As tecnologias de informação e comunicação na educação : diagnósticos, reflexões e uma experiência com o e-mail numa escola de 3º ciclo

Tese de doutoramento em Ciências da Educação (Tecnologia Educativa) apresentada à Fac. de Psicologia e Ciências da educação de CoimbraO presente trabalho é uma investigação – reflexão – acção que partiu dos dados de dois estudos de âmbito nacional sobre a utilização das Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TIC) por professores e alunos dos ensinos básico e secundário em Portugal. A análise desses dados aponta para sentimentos híbridos, entusiasmo e eficácia, por um lado, e por outro, constrangimentos e realização aquém do esperado na utilização das TIC, especialmente pelos professores portugueses. Tendo assim como ponto de partida um diagnóstico horizontal e generalista partimos para uma investigação vertical e local, que envolveu três turmas do 3º ciclo do ensino básico de uma escola do perímetro urbano de Coimbra. Foram experimentadas com alguma intensidade, durante dois anos, estratégias conducentes a uma maior utilização das TIC na comunidade escolar, particularmente com alunos, encarregados de educação e professores (em particular o Director de Turma). Do ponto de vista da tecnologia digital utilizada os desafios não foram muito sofisticados, pois usámos principalmente o e-mail, através de uma plataforma, disponível na Internet, de natureza fechada, mas configurada para o efeito. O Projecto tomou o nome de “E-mail na Comunidade Escolar”, EmailCE. Tentámos apurar os principais obstáculos, as vantagens e os problemas pedagógicos associados a uma utilização das TIC mais diversificada e intensa na turma e respectivo meio. O projecto não seguiu uma linha recta pois alguns imponderáveis e reacções específicas (ou falta de reacções…) dos agentes participantes levaram-nos a sucessivas modificações da estratégia de investigação-acção que começaram desde logo com o momento da realização do projecto e com a forma minimalista de participação dos professores, que se resumiu quase ao Director de Turma. Em pano de fundo, existiu a pretensão de desenhar estratégias incentivadoras de um uso efectivo e “afectivo” das tecnologias, capaz de promover recursos de inteligência emocional e práticas de “negociação”, na perspectiva de Thomas Gordon. A este nível verificaram-se muitas dificuldades. O sistema escola-professores-pais revelou-se difícil e algo reactivo à inovação, confirmando-se as ideias da complexidade deste tipo de processos. Em particular, revelou-se importante um pensamento sistémico, muito atento ao todo, mais do que às partes, como desenvolve Peter Senge, autor central na sustentação teórica deste trabalho. Os resultados foram minimamente encorajadores. Inovar, usando as modernas tecnologias, não é um processo simples, muito menos na educação. Revelou-se um exercício contínuo repleto de subjectividades individuais e sociais. A tecnologia pode ser elemento alavancador do progresso educativo, mas não é central, nem é o fulcro da reactividade do sistema. Talvez a variável tempo se tenha revelado uma das mais importantes, apontando para uma conclusão simultaneamente modesta e prospectiva: para inovar com as TIC de forma sustentada, na educação, será preciso ousadia, criatividade, insistência, novidade mas, talvez e principalmente, muita paciência!This work is a research – reflection – starts in the data from two national studies on the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) by teachers and students in basic and secondary schools in Portugal. The data analysis indicates on one hand enthusiastic and efficient feelings, but on the other hand constraints and execution below the expected level of ICT use, especially by Portuguese teachers. Having a horizontal and generalist diagnostic as a starting point we set out to a vertical and local research that involved three classes from the 3rd cycle of basic education in a school placed in the urban boundary of Coimbra. Strategies contributing to a greater use of ICT in the school community were intensively experimented, especially with students, parents and teachers (particularly the class tutor). From the point of view of the technology the challenges were not very sophisticated, as we have mainly used the e-mail, through a closed platform, available in the Internet, and appropriately configured. The project got the name “EmailCE” (EmailSC – Email on the School Community). We tried to find out what are the main obstacles, the advantages and the pedagogical problems associated to a more available, diversified and intense use of the ICT in the group as well as in its environment. The project was not straightforward as some unpredictable and specific reactions (or not reactions…) of the participant agents led us to consecutive changes in the research-action strategy that started immediately not only with the moment of project implementation but also with a more minimal teachers’ participation (almost only the class tutor). As a background, we intended to design stimulating strategies of an efficient and “affective” use of technologies, able to promote more emotional intelligence resources and “negotiating” practices, in Gordon’s perspective. At this level some difficulties were felt. The school – teachers – parents system was difficult and reactive to innovation, confirming the ideas of complexity of all these processes and, in particular, the importance of a systemic thought, very attentive to the whole rather than to the parts, as Peter Senge, an author whose ideas are central to this work, developed. Results were encouraging enough. Innovate using new technologies is not a simple process, especially in education. It was a continuous exercise full of individual and social subjectivities. Technology may be a lever element in educational progress, but it is not central, it is not the hinge of the system’s reactivity. Perhaps the time variable became the most important, pointing out to a conclusion simultaneously modest and prospective: it is necessary to be assertive, creative, persistent, but, most important of all, be very patient to innovate in educational ICT in a sustained way.Ce travail est une recherche - réflexion - action qui a commencé à partir de deux études nationales sur l'utilisation des Technologies d'Information et Communication (TIC) par professeurs et étudiants, dans les écoles d’enseignement obligatoire et secondaires au Portugal. Les études indiquent d'une part des sentiments enthousiastes, mais, d'autre part, des contraintes et problèmes dans l'utilisation des TIC, particulièrement par les professeurs portugais. Ayant un diagnostic horizontal et généraliste comme point de départ nous avons visé à une recherche verticale et locale, qui a impliqué trois classes du 3ème cycle de l'éducation obligatoire d’une école de la frontière urbaine de Coimbra, Portugal. Des stratégies contribuant à une plus grande utilisation des TIC dans la communauté scolaire ont été intensivement expérimentées, particulièrement avec des étudiants, des parents et des professeurs (en particulier le professeur principal de la classe). Du point de vue de la technologie numérique les défis n'étaient pas très sophistiqués. Nous avons surtout employé le courrier électronique « E-mail », dans une plateforme fermée, disponible dans l'Internet, et convenablement configurée. Le projet a reçu le nom "EmailCE" (EmailCS - email dans la Communauté Scolaire). Nous avons essayé de découvrir les obstacles les plus importants, les avantages et les problèmes pédagogiques associés à une utilisation plus diversifiée et intense des TIC en classe aussi bien que dans son environnement. Le projet a dû savoir intégrer quelques réactions imprévisibles et spécifiques (ou absence de réactions...) des agents participants. Cela a entraîné des changements consécutifs de la stratégie de recherche-action, qui ont commencé non seulement par le moment de la mise en route du projet, mais également par une participation minimale des professeurs (presque seulement le professeur principal de la classe). Nous avons eu l'intention de concevoir des stratégies stimulantes d'une utilisation efficace et "affective" des technologies, capable de favoriser des ressources d'intelligence émotionnelle et des pratiques de « négociation », dans la perspective de Thomas Gordon. Beaucoup de difficultés ont surgi à ce niveau. Le système école - professeurs - parents s’est avéré difficile et réactif à l'innovation, réaffirmant la complexité de tous ces processus et, en particulier, l'importance d'une pensée systémique, très attentive au tout plutôt qu'aux pièces, point de vue proposé par Peter Senge, auteur fondamental à l’encadrement théorique de ce travail. Les résultats ont été minimement encourageants. Innover, utilisant les modernes technologies, n'est pas un processus simple, notamment dans le domaine de l'éducation, et il s'est révélé un exercice continu plein de subjectivités individuelles et sociales. La technologie peut déclencher le progrès éducatif, bien qu’elle ne soit ni son élément principal ni le point d'appui de la réactivité du système. La variable temps s’est révélé probablement l’une des plus importantes, indiquant une conclusion simultanément modeste et prospective : pour innover avec les TIC de forme soutenue, dans l'éducation, il faudra de l’audace, de la créativité, de l’insistance, de la nouveauté mais, peut-être et tout d’abord, de la patience

Why does it take so long? The reasons behind tuberculosis treatment delay in Portugal

Introduction Delayed diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis contributes to the spread of the disease. In this study, we aimed to determine the patient and healthcare system delay among tuberculosis patients in Portugal and identify associated factors at individual and contextual level. Methods We analysed all TB cases notified in Portugal between 2010 and 2014 using data from the national surveillance system. Patient and healthcare system delay were computed, log-transformed, and used as outcomes. Adjusted generalized linear models were fitted to identify sociodemographic, contextual and clinical determinants. Results The study included 6838 patients. The median of patient and healthcare system were 33 and 17 days, respectively. Adjusted regression models revealed that higher patient delay occurred in foreign patients (exponentiated beta: 1.177, 95%CI 1.091–1.270) and those addicted to alcohol (1.169, 1.072–1.276) and drugs (1.153, 1.027–1.295). Higher healthcare system delay was observed among patients with extra-pulmonary TB (2.067, 1.885–2.268) and pulmonary comorbidities – lung cancer (2.391, 1.656–3.452), sarcoidosis (3.316, 1.370–8.022) and COPD (1.295, 1.059–1.584) – and in patients residing further from a healthcare service (1.040, 1.018–1.062). Conclusion We found that various individual and contextual factors affect the time delay in tuberculosis treatment. Our findings indicate that some strategies, such as facilitating the access to healthcare services among foreign patients and patients with addictions and increasing the awareness towards TB among healthcare professionals, may result in better TB control.This study was funded by FEDER through the Operational Programme Competitiveness and Internationalization and national funding from the Foundation for Science and Technology – FCT (Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education) under the EPIUnit – Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006862; Ref. UID/DTP/04750/2013)

Tuberculosis inequalities and socio-economic deprivation in Portugal

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the geographical distribution of tuberculosis (TB) in Portugal and estimate the association between TB and socio-economic deprivation. METHODS: An ecological study at the municipality level using TB notifications for 2010–2014 was conducted. Spatial Bayesian models were used to calculate smoothed standardised notification rates, identify high- and low-risk areas and estimate the association between TB notification and the European Deprivation Index (EDI) for Portugal and its component variables. RESULTS: Standardised notification rates ranged from 4.41 to 76.44 notifications per 100 000 population. Forty-one high-risk and 156 low-risk municipalities were identified. There was no statistically significant association between TB notification rate and the EDI, but some of its variables, such as the proportion of manual workers and the percentage unemployed, were significantly and directly associated with TB notification, whereas the variable ‘proportion of residents with low education level' showed an inverse relationship. CONCLUSION: Wide inequalities in TB notification rates were observed, and some areas continued to exhibit high TB notification rates. We found significant associations between TB and some socio-economic factors of the EDI.This work was supported by contributions from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the European Economic Area Grants, under the Public Health Initiatives Programme (PT 06, grant number 138DT1)

A method for monitoring the coupling evolution of microservice-based architectures.

Abstract. The microservice architecture is claimed to satisfy ongoing software development demands, such as resilience, flexibility, and velocity. However, developing applications based on microservices also brings some drawbacks, such as the increased software operational complexity. Recent studies have also pointed out the lack of methods to prevent problems related to the maintainability of these solutions. Disregarding established design principles during the software evolution may lead to the so-called architectural erosion, which can end up in a condition of unfeasible maintenance. As microservices can be considered a new architecture style, there are few initiatives to monitoring the evolution of software microservice-based architectures. In this paper, we introduce the SYMBIOTE method for monitoring the coupling evolution of microservice-based systems. More specifically, this method collects coupling metrics during runtime (staging or production environments) and monitors them throughout software evolution. The longitudinal analysis of the collected measures allows detecting an upward trend in coupling metrics that could represent signs of architectural degradation. To develop the proposed method, we performed an experimental analysis of the coupling metrics behavior using artificially generated data. The results of these experiment revealed the metrics behavior in different scenarios, providing insights to develop the analysis method for the identification of architectural degradation. We evaluated the SYMBIOTE method in a real-case open source project called Spinnaker. The results obtained in this evaluation show the relationship between architectural changes and upward trends in coupling metrics for most of the analyzed release intervals. Therefore, the first version of SYMBIOTE has shown potential to detect signs of architectural degradation during the evolution of microservice-based architectures.Article number: 17

Versionamento de banco de dados com a ferramenta Liquibase: aplicação ao módulo web do Sistema de Informação de Experimentos da Embrapa (SIExp).

Este trabalho apresenta a ferramenta Liquibase para automação do processo de gestão de configuração de objetos relacionados à construção de bancos de dados.bitstream/item/138111/1/ComTec118.pd

Digital platform e-Códex: a hybrid virtual space.

Mobile learning is the kind of learning that applies mainly to non-formal education actions from the perspective of continuing education. Within the scope of companies, the demand for educational actions is increasing, notably focused on distance education and training, aimed at both internal and external audiences. However, for the implementation of activities dedicated to mobile learning, it is necessary to develop a digital platform to host the virtual learning environment. Under these conditions, it should be structured in a flexible format and design to encourage interactivity between learners and teachers in the implementation of teaching and learning activities. The article presents and discusses a proposal for a digital mobile platform, called e-Códex, which aims to support educational actions, to promote collaboration and learning, as well as to meet the information dissemination and knowledge generation needs of the Brazilian agroforestry sector

Desenvolvimento de software na Embrapa: abordagem a partir da teoria ator-rede.

Resumo: O artigo apresenta os resultados de uma pesquisa cujo objetivo foi compreender como ocorre o processo de desenvolvimento de software na Embrapa Informática Agropecuária, uma das 46 unidades de pesquisa da Embrapa. A partir da abordagem da Teoria Ator-Rede, que se propõe a lançar um olhar para o interior das ações que se desenrolam nas redes sociotécnicas das empresas identificando 'o quê', 'quem' e 'como' as relações sociais e técnicas acontecem foi colocada a seguinte questão de pesquisa: como é realizado o processo de desenvolvimento de software na Embrapa Informática Agropecuária e quais condições materiais, estruturais e culturais circunscrevem a sua execução? Adotou-se a abordagem de pesquisa qualitativa e como instrumento de coleta de dados a entrevista com grupos focais. Compuseram a amostra da pesquisa 19 técnicos e pesquisadores que atuavam em sete projetos de pesquisa da carteira de projetos da Embrapa Informática Agropecuária em 2015. Identificou-se a necessidade de se instituir e incentivar o uso de um modelo de desenvolvimento de software com etapas mínimas buscando equilíbrio entre as abordagens tecnicista e humanista; oferecer respaldo burocrático aos líderes dos projetos; gerir a cultura organizacional; implementar uma estrutura organizacional com processos de trabalho promotores do desenvolvimento individual, coletivo e organizacional

Estratégias comunicacionais para soluções de tecnologia da informação (TI) aplicadas à adequação da paisagem rural ao Código Florestal brasileiro.

O artigo apresenta estratégias comunicacionais para divulgação de soluções de tecnologia da informação (TI), em especial, de software para o domínio de interesse da temática ambiental e florestal, produzidos pela Embrapa.Intercom 2016