O hipertexto eletrônico de meio ambiente : estratégias de leitura e navegação

The incorporation of computing in class instigate the use of the Internet and websites as a content support in the teaching/leaning process. This kind of practice had challenged the students to read through eletronic hypertextual means. In that way, we re trying to undestand which strategies of reading and navigation the students of the second and third grade of highschool levels are using when reading electronic hypertexts from the www.ambientebrasil.com.br website. The research took place in the Escola Estadual Jerônimo Rosado in Mossoró RN. Our theoretical base was estructured on the digital Technology (electronic hypertext estructure and it s navigation modes), in applied linguistics (act of reading) and in cognition (interaction of the reader with the text and the use of reading strategies in the virtual computing enviroment). The applied methodology was the case analysis which was developed with the reunion of collected data through qualitative reseach questionaries, direct observations and video recording sessions. The research demonstrates that reader s ability in the act of navigating on virtual sites activates his/her reading strategies. Also shows how the semantic architecture of the hyperlinks can interfere directly over the strategies of reading and navigation in specific websites. Our research also intend to demonstrate that the student use his strategies of linear text reading when are not accustomed to use the reading through websites in a regular basis. The investigation concludes observing that the amount of hypertexts per pages and the inappropriate use of the multimedia elements were harmful to the reading fluency

O Gênero requerimento na perspectiva sociorretórica: análise da produção de graduandos no ambiente acadêmico-administrativo da UFRN

In administrative settings of public institutions, many activities are conducted through writing practices. Concerning this, writing is always connected to an activity we intend to perform. Among those practices, the genre request consists of an instrument through which the requirer addresses to an institution in order to request something under the support of legislation. Considering our work experience in a public institution of higher education, we elected - as object of our research - the genre request produced by undergraduates within the administrative domain of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) due to its importance in this context. For this, the theoretical framework adopted refers to the socio-rethorical conception of genre studies, which understands the genre as forms as rhetorically typified action (MILLER, 2009a; SWALES, 1990; BAZERMAN, 2009). Regarding methodology, it is a research associated to a qualitative approach (BODGAN; BIKLEN, 1994; CHIZZOTTI, 2010) whose discussion inserts into the field of Applied Linguistics. The data were generated from samples of requests and their users replies in questionnaires, interviews and verbal protocols of writing. The data analysis is based on the ethnographic methods of genre analysis postulated by Devitt, Reiff and Bawarshi (apud JOHNS et al., 2006). These analyses indicated that the requests are not always fully accomplished due to a lack of comprehension about the genre and its rhetorical situation on the part of the producers. It must probably happen - among other reasons - because these students may not have understood that several factors, such as: context, audience and purpose, affect the text production. We believe that one possibility to make the practice of this genre more efficient is to develop a more simple and practical way of elaborating requests, taking the needs imposed by the rhetorical situation as a basis

Comparação da pressão plantar e dos sintomas osteomusculares por meio do uso de palmilhas customizadas e pré-fabricadas no ambiente de trabalho

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Indicadores de alteração hidrológica no Alto Rio Paraná: intervenções humanas e implicações na dinâmica do ambiente fluvial

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Ambiente de textualização no ensino a distância: o caso do fórum educacional

This research deals with textualization issues present in educational forums in distance learning environment. The research aims to analyze textualization regarding communication practices between tutors and distance learning students. Specifically the research aims to verify if the educational forum is considered pertinent for knowledge construction as well as identify subject´s behavior in e-Proinfo environment. The research also aims to understand the dynamics of the teaching and learning techniques related to the forum´s printed material. This is done in order to acknowledge discourse on behalf of subjects through the presented educational assignments. In order to address the issue, the work dealt with the relations present in distance learning forums, the forms in which the assignments are made, the way social actors interact and how this debate happens in the virtual environment. The research emphasized an educational forum used in a higher education institution at Rio Grande do Norte/Brazil. Thus the research corpus is composed by messages that were posted in the forum in the module called computer material . This module is one of the last in a set of six modules that are part of The Basic Cycle for Media Training promoted by the Center for Distance Learning in a public university at Rio Grande do Norte/Brazil. The research deals with a qualitative type approach in the perspectives of Merriam (1988), Cresswell (1994) and Minayo (1996). In order to achieve this analysis, the research dealt with theoretical landmarks related to distance learning present in (Silva, 2008; Brait, 1993; Sperbe and Wilson, 1986; Marquesi and Elias 2008 as well as Xavier, 2005, amongst others. As for aspects related to media and technological perspectives present in the forum, the research dealt with (Baranov, 1989; Neuner, 1981; Kearsley and Moore, 1996). Textualization was dealt according to (Marcuschi, 2008; Costa Val, 2004) and the conceptions and functions regarding tutors was seen according to (Salgado, 2002). In the conclusion and recommendations it was seen that these discussions present relevant contributions to distance learning and go beyond the practical universe present in electronical interaction. In the final considerations it is pointed out that this research is relevant for areas such as applied linguistics and presents guidelines for those involved in continuous education and aim meaningful knowledge that is coherent with distance learning education

Aprendizado espacial-temporal em um ambiente complexo sem restrição alimentar em ratos

Timeplace learning is the capacity of organisms to associate both space and time with a biological relevant stimulus such as food. Experiments are usually done with food restricted animals due to the belief that food system activation is necessary for timeplace learning. Another line of thought suggest that, in addition to food system activation, response cost should be increased to effectively allow timeplace discrimination. The purpose of this experiment was to test whether a complex environment, which presumably implied in a heightened response cost, would facilitate timeplace association in satiated rats using a highly palatable food as reward. Nine rats were trained in a timeplace task for 30 nonconsecutive days. A large experimental box (1x1m) divided in four compartments was used. To access each compartment the animal had to overcome a series of obstacles such as ramps, staircases and mazes. Two feeders localized in opposite compartments were rewarded with sunflower seeds in two daily sessions. One feeder offered the reward during the morning sessions while the second feeder in afternoon sessions. After the 15th day of training, the animals began to show a preference for the correct feeder during the correct time of day expressed by increased frequency of visits as well as lower latency to access the feeders. These results suggest that satiated animals are also capable of learning a timespace task as far as the experimental context is complex enough to result in a higher response cost

O papel das rotas e da obtenção de informações sobre a eficiência no forrageio de dinoponera quadriceps em ambiente natural

In this study, we investigated the role of routes and information attainment for the queenless ant species Dinoponera quadriceps foraging efficiency. Two queenless ant colonies were observed in an area of Atlantic secondary Forest at the FLONA-ICMBio of Nisia Floresta, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, northeastern Brazil, at least once a week. In the first stage of the study, we observed the workers, from leaving until returning to the colony. In the second stage, we introduced a acrylic plate (100 x 30 x 0,8 cm) on a selected entrance of the nest early in the morning before the ants left the nest. All behavioral recordings were done through focal time and all occurence samplings. The recording windows were of 15 minutes with 1 minute interval, and 5 minute intervals between each observation window. Foraging was the main activity when the workers were outside the nest. There was a positive correlation between time outside the nest and distance travelled by the ants. These variables influenced the proportion of resource that was taken to the nest, that is, the bigger its proportion, the longer the time outside and distance travelled during the search. That proportion also influenced the time the worker remained in the nest before a new trip, the bigger the proportion of the item, the shorter was the time in the nest. During all the study, workers showed fidelity to the route and to the sectors in the home range, even when the screen was in the ant´s way, once they deviated and kept the route. The features of foraging concerning time, distance, route and flexibility to go astray by the workers indicate that decisions are made by each individual and are optimal in terms of a cost-benefit relation. The strategy chosen by queenless ants fits the central place foraging and marginal value theorem theories and demonstrate its flexibility to new informations. This indicates that the workers can learn new environmental landmarks to guide their routes

Expressão de zif268 no cérebro do lagarto Tropidurus Hispidus após exploração de um ambiente enriquecido.

In the present work, we investigated behavioral changes associated with the increase in Zif268 protein expression within telencephalic areas of the tropical lizard Tropidurus hispidus that correspond to the mammalian hippocampus (HC). We used 13 male individuals of this species, collected at the Federal Agrotechnical School of Rio Grande do Norte, under SISBIO license number 19561-1. Four animals had their brains removed and were submitted to a Western blot with antibodies for the Zif268 protein. The remaining animals were separated in two different groups: a control group (n=4) and an exploration group (n=5). Animals from the exploration group were exposed to an enriched environment with many sensory cues novel to them. Control group animals stayed in the environment they were already habituated to. After 90 min from the onset of exposure to the new environment, animals from both groups were submitted to intracardiac perfusion with fixative, and the brains were removed, cryoprotected and frozen. After that, brains were sectioned at 20 μm and the sections were subjected to immunohistochemistry for the Zif268 protein. We verified that the Zif268 protein is likely conserved in the brain of T. hispidus, which showed antigenicity for the antibody anti-Zif268 made in mammals. In animals from the exploration group, we detected an increase of the Zif268 protein in the Septum, Striatum, Dorsoventricular Area and in cortical areas corresponding to the HC. This increase was proportional to the amount of environmental exploration, with maximum positive correlation in the hippocampal subareas Medial Cortex (R = 0.94 and p = 0.004) and Dorsomedial Cortex (R = 0.92 and p = 0.006). The data corroborate the notion that the reptilian hippocampus, as well as the mammalian HC, plays an important role in spatial exploration.

Ontogênese comportamental de Callithix jacchus em ambiente natural

In most primates, the mother is primarily responsible for care in early life of the infants, since, as in other mammals, infants depend on their mother to nutritional conditions. However, unlike most of them, in some species, infants are also dependent on other individuals with respect to transportation, supervision, and food sharing. To understand the distribution of care to offspring is essential to understand the social dynamics of the group. Several studies conducted in the natural environment, during the infant have been studied mainly through the careful transport of the infants. Our study approached the different forms of care to infants (transport, supervision and food sharing) and the development of behavioral repertoire throughout all phases of infant and juvenile seeking to better understand how to establish the development and survival of offspring of Callithrix jacchus, in natural environment. The seasonality in the caatinga was striking in this study and the collection had two distinct seasons for each of the sets observed, one dry and one rainy. These environmental changes seem to have influenced the distribution of activities in animal development. Yet the greater availability of resources in the rainy season seems to have been the main factor influencing the pattern of activities. Results will be presented in two manuscripts

Ritmo de atividade de forrageio de Dinoponera quadríceps em ambiente natural

In order to characterize the seasonal and daily rhythm of Dinoponera quadriceps foraging activity in natural environment, four colonies of D. quadriceps were observed in an area of secondary Atlantic forest in northeastern Brazil. Data collection was performed during 72 hours every three months during an annual cycle. Colonies of D. quadriceps exhibited seasonal variation in foraging activity, peaking in the early dry season, followed by a sudden decline at the end of this season and increasing again at the late rainy season. The seasonal rhythm of foraging was positively related to the duration of the daylight and luminosity, and negatively to the time of sunrise and rainfall. Regarding the daily rhythm, foraging activity was predominantly diurnal independent of season. At the early dry season, the colonies had two activity peaks, one in the morning and another in the afternoon, with a decrease in foraging at midday, while in the rest of the year foraging activity was distributed more evenly throughout the daylight. The daily rhythm of foraging activity had a stronger and positive relation with light intensity. The second most important factor determining the daily rhythm of foraging was temperature that was also positively related for most of the year. Relative humidity showed a weak and negative relation with the daily rhythm of foraging in just one month of observation

Correlato hormonal do comportamento reprodutivo de machos de sagüi comum (Callithrix jacchus) em ambiente natural

Contrary to what is recorded for Callithrix jacchus females, the social interactions and hormonal profiles of males are less studied, and mainly in wild groups. The goal of this study was to investigate the behavioral and endocrine profiles of reproductive (RMs) and non-reproductive (NRs) common marmoset adult free-ranging males living in two natural groups (GC1 and GR2). The groups inhabited the area of the Escola Agrícola de Jundiaí/UFRN, located in Macaíba, Brazil. Fecal collection for cortisol and androgen measurement and behavioral monitoring was carried out during the active phase from April to September, 2005. For behavioral data collection the focal instantaneous method was used every 5 min, for a total of 11.563 records. Statistical analysis was performed using non parametric tests and p < 0.05. Besides showing diurnal variation, the frequency of affiliative behaviors was significantly higher for RMs toward reproductive females than for NRs. Affiliative interactions of RMs with both reproductive females and NRs were similar, probably related to pair bond formation and helper recruitment, respectively. Parental care was also similar for both RMs and NRs. Both androgen and cortisol levels increased after the birth of the infants, mainly in RMs. The longitudinal profile of androgens fluctuates more in response to agonistic encounters and sexual behavior than that of cortisol. The mean basal excretion of both hormones was significantly higher in RMs and seems to reflect their higher participation in territorial vigilance and mate guarding behaviors. Significant positive correlations were found between agonism and cortisol and androgen hormones. These results describe, for the first time, the behavioral and hormonal profiles of common marmosets living in free-ranging groups and suggest that reproductive males are more responsive both behaviorally and hormonally to social group dynamics

Indicadores da resposta ao estresse agudo associados com a familiaridade ao ambiente e aos procedimentos de banho e tosa em cães (Canis familiaris) da raça poodle

The stress responses can be parameters used in order to identify the welfare of animals. Behavior parameters can also be regarded as means to identify their relation to stressing situations. In this study, adult male and female poodle dogs, accustomed (group 1) or not (group 2) to the environment of a bath and grooming salon were analyzed through the plasmatic concentration of cortisol, cell counting of the immune system (total leukocytes and percentage of neutrophils and lymphocytes) and through observation of changes in behavior before and after the bath and grooming service. After arriving at the kennel, the dogs were taken to the bath and grooming facility, where they had their blood samples taken and were observed for ten minutes. The subsequent procedures consisted of the bath and grooming services and the collection of another blood samples. The research results were analyzed through non-parametric statistic tests and p < 0.05. Accustomed and non-accustomed dogs presented different hormonal and behavior responses: accustomed dogs presented an increasing of the cortisol level at the second blood samples collection, thus indicating stress towards the aforementioned procedures and presenting behavior responses which can be described as moderated stress. Non-accustomed dogs presented the same cortisol levels in both first and second samples suggesting that they were already reacting to the new environment. Dogs also shown behavioral responses which can be described as acute stress. Both male and female dogs showed similar immunological changes as well as different endocrine and behavioral profiles. Concerning aggression, this study demonstrates that biting the owner can be a predicting behavior of aggression during the bath and grooming service, male dogs were more aggressive than the female, and that males were more reactive to unknown caretaker. The results of this research propose that the familiarization of the animal with the bath and grooming environment and caretaker is important to the welfare of poodle dogs, especially to that of male dogs

O ambiente de trabalho no setor bancário e o bem-estar

Wich the big transformations at the world of labor, thus as the appearing of the negatives psicologicals consequencies? Publications in books and articles about the health of the workers have been seen in the last 40 years, pointing at the increase of occupational ills, increase of the absenteeism, reach the redation between the labor and the family. With the appearing of the neoliberal sistem, changed all the net of relations, thus as the temporary labor contract, the flexibility at the work timetable, and others, that privilege the capitalism, in detriment of the worker health. It was given emphasis to the banking worker, in time that the banks and the banking agencies were one of the departaments that more suffered the impact of the productive restructuring at the last years. 200 bank clerks shared the search, in that 41,9% was female and 58,1% was male, 60,9% presenting a civil state married, following of 28,4% of single. The participants answered the following instruments: Scale of Positives and Negative Kindness, General Health Questionaire GHQ 12, Scale of Organization, Conditions and Labor Relations, Scale of Desire (own authorship), Scale about economic situation and a social-demographic record car. With the objective of trying the instruments of measure, it was checking the psychometric parameter of the search scales. We could verify that it has been more positive than negative ones for the mental health, but it was found some kind of depression and unsatisfied with their lives in some pieces of the sample. We can finally say that the work place has an impact at the mental health of the bank clerks. So, some interventions actions to promote the worker health could be essential

O pátio escolar do ensino fundamental como ambiente de brincar segundo as crianças usuárias

The intention of the present study was to analyze the adequacy of the playground of elementary schools, according to the point of view of the child student, direct user of this type of environment, what estimated its critical in respect to these spaces and aimed at to contribute for its improvement. Many studies have analyzed the quality of the physical environment available for activities of leisure in specific places for children, focusing in the influence of the physical space in the interpersonal relationships and the comfort and satisfaction generated by the physical characteristics of these spaces. Concern with scholar environment, specially the interest on playgrounds, has been subject of recent studies; however, little attention has been given to the opinion of the user-child in relation to this school environment. In this inquiry of the playground of two state schools of 1ª to 4ª series of elementary school in the city of Piracicaba, SP, was used: assystematics observations, photographic register of the studied environments, interviews with child-users and behavioral mapping. The main subjects resulting from the analysis of the interviews content were: adaptation, density and interpersonal relationships, and infantile confinement. The results revealed the unsatisfactory conditions of the courtyards, in respect to person-environment relationship. The children demonstrated to be critical, creative and responsible when answering questions related to the quality of the school courtyard. This finding confirms previous studies and leads to the conclusion that the child, as the direct user, should be included as an excellent source of consultation in the planning of the constructed environment

Humanização hospitalar, ambiente físico e relações assistenciais :a percepção de arquitetos especialistas

The creation of the Humanization Program of Hospital Care and the increasing number of academic works and journal articles that discuss more humane practices in the health care services express the emphasis given to the theme in Brazil. In these discussions, however, it is not usual to find reference to architecture as a relevant factor in the humanization of hospitals, even though it is known that the physical structure of the building may help the recovering of the patients; elements such as gardens, the use of colors and open spaces may soften the impact caused by the hospital routine on patients. Considering the contribution the architectural project may bring to the humanization of hospitals, the aim of this study was to verify how the architects perceive the hospital humanization process. Besides having searched for subsides in informal interviews with health professionals, in visits to hospitals and in related seminars, the study was based on semi-structured interviews with architects of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, who are specialists in this kind of projects. The content analysis of the interviews showed that physical space and attendance are essential to the humanization process. Those professionals see two humanization tendencies: while private hospitals have the structural physical appearance considered as humanized, public hospitals emphasize the humanization in attendance, fact that illustrates the contradictions in Brazilian health system. The interviewees consider the post-occupancy evaluation of the building as a learning exercise that contributes to new projects, but surprisingly they do not mention the patients opinion as part of it. Two annoying facts have emerged from the interviews, as also seen in preliminary stages of the study: rare are the works that focus on the person-environment relationship, and the definition of humanized hospital environments is still broad and inaccurate. This suggests the need of new studies in order to better understand how the two factors shown in this study attendance and physical space interact towards a true hospital humanization