Ensino de léxico e texto descritivo

Dissertação apresentada à Escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa para obtenção de grau de mestre em Didáctica da Língua Portuguesa no 1.º e 2.º Ciclos do Ensino Básico

On the development of textual competence in primary education

The aim of this article is to present the results of an action research project, which has been put into practice in Primary Education. This project was intended to develop students’ textual competence, considering both comprehension and textual production. Our starting hypothesis was that teaching the schematisation of text types, focusing on linguistic devices that underlie text production, would promote the development of textual competence, leading to the production of more coherent and cohesive texts. In order to test this hypothesis we implemented the project in three phases. First, before the intervention, we collected texts produced by the students. Secondly, we implemented a didactic program designed to develop students’ textual competence. Lastly, after the intervention, we collected students’ texts once again. Data was analyzed according to categories that confer cohesion and coherence to different types of texts. Narrative, descriptive, and explanatory texts were assessed in terms of 1) building an autonomous text; 2) hierarchisation of information, and 3) textual organisation. Overall, results indicate that students developed their text conceptualisations, their understanding of the different structures of texts, and produced better writing. Indeed, their written work shows a marked progression from the beginning of the intervention program to the end of the program.

Pojkar kan visst skriva! : skrivkompetenser på nationellt prov i svenska i årskurs tre i Sverige

10-year old boys are writing texts in a National Test in the spring of 2009. The aim of this study is to increase knowledge in and understanding of boys’ writing skills through description, analysis and interpretation of the texts produced by the boys in the National Test in Swedish for junior level year three, taken in Sweden in 2009. The material consists of texts produced by boys and is focused on their ability to write. Through avoiding relating to texts produced by girls, it is possible to search, review, interpret and observe without simultaneously comparing the two genders. The aim of the test is to measure writing proficiency from a normative perspective, while I am investigating content, reception, awareness, and other aspects relevant when producing text. Genres are described through the instruction given in the test, which defines the work that takes place in the classroom and thereby my approach to the analysis. The latter is focused on finding patterns in the competence of the students rather than looking for flaws and limitations. When competence is searched for beyond the relationship to syllabi or the demands of the test in itself, the boys’ texts from the test provide a general foundation for investigating writing proficiency. Person, place and social group have been removed from the texts thereby avoiding aspects of social positioning. The texts are seen from the perspective of 10-year old boys who write texts in a National Test. The theoretical basis as provided by Ivaničs (2004; 2012) offers models for theory on writing. A socio-cultural viewpoint (Smidt, 2009; Säljö, 2000) including literacy and a holistic view on writing is found throughout. By the use of abdicative logic (see 4.4) material and theory work in mutual cooperation. The primary method hermeneutics (Gadamer 1997) and analytical closereading (Gustavsson, 1999) are used dependent on the requirements of the texts. The thesis builds its foundation through the analysis from theoretically diverse areas of science. Central to the thesis is the result that boys who write texts in the National Test, are able to write in two separate genres without conversion or the creating hybrids between the two. Furthermore, the boys inhibit extensive knowledge about other types of texts, gained from TV, film, computers, books, games, and magazines even in such a culturally bound context as a test. Texts the boy has knowledge of through other situations can implicitly be inserted in his own text, or be explicitly written with a name of the main character, title, as well as other signifiers. These texts are written to express and describe what is required in the topic heading of the test. In addition other visible results of the boys’ ability to write well occur though the multitude of methods for analysis throughout the thesis which both search, and find writing competence in the texts written by the boys.

A coleta de corpus de aprendizes: questões qualitativas em uma pesquisa sobre a escrita de aprendizes de língua espanhola

In this paper we discuss and present the first results gathered from the compilation of a learner corpus comprised of texts written by university students (Language, Literature and Translation Course). We made use of Corpus Linguistics and observations of researchers from the learner’s corpus field, in order to compile and analyze a corpus of argumentative and descriptive texts written in Spanish. Four hundred compositions were collected (about 120 thousand words) from August 2011 to December 2012. The methodology adopted assisted us considerably in maintaining a comprehensive working agenda, taking into consideration students’ needs and using the data collected as subsidy to improve classroom management of content. We also present the difficulties faced during the data gathering and propose procedures do avoid or minimize them.

Anglicisms and calques in upper social class in pre-revolutionary Cuba (1930–1959): A sociolinguistic analysis

The geographical proximity and socioeconomic dependence on the United States brought about a deep rooted anglicization of the Cuban Spanish lexis and social strata, especially throughout the Neocolonial period (1902–1959). This study is based on the revision of a renowned newspaper of that time, Diario de la Marina, and the corresponding elaboration of a corpus of English-induced loanwords. Diario de la Marina particularly targeted upper social class, and only crónicas sociales (society pages’ columns) and print advertising were revised because of their fully descriptive texts, which encoded the ruling class ideology and consumerism. The findings show that there existed a high number of lexical and cultural anglicisms in the sociolect in question, and that the sociolinguistic anglicization was openly embraced by the upper socioeconomic stratum, entailing a differentiating sign of sophistication and social stratification. Likewise, a number of the anglicisms collected, particularly those related with social events, are unused in contemporary Cuban Spanish, which suggests a major semantic shifting in this sociolect after 1959.

Recanto do vale do pium: condomínio de habitações com ênfase no baixo impacto ambiental e no desempenho térmico do ambiente construído

This work describes the design process of a small recreational gated community in Pium, Nísia Floresta/RN, from concept to final design stages, with emphasis on low environmental impact, thermal comfort and the spatial quality of housing. The process consisted in a review of the literature and relevant standards, studies of design references and architectural programming. The project development was initially focused on the project’s feasibility, with the definition of the number of units, implantation, size and location of the dwellings and the common areas of the development. Two types of houses (four low rise and five duplex units) have been proposed in order to attend the premises of architectural programming. The conception of the architectural design began with the rooms’ zoning according to the lots. This resulted in the pre-selection of three alternatives that were evaluated in terms of spatial quality and environmental performance. The development of sketches focused on the envelope consistent with the bioclimatic guidelines and on the language of the compatible proposal with the lowest possible environmental impact of the building system, which resulted in the selection of the eucalyptus wood type. During the working drawings, the Quality Technical Regulation for the Level of Energy Efficiency Residential Buildings (RTQ -R) was adopted for the evaluation of the envelope, which resulted in "B" level of efficiency for the first case. After minor adjustments, mainly in frames, the efficiency level rose to "A", demonstrating that early project decisions contributed to the envelope energy performance. Besides the design of the two types of units, the final proposal of the gated community includes the design of the equipment for the common areas (entrance, multipurpose room and support and service sector), and the descriptive texts explaining the project and construction’s details.

Are the health messages in schoolbooks based on scientific evidence? A descriptive study.

BACKGROUND Most textbooks contains messages relating to health. This profuse information requires analysis with regards to the quality of such information. The objective was to identify the scientific evidence on which the health messages in textbooks are based. METHODS The degree of evidence on which such messages are based was identified and the messages were subsequently classified into three categories: Messages with high, medium or low levels of evidence; Messages with an unknown level of evidence; and Messages with no known evidence. RESULTS 844 messages were studied. Of this total, 61% were classified as messages with an unknown level of evidence. Less than 15% fell into the category where the level of evidence was known and less than 6% were classified as possessing high levels of evidence. More than 70% of the messages relating to "Balanced Diets and Malnutrition", "Food Hygiene", "Tobacco", "Sexual behaviour and AIDS" and "Rest and ergonomics" are based on an unknown level of evidence. "Oral health" registered the highest percentage of messages based on a high level of evidence (37.5%), followed by "Pregnancy and newly born infants" (35%). Of the total, 24.6% are not based on any known evidence. Two of the messages appeared to contravene known evidence. CONCLUSION Many of the messages included in school textbooks are not based on scientific evidence. Standards must be established to facilitate the production of texts that include messages that are based on the best available evidence and which can improve children's health more effectively.

Reading hybrid texts : remarks on text/image transitions

The reading of printed materials implies the visual processing of information originated in two distinct semiotic systems. The rapid identification of redundancy, complementation or contradiction rhetoric strategies between the two information types may be crucial for an adequate interpretation of bimodal materials. Hybrid texts (verbal and visual) are particular instances of bimodal materials, where the redundant information is often neglected while the complementary and the contradictory ones are essential.Studies using the 504 ASL eye-tracking system while reading either additive or exhibiting captions (Baptista, 2009) revealed fixations on the verbal material and transitions between the written and the pictorial in a much higher number and duration than the initially foreseen as necessary to read the verbal text. We therefore hypothesized that confirmation strategies of the written information are taking place, by using information available in the other semiotic system.Such eye-gaze patterns obtained from denotative texts and pictures seem to contradict some of the scarce existing data on visual processing of texts and images, namely cartoons (Carroll, Young and Guertain, 1992), descriptive captions (Hegarty, 1992 a and b), and advertising images with descriptive and explanatory texts (cf. Rayner and Rotello, 2001, who refer to a previous reading of the whole text before looking at the image, or even Rayner, Miller and Rotello, 2008 who refer to an earlier and longer look at the picture) and seem to consolidate findings of Radach et al. (2003) on systematic transitions between text and image.By framing interest areas in the printed pictorial material of non redundant hybrid texts, we have identified the specific areas where transitions take place after fixations in the verbal text. The way those transitions are processed brings a new interest to further research.

The Analogy as a Cognitive Strategy that Encourages Reading Comprehension in Expository Texts

This research arises from the current state of reading in Mexico, because the contextual situation to local and national level has become critical on this issue. Results on standardized tests such as ENLACE (National Assessment of Academic Achievement in Schools) and PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) have shown that Mexican basic level students have text comprehension problems. Given this reality, this is a qualitative descriptive study on the use of analogies in reading as a strategy for reading comprehension, through application of an ethnographic survey, a questionnaire and the application of a pedagogical model for the use of analogies in reading. The study incorporates the theoretical tenets of Constructivism, referring to Piaget (1969), Vygotsky (1997) and Ausubel (2002). The results show that the use of analogies promotes reading comprehension in 4th grade students, from an expository text that compares the evolution of man and the metamorphosis of a butterfly.

Aplicações metodologicas em educação fisica/ciencias do esporte : recortes da experiencia da Saude Coletiva e Atividade Fisica da UNICAMP

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física

A descriptive analysis of the seasonal variation of physical oceanographic characteristics in the northern region of the Todos os Santos Bay (Bahia, Brazil)

The results obtained in the August and December 2003, August 2004 and January 2005 oceanographic campaigns in the northern region of the Todos os Santos Bay (lat. 12º44.5'S; long. 038º35.00'W) between the Madre de Deus and Maré islands are analyzed. Instruments of continuous and discrete samplings were used to measure hydrographic properties currents and tides. The water mass of the northern region of the bay is forced by semidiurnal and mesotides of form number 0.08 and the lunar component M2 height was estimated at 91cm. The time series of the surface currents indicated movements in the N/S direction, forced by the tide with maximum magnitudes of 0.73 m.s-1 on the December 2003 campaign. However, in August 2004 the currents were dominated by the wind stress forcing, with a maximum speed of 1.85 m.s-1 and SE direction. Near the bottom, the influence of the tide is not as evident, with a decrease in intensity due to internal and bottom friction, with a maximum velocity of 0.17 m.s-1. The thermal and haline structures were weakly horizontally, as well as vertically stratified, with extreme values varying in the intervals 23ºC (August, 2004) to 28ºC (December, 2003) and 31.0 psu (August, 2003) to 36.0 psu (December, 2003), respectively. Some conclusions may be drawn from these results: i) The signs of the dilution of the fresh water discharges of the Caípe, Mataripe and São Paulo rivers in the region under the influence of the RLAM were observed only during the winter periods, but in the summer the region was flooded by waters of oceanic origin and the salinities above 36.0 indicated TW mass intrusion; ii) The N-S circulation near the RLAM is strongly dominated by the tide, and the importance of the M2 component was unequivocal, however, the E-W component presented some tidal modulation away from abrupt bottom topographical changes, and iii) The residual series, calculated as the difference between the original and modeled, is about ¼ of the original and confirmed its semidiurnal character.

Women's satisfaction with childbirth's experience in different models of care: a descriptive study

Com o objetivo de comparar a satisfação das mulheres com a experiência do parto em três modelos assistenciais, foi realizada pesquisa descritiva, com abordagem quantitativa, em dois hospitais públicos de São Paulo, um promovendo o modelo "Típico" e o outro com um centro de parto intra-hospitalar (modelo "CPNIH") e um peri-hospitalar (modelo "CPNPH"). A amostra foi constituída por 90 puérperas, 30 de cada modelo. A comparação entre os resultados referentes à satisfação das mulheres com o atendimento prestado pelos profissionais de saúde, com a qualidade da assistência e os motivos de satisfação e insatisfação, com a indicação ou recomendação dos serviços recebidos, com a sensação de segurança no processo e com as sugestões de melhorias, mostrou que o modelo CPHPH foi o melhor avaliado, vindo em seguida o CPNIH e por último o Típico. Conclui-se que o modelo peri-hospitalar de assistência ao parto deveria receber maior apoio do SUS, por se constituir em serviço em que as mulheres se mostram satisfeitas com a atenção recebida

The process of drug dispensing and distribution at four Brazilian hospitals: A multicenter descriptive study

A multicenter descriptive study was carried out in two steps: an interview with providers involved in the medication processes, and then non-participating observation of their environment and practices. Only one hospital was found to have a bar-coding, dispensing system connected to a computerized prescription system. fit all participating hospitals at least 90% of the drugs were dispensed and distributed as unit doses, but in none of them did pharmacists assess prescriptions. The study findings showed that the processes of drug dispensing and distribution in Brazilian hospitals encounter several problems, mostly associated to work environment conditions and inadequacy in drug ordering and requests.

Mortality variation across Australia: descriptive data for States and Territories, and statistical divisions

OBJECTIVE: To describe variation in all cause and selected cause-specific mortality rates across Australia. METHODS: Mortality and population data for 1997 were obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. All cause and selected cause-specific mortality rates were calculated and directly standardised to the 1997 Australian population in 5-year age groups. Selected major causes of death included cancer, coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, accidents and suicide. Rates are reported by statistical division, and State and Territory. RESULTS: All cause age-standardised mortality was 6.98 per 1000 in 1997 and this varied 2-fold from a low in the statistical division of Pilbara, Western Australia (5.78, 95% confidence interval 5.06-6.56), to a high in Northern Territory-excluding Darwin (11.30, 10.67-11.98). Similar mortality variation (all p<0.0001) exists for cancer (1.01-2.23 per 1000) and coronary artery disease (0.99-2.23 per 1000), the two biggest killers. Larger variation (all p<0.0001) exists for cerebrovascular disease (0.7-11.8 per 10,000), diabetes (0.7-6.9 per 10,000), accidents (1.7-7.2 per 10,000) and suicide (0.6-3.8 per 10,000). Less marked variation was observed when analysed by State and Territory. but Northern Territory consistently has the highest age-standardised mortality rates. CONCLUSIONS: Analysed by statistical division, substantial mortality gradients exist across Australia, suggesting an inequitable distribution of the determinants of health. Further research is required to better understand this heterogeneity.