean  (1970, 1974) critical pedagogy specifically, the arguments in the chapter revolves around how critical pedagogy can open up for a more novel view on family business. The purpose is via critical pedagogy discuss family business from a limited situation perspective, and to argue for a Freirean (1970) dialogue as means of developing a critical consciousness for family members in the family business context. The chapter concludes with some recommendations on platforms or common grounds in which dialogue and raising of consciousness can occur in which the concept can open up possibilities for interesting learning transfer and bring multidimensional knowledge into the family firm.

Techniques for distributed theory synthesis in multiagent systems

Data sources are often dispersed geographically in real life applications. Finding a knowledge model may require to join all the data sources and to run a machine learning algorithm on the joint set. We present an alternative based on a Multi Agent System (MAS): an agent mines one data source in order to extract a local theory (knowledge model) and then merges it with the previous MAS theory using a knowledge fusion technique. This way, we obtain a global theory that summarizes the distributed knowledge without spending resources and time in joining data sources. New experiments have been executed including statistical significance analysis. The results show that, as a result of knowledge fusion, the accuracy of initial theories is significantly improved as well as the accuracy of the monolithic solution.

Experientialist Epistemology and Classification Theory: Embodied and Dimensional Classification

What theoretical framework can help in building, maintaining and evaluating networked knowledge organization resources? Specifically, what theoretical framework makes sense of the semantic prowess of ontologies and peer-to-peer sys- tems, and by extension aids in their building, maintenance, and evaluation? I posit that a theoretical work that weds both for- mal and associative (structural and interpretive) aspects of knowledge organization systems provides that framework. Here I lay out the terms and the intellectual constructs that serve as the foundation for investigative work into experientialist classifi- cation theory, a theoretical framework of embodied, infrastructural, and reified knowledge organization. I build on the inter- pretive work of scholars in information studies, cognitive semantics, sociology, and science studies. With the terms and the framework in place, I then outline classification theory s critiques of classificatory structures. In order to address these cri- tiques with an experientialist approach an experientialist semantics is offered as a design commitment for an example: metadata in peer-to-peer network knowledge organization structures.

Wavelengths in bioconvection patterns

Unicellular bottom-heavy swimming microorganisms are usually denser than the fluid in which they swim. In shallow suspensions, the bottom heaviness results in a gravitational torque that orients the cells to swim vertically upwards in the absence of fluid flow. Swimming cells thus accumulate at the upper surface to form a concentrated layer of cells. When the cell concentration is high enough, the layer overturns to form bioconvection patterns. Thin concentrated plumes of cells descend rapidly and cells return to the upper surface in wide, slowly moving upwelling plumes. When there is fluid flow, a second viscous torque is exerted on the swimming cells. The balance between the local shear flow viscous and the gravitational torques determines the cells' swimming direction, (gyrotaxis). In this thesis, the wavelengths of bioconvection patterns are studied experimentally as well as theoretically as follow; First, in aquasystem it is rare to find one species lives individually and when they swim they can form complex patterns. Thus, a protocol for controlled experiments to mix two species of swimming algal cells of \emph{C. rienhardtii} and \emph{C. augustae} is systematically described and images of bioconvection patterns are captured. A method for analysing images using wavelets and extracting the local dominant wavelength in spatially varying patterns is developed. The variation of the patterns as a function of the total concentration and the relative concentration between two species is analysed. Second, the linear stability theory of bioconvection for a suspension of two mixed species is studied. The dispersion relationship is computed using Fourier modes in order to calculate the neutral curves as a function of wavenumbers $k$ and $m$. The neutral curves are plotted to compare the instability onset of the suspension of the two mixed species with the instability onset of each species individually. This study could help us to understand which species contributes the most in the process of pattern formation. Finally, predicting the most unstable wavelength was studied previously around a steady state equilibrium situation. Since assuming steady state equilibrium contradicts with reality, the pattern formation in a layer of finite depth of an evolving basic state is studied using the nonnormal modes approach. The nonnormal modes procedure identifies the optimal initial perturbation that can be obtained for a given time $t$ as well as a given set of parameters and wavenumber $k$. Then, we measure the size of the optimal perturbation as it grows with time considering a range of wavenumbers for the same set of parameters to be able to extract the most unstable wavelength.