Online interactions in the orientation activities of final works: a study of the advisors in Brazil and Portugal

Este artigo é parte de uma investigação mais ampla sobre os fundamentos e práticas de orientação dos trabalhos finais de cursos em modalidades on-line [dissertações, teses, monografias, projetos experimentais], com foco sobre instituições educacionais superiores em Portugal e no Brasil. No presente, a reflexão assenta-se sobre as interações on-line desenvolvidas durante estas orientações. A partir da análise de conteúdo em entrevistas com oito professores, pretendeu-se um mapeamento das preferências e práticas de interações, analisando aspectos que envolvem os canais comunicacionais e seus recursos e tipos; os tempos e modos para interações síncronas e assíncronas e a sua periodicidade; a formação de redes sociais e comunidades de aprendizagem; e os substratos das relações entre os indivíduos e da criação de redes comunicacionais com finalidades de aprendizagem. Os resultados apontam algumas diretivas para a educação on-line, como contributos da pesquisa.This article is part of a wider research of the foundations and practices of orientation of the final works in online modalities [dissertations, theses, monographs, projects], focusing on higher educational institutions in Portugal and Brazil. At present, the reflection is based on the online interactions developed during these works, verifying the possibilities between advisors and students, between advisors and of these and the supervision of the courses. From the analysis of content in interviews with eight guiding teachers, it was intended a mapping of preferences and practices of interactions, analyzing aspects that involve the communication channels and their resources and types; times and modes for synchronous and asynchronous interactions and their periodicity; the formation of social networks and learning communities; and the substrates of the relationships and the creation of communication networks for learning purposes. The results point out some guidelines for online education as research contributions.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Do Food Web Models Reproduce the Structure of Mutualistic Networks?

Background Simple models inspired by processes shaping consumer-resource interactions have helped to establish the primary processes underlying the organization of food webs, networks of trophic interactions among species. Because other ecological interactions such as mutualisms between plants and their pollinators and seed dispersers are inherently based in consumer-resource relationships we hypothesize that processes shaping food webs should organize mutualistic relationships as well. Methodology/Principal Findings We used a likelihood-based model selection approach to compare the performance of food web models and that of a model designed for mutualisms, in reproducing the structure of networks depicting mutualistic relationships. Our results show that these food web models are able to reproduce the structure of most of the mutualistic networks and even the simplest among the food web models, the cascade model, often reproduce overall structural properties of real mutualistic networks. Conclusions/Significance Based on our results we hypothesize that processes leading to feeding hierarchy, which is a characteristic shared by all food web models, might be a fundamental aspect in the assembly of mutualisms. These findings suggest that similar underlying ecological processes might be important in organizing different types of interactions.This work was supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP; url: www.fapesp.org ) grants 2009/54567-6 to MMP and 2009/054422-8 to PRG. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewe

A parsimonious generation of combinatorial neural model

This paper presents a new approach to reduce the space problem due to combinatorial explosion of CNM (Combinatorial Neural Model) method. First we show a description of CNM, proposed by Machado and Rocha [MAC 91], [MAC 92], [MAC 92a], [MAC 97], as a variation of fuzzy neural network introduced as an alternative to meet many requirements, such as expressiveness, inteligibility, plasticity and flexibility. Our approach represents an alternative to generate the CNM network with certainty factors for each hypothesis. We demonstrate by means of a simple practical example that the number of combinations can be really reduced.Sistemas InteligentesRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Species richness in natural and disturbed habitats: Asteraceae and Flower-head insects (Tephritidae: Diptera)

Anthropogenic changes in the landscape result in an environmental mosaic with serious consequences for biodiversity. The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of the anthropogenic changes on Asteraceae richness and abundance, and to evaluate the consequences for the richness of Tephritidae assemblages in five sampling sites, with three sampled habitats in each: cerrado (Brazilian savanna), eucalyptus stands and pasture. Sampling was carried out in 15 random transects (cerrados and one pasture) and in 30 transects (eucalyptus stands and the remaining pastures). Composition, species richness and insect abundance in each habitat type was estimated by sampling the flower heads for each species of host plant, collected by four people for 1h. Differences in mean abundance of plant population between habitats and sites were tested by two-way ANOVA. Differences in plant species richness between habitats and sites and effects of habitat, site and host plant richness on insect richness were tested using a generalized linear model with Poisson errors. Within each sampling site, cerrados showed higher species richness of Asteraceae than pastures and eucalyptus stands. There were also significant differences in plant richness among sites. Mean population abundance values were significantly different among habitats, but not among sites. Increased host plant richness led to significant insect species richness. There were no additional significant effects of habitat on insect richness. Therefore, anthropogenic alterations in landscape determined the impoverishment of plant assemblages and therefore of insect assemblages, because of the positive relationship between host plant richness and insect richness.163171Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES

Data reliability of hospital admissions due to external causes in a public hospital in São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil

OBJETIVO: Conhecer a qualidade dos dados de internação por causas externas em São José dos Campos, São Paulo. MÉTODO: Foram estudadas as internações pelo Sistema Único de Saúde por lesões decorrentes de causas externas no primeiro semestre de 2003, no Hospital Municipal, referência para o atendimento ao trauma no Município, por meio da comparação dos dados registrados no Sistema de Informações Hospitalares com os prontuários de 990 internações. A concordância das variáveis relativas à vítima, à internação e ao agravo foi avaliada pela taxa bruta de concordância e pelo coeficiente Kappa. As lesões e as causas externas foram codificadas segundo a 10ª revisão da Classificação Internacional de Doenças, respectivamente, capítulos XIX e XX. RESULTADOS: A taxa de concordância bruta foi de boa qualidade para as variáveis relativas à vítima e à internação, variando de 89,0% a 99,2%. As lesões tiveram concordância ótima, exceto os traumatismos do pescoço (k=0,73), traumatismos múltiplos (k=0,67) e fraturas do tórax (k=0,49). As causas externas tiveram concordância ótima para acidentes de transporte (k=0,90) e quedas (k=0,83). A confiabilidade foi menor para agressões (k=0,50), causas indeterminadas (k=0,37), e complicações da assistência médica (k=0,03). Houve concordância ótima nos acidentes de transporte em pedestres, ciclistas e motociclistas. CONCLUSÃO: A maioria das variáveis de estudo teve boa qualidade no nível de agregação analisado. Algumas variáveis relativas à vítima e alguns tipos de causas externas necessitam de aperfeiçoamento da qualidade dos dados. O perfil da morbidade hospitalar encontrado confirmou os acidentes de transporte como importante causa externa de internação hospitalar no Município.OBJECTIVE: To identify the quality of external-cause hospital morbidity admission data in the city of São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil. METHOD: Admissions via the Unified Health System to the Municipal Hospital, a reference trauma care hospital in the city, resulting from external-cause injuries were analyzed during the first semester of 2003, by comparing the data entered in the Hospital Information System (SIH) to 990 patient admission charts. Agreement between variables regarding victim, admission, and the offence was analyzed by rate of gross agreement and by the Kappa coefficient. Injuries and external causes were coded according to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision, chapters XIX and XX respectively. RESULTS: The rate of crude agreement was very good for variables regarding victim and admission with an 89.0% to 99.2% variation. Injuries had very good agreement, except for neck traumas (k=0.73), multiple trauma (k=0.50), and chest fractures (k=0.49). External causes had very good agreement for land transportation accidents (k=0.90) and falls (k=0.83). Reliability was smaller for assaults (k=0.50), undetermined intent events (k=0.37), and medical care complications (k=0.03). There was very good agreement for transportation accidents involving pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. CONCLUSION: Most of the variables in the study were good in the aggregation level analyzed. Some variables regarding the victim and some types of external cause require data quality improvement. The profile of hospital morbidity found in this study has confirmed that land transportation accidents are an important external cause for admission in the city

Ciclo de criação e avaliação do módulo administração de medicamentos para ensino à distância

The objective of this study was to describe the creation cycle of the module "medication administration" and to evaluate it. It is an evaluation research, using the Engagement Theory as a methodological/theoretical approach carried out in two phases: the first related to the creation of the module and the second to its evaluation by specialists using the instrument based on the Model of Analytical Appreciation of Hypermedia Systems. The creation cycle of the module followed the following steps: gathering the objectives of the module, organization of the content, selection of the media, creation of the classes and activation of the learning process. It was evaluated by contents specialists, informatics specialists and nursing students. The evaluation of the distribution and the accessibility of the contents, the utilization of images, the clarity and ease of execution of the program were positive. The module was considered appropriate to be used with nursing students.Este estudio tuvo como objetivo describir el ciclo de creación de la disciplina "Administración de Medicamentos" y realizar su evaluación. Fue una investigación de evaluación, que utilizó la Teoría del Comprometimiento como referencia teórica metodológica, la que fue realizada en dos fases: la primera está relacionada a la creación del módulo y la segunda, a la evaluación por especialistas a través del instrumento basado en el Modelo de Apreciación Analítica de Sistemas Hipermedia. La descripción del ciclo de creación del módulo siguió las siguientes etapas: levantamiento de los objetivos del módulo, organización del contenido, selección de los medios de comunicación, creación de las clases y organización y ejecución del aprendizaje. El ciclo de creación analizado por especialistas en contenido en informática y por estudiantes de enfermería, evaluaron positivamente la distribución y accesibilidad del contenido, a la utilización de imágenes, a la claridad y a la facilidad de ejecución del programa. El módulo fue considerado apropiado para ser utilizado por los alumnos del curso de enfermería.Este estudo teve por objetivos descrever o ciclo de criação do módulo Administração de Medicamentos, bem como proceder à sua avaliação. Trata-se de pesquisa de avaliação, que utilizou a Teoria do Engajamento como referencial teórico-metodológico, realizada em duas fases: a primeira, relacionada à criação do módulo e a segunda, à avaliação por especialistas, através do instrumento baseado no Modelo de Apreciação Analítica de Sistemas Hipermídia. A descrição do ciclo de criação do módulo seguiu os seguintes passos: levantamento dos objetivos do módulo, organização do conteúdo, seleção da mídia, criação das aulas e operacionalização da aprendizagem. Foi avaliado por especialistas em conteúdo, em informática e por graduandos de enfermagem, os quais o avaliaram positivamente em relação à distribuição e acessibilidade de conteúdo, à utilização de imagens, à clareza e à facilidade de execução do programa. O módulo foi, pois, considerado apropriado para utilização com alunos do curso de enfermagem