Bridging the gap: Motivation in year one EAP classrooms

Conference Theme: Research into Practice in the Four-year curriculumMotivation has always been considered an important factor in language learning, and this is particularly crucial for first-year university undergraduates under the new four-year curriculum. With one year less English learning experience in secondary schools and one more year to study at universities, where English is usually used as a medium of instruction and a lingua franca for international knowledge exchange, this transition can be challenging. To bridge the gap, first year undergraduates are usually required to take courses of English for Academic Purposes (EAP). However, because of the compulsory nature of the courses, students are usually instrumentally motivated or not motivated at all. Therefore, course developers and teachers play vital roles in developing learners’ L2 learning motivation, and preparing them for further study in their own discipline using English. This paper investigates research in L2 learning motivation and how it can be applied to EAP classrooms to enrich the English learning experience of first year undergraduates. Practical strategies to motivate students to participate in classroom activities and out-of-class learning, and methods to provide motivational feedback in formative assessment will be suggested

Sustainable Intensification of Livestock Systems Using Forage Legumes

Global human population is increasing and expected to reach 9.7 billion people by 2050. Sustainable intensification (SI) of agricultural systems is key to increase food production while minimizing impact on global natural resources. Forage legumes provide a myriad of ecosystem services (ES) and represent an important tool for promoting SI in livestock systems. Forage legumes associate with soil microorganisms to reduce atmospheric N2. This N input represents a valuable contribution to increase net primary productivity with reduced C footprint. In addition, forage nutritive value generally increases, resulting in greater animal performance. When forage legumes are integrated into livestock systems, they complement the essential role of grasses by adding N to the system, improving forage quality, sharing resources with the companion grass, and enhancing soil organic matter. Soil C:N ratio is typically in a narrow range; therefore, input of N is essential to increase C sequestration and maintain the soil C:N ratio. Additional ES provided by forage legumes include enhanced efficiency of nutrient cycling, improved pollinator habitat, medicine/food for humans, timber, wildlife habitat, and shade for livestock (tree legumes). There are options of herbaceous and arboreal legumes, as well as annuals and perennials. In temperate regions, herbaceous legumes are used widely (e.g., Medicago sp, Trifolium sp.) while arboreal legumes are often found in tropical regions. There are a few options of herbaceous perennial warm-climate legumes, and some of them are still underexploited (e.g. Arachis pintoi, Arachis glabrata). Documented examples of forage legumes increasing livestock productivity are available in different regions of the world, and recent progress has been made in developing and managing forage legume germplasm adapted to biotic and abiotic stresses in tropical America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and Australia. Learning past lessons and applying the knowledge to shape the future is essential to achieve SI of livestock systems

The crisis in private higher education in Brazil: main causes and possible solutions

The aim of the article is to examine the main causes of the crisis in private higher education in Brazil since 2015, characterized by the mass dismissals of teachers, the reduction of salaries of those who remain in private higher education institutions, the overcrowding of classrooms and the greater adhesion of students to distance education in the light of the high costs of classroom-based courses. In addition, one of the objectives is also to offer recommendations for overcoming this situation. The research follows the methodological steps of Sécca & Souza (2009) for the analysis of private higher education in Brazil. The bibliographic research consisted of reading, selecting and organizing topics on the general causes of the crisis of the private higher education sector in Brazil since 2016. The next step was the research of information on specific private higher education institutions in Brazil, divided per region: Southeast, South, Midwest and North / Northeast. The central argument points out that the crisis is closely related to the financial crisis in the country, motivated by the adverse international economic situation and the political chaos caused by allegations of corruption and misappropriation of funds by politicians and businessmen. This forced the Brazilian government to reduce and limit access to student financing contracts drastically from 2015 on, and most students from low-income classes were excluded from entering higher education or had to stop studying. Besides, in the light of a higher number of unemployed people and lower salaries, students were less able to afford the tuition fees of a higher education course at a private institution. To overcome difficulties and attract new students, private higher education institutions can rely on multiple strategies, such as scholarships, alternative financing, discounts for those who pay the current monthly fees and the creation of academic endowments

Desenvolvimento e mudança climática : estímulos à inovação em energia de baixo carbono em países de industrialização tardia (1997-2014)

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Relações Internacionais, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Relações Internacionais, 2015.Exibindo uma matriz energética relativamente limpa e favorecido pela disponibilidade de recursos hídricos, terras aráveis abundantes para biomassa e vastas reservas de petróleo, o Brasil não está encorajando na mesma intensidade que outros países inovações tecnológicas em energias de baixo carbono. O sistema de aprendizado tecnológico passivo em torno do qual se estruturou a industrialização tardia do país constitui um obstáculo para as atividades de inovação local, situação que é agravada pela perda de competitividade industrial decorrente da persistente sobreapreciação cambial. China, Taiwan e Coreia, por outro lado, premidos pela necessidade de limitar suas emissões de carbono na geração de energia e de reduzir a vulnerabilidade à importação de fontes energéticas, estão adotando políticas públicas para fomentar inovações em energia limpa. Esses países asiáticos são favorecidos pelo sistema de aprendizado tecnológico ativo que escorou a industrialização tardia, além de beneficiarem-se de moedas depreciadas que favorecem a manufatura local. As políticas energéticas e tecnológicas dessas quatro nações refletem esses diferentes contextos. No caso brasileiro, a geração de energia segue dependente de importação de tecnologias estrangeiras e mantém a aposta em fontes tradicionais de energia, o que resultou em uma indústria energética de baixo carbono tecnologicamente dependente, ainda que a matriz energética seja comparativamente pouco poluente. China, Taiwan e Coreia adotaram intensos estímulos à inovação no setor e estão construindo gradualmente uma indústria energética tecnologicamente autônoma, ainda que mantenham níveis de emissão de carbono bastante elevados em suas matrizes de energia.Flaunting a clean energy mix and favored by hydropower availability, abundant land for biomass and vast oil reserves, Brazil is not intensely encouraging clean and innovative energy technologies. The passive learning system forged during the country’s late industrialization hampers the efforts towards innovation, and the situation is worsened by an overvalued currency that affects its manufacturing activities. China, Taiwan and South Korea, on the other hand, endangered by the need to limit carbon emissions in the energy sector and to reduce the vulnerability to its enormous energy imports, are adopting bold policies to foster clean technologies. These Asian countries are favored by the active learning system that underpinned their industrialization and the depreciated currency that favors local manufacturing. The energy and technology policies of those four countries reflect these different contexts. Brazilian energy policies rely on imported technologies and bet on traditional sources of energy, resulting in a technologically dependent low carbon energy industry, though exhibiting comparatively clean energy mix. China, Taiwan and Korea adopted pro-innovation energy policies and are building a gradually autonomist energy industry, despite the current very high level of carbon emissions in their energy sectors

P&D no Brasil e na Coréia do Sul : o regime internacional da propriedade intelectual e a inovação tecnológica (1994-2007)

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Relações Internacionais, 2009.O trabalho busca comparar a adaptação do Brasil e da Coréia do Sul ao novo regime internacional de propriedade intelectual. A partir de meados dos anos 1980, os países desenvolvidos, especialmente os Estados Unidos, assumiram nova postura sobre o tema e passaram a cobrar não apenas o respeito às flexíveis regras da Convenção da União de Paris, de 1883, como também a observância de parâmetros rígidos e unilateralmente fixados de propriedade intelectual. Essa mudança de regime se consolidou em 1994, com a aprovação do Acordo TRIPS. Como países em desenvolvimento, Brasil e Coréia do Sul adotaram, em seus respectivos processos de industrialização tardia, legislações flexíveis de proteção à propriedade intelectual, aquiescendo em larga medida com a utilização de tecnologias estrangeiras. Diante do novo cenário internacional, os países passaram a buscar novas estratégias para o desenvolvimento de tecnologias próprias, especialmente a aproximação de institutos públicos de pesquisa com empresas privadas. Ocorre que, apesar de apresentarem publicações científicas em números equivalentes, o total de patentes produzidas na Coréia do Sul é substancialmente superior às concebidas no Brasil. No Brasil, a industrialização preponderantemente baseada em empresas estatais e em investimentos estrangeiros, além da qualificação precária da mão-de-obra nacional, resultou num ambiente empresarial pouco vinculado à agenda da inovação tecnológica. As relações dos institutos públicos de pesquisa com empresas privadas ainda são tênues no país, sendo recentes os esforços para promover essa integração. No caso da Coréia do Sul, diferentemente, além do robusto avanço educacional, a industrialização tardia do país foi desde o princípio planejada em conjunto com o progresso tecnológico do país. A importação de bens de capital, a prática intensa de engenharia reversa e a formação de grandes conglomerados privados locais facilitaram que houvesse intensa articulação do setor privado com os institutos públicos de pesquisa, resultando em elevada produção tecnológica no país. Impossibilitados de adotar normas de propriedade intelectual mais flexíveis, os países em desenvolvimento podem integrar institutos públicos de pesquisa com empresas privadas, mecanismo que, quando aplicado, se revelou importante fator a auxiliar no desenvolvimento tecnológico do país. ___________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTThe essay intends to compare Brazil and South Korea’s strategies to adapt their economies to the new international regime of intellectual property rights. After the mid-1980s, developed countries, especially the USA, have taken up a new position on this subject, demanding not only acquiescence to the flexible rules of the Paris Convention of 1883, but also the observance of unyielding and unilaterally fixed patterns of intellectual property rights. This change about the regime has become evident in 1994, with the enactment of the TRIPS Agreement. As developing countries, Brazil and South Korea have adopted, in their respective late industrialization processes, flexible legislation on intellectual property rights, tolerating largely the use of foreign technologies. Facing this new international scenery, both nations have started to look for new strategies to develop their own technologies, especially by the integration between public institutes for research and private companies. Nevertheless, in spite of similar statistics on scientific publication in both nations, the number of patents developed in South Korea is substantially superior to the ones engendered in Brazil. In Brazil, besides the low levels of workers training, industrialization was based mainly on state owned companies and foreign direct investment, a business ambience infertile for technological advancement. The relations between public institutes for research and development and private companies are still tenuous, and the efforts to enhance this integration are rather recent. In the case of South Korea, differently, in addition to the huge improvement in workers training, the country's late industrialization planning process was, ever since the beginning, coupled with domestic technological progress. Capital goods imports, the intense use of reverse engineering and the rise of large local conglomerates made it easy to integrate private companies with public institutes for research and development, boosting the country’s technology outputs. Unauthorized to adopt flexible rules on intellectual property rights, developing countries can promote technological advancement by further stimulating the integration between public institutes for research and development and private companies, as evidenced by the successful South Korean case

Warm-Season Legumes – Challenges and Constraints to Adapting Warm-Season Legumes to Transition Zone Climates with Examples from \u3ci\u3eArachis\u3c/i\u3e

Grass pastures in monoculture are the predominant system in transition zone climates, where warm-season perennial grasses are usually cultivated. Mixed grass-legume pastures are worldwide recognized for having advantages over pure stands, including pasture longevity, N input from biological fixation, efficient nutrient cycling, and greater animal production. The genus Arachis encompasses important and successful warm-season forage legume species cultivated in mixed pastures or in pure stands. Arachis pintoi and Arachis glabrata are potential tropical forage species that can be used in transition zone climates. Mixed pastures with these legumes have been shown to be resilient systems, able to withstand short-term perturbations, like pests, diseases, drought, or flooding. Wide adoption of A. glabrata is constrained by its high cost and slow establishment period. This species has low potential to produce seeds, and rhizomes are required for propagation. Although great seed production is verified in some A. pintoi genotypes, vegetative propagation is also most often used, since seeds are produced underground, and a large-scale commercial seed production depends on the development of an efficient seed harvester. Developing new cultivars with persistent link between seed and peg is a great challenge for breeders. A. pintoi spreads faster than A. glabrata in tropical regions, and the genetic variability for lateral expansion and ground cover in mixed stands must be better understood in humid subtropical climates. The evaluation of Arachis wild germplasm has already shown genetic variability for traits of interest for use in mixed pastures. Studies have also shown that there is genotype x environment interaction considering tropical and subtropical climates. The greatest chances of success in obtaining more adapted, productive, and faster establishing Arachis cultivars for transition zone climates seems to be no longer in the identification of superior wild accessions but in the hybridization and selection through specific breeding programs

Nutrient Movements through Ruminant Livestock Production Systems

Considerable attention has been paid to reducing nutrient emissions from ruminant livestock in the last few decades. This area will continue to attract considerable research in the future due to increasing farm sizes in some developed countries as well as the increasing demand for meat and dairy products, particularly in developing countries. This paper discusses the deposition and losses of carbon and nitrogen in soils and plants in grazed and harvested forage systems as well as utilization and losses of both nutrients by ruminants in both systems. The paper also outlines several soil, plant, and animal-focused strategies that can be used to reduce carbon and nitrogen losses from ruminant livestock systems. These strategies will become increasingly important due to the need to feed the growing population of the world while reducing environmental pollution from ruminant livestock systems

Utilização do sistema de custo-padrão para controle e avaliação do desempenho da biblioteca

Os sistemas de custo-padrão baseiam-se no princípio de que os custos debitados aos produtores individuais são os custos que devem ser incorridos. Em tais sistemas cada unidade de produto tem um custo-padrão de material, um custo-padrão de mão-de-obra direta e um custo-padrão de despesas gerais. As diferenças entre o custo-padrão e o custo real constituem as variações. Algumas das vantagens mais importantes de um sistema de custo-padrão aplicadas às bibliotecas são: a) constituir um mecanismo de controle do trabalho realizado; b) informar quanto tempo será necessário para preparação técnica de uma coleção; c) preparar orçamentos; d) avaliar o desempenho geral. As técnicas analíticas são descritas servindo para mostrar como são feitos os cálculos de custos e como estes podem fornecer uma medida de controle e avaliação do desempenho da biblioteca, facilitando comparações e estreitando os limites, dentro dos quais deve ser aplicados cada julgamento

Infância e errância na literatura do século xix – diálogos interdisciplinares sobre a circulação de crianças e adolescentes nos centros urbanos

Crianc?as e adolescentes que circulam pelos grandes centros urbanos – tanto em situac?a?o de abandono como em busca de ocupac?o?es diversas – compo?em um grupo social que comec?ou a ganhar maior visibilidade no contexto po?s-industrial. Cientistas, intelectuais e escritores debruc?aram-se sobre a infa?ncia em suas produc?o?es – sobretudo a partir do se?culo XIX – contribuindo com pesquisas e textos litera?rios que tornaram possi?vel a cria- c?a?o de dia?logos entre va?rios campos de saber para entender, por exemplo, feno?menos como a erra?ncia. Em um momento em que crianc?as atravessam fronteiras continentais correndo risco de vida com o objetivo de se instalar em pai?ses europeus, a reexa?o sobre processos migrato?rios envolvendo a infa?ncia mantem sua atualidade. A partir da ana?lise de narrativas ccionais e dados histo?ricos, este artigo tem como objetivo contribuir para colocar em dia?logo elementos subjetivos e condicionantes sociais que ainda hoje de- sempenham um papel na compreensa?o das razo?es e comportamentos de indivi?duos confrontados a experie?ncias de erra?ncia desde uma idade preco- ce. Tomando como ponto de partida personagens litera?rios como Pino?quio, Oliver Twist e David Coppereld, a autora destaca a importa?ncia do indi- vidualismo como ideologia emancipadora presente em representac?o?es da infa?ncia que sa?o objetos de estudo nas Cie?ncias Sociais.