Os motores de busca como extensão da memória humana : um estudo de caso com alunos do ensino secundário

A World Wide Web permitiu um acesso à informação nunca antes visto, com inevitáveis consequências na sociedade. Nos anos sessenta, Marshall McLuhan, referiu-se extensivamente à influência dos meios de comunicação na alteração de formas de estar, de pensar e agir do ser humano. Neste pressuposto, realizámos um estudo de caso com alunos do 12º ano de escolaridade para verificar se estes, que viveram esta evolução tecnológica durante o seu percurso escolar, incorporaram hábitos e destrezas que a tecnologia induz, relativas ao conhecimento/compreensão do processo de pesquisa e obtenção de informação através de motores de busca. Constatamos, por aplicação de um questionário, que estes sujeitos se enquadram no perfil dos nativos digitais definido por Marc Prensky. Uma pesquisa on-line, orientada e registada em screencast, permitiu-nos concluir que o processo de pesquisa é superficial e pouco cuidado com preferência pela wikipédia. Contudo, a motivação/intencionalidade da pesquisa parece conduzir a uma gestão mais eficiente da informação.The invention of the World Wide Web at the turning point of the nineties, has enabled the access to information as it has never happened before, with the inevitable consequences on society. In the mid-sixties, Marshall McLuhan referred extensively to the influence of the media in the humans' changing ways of being, thinking and acting. Based on these assumptions, we decided to investigate whether the current secondary school students, who have lived through this technological changes throughout their school careers, have incorporated the habits and skills that technology induces, in particular the knowledge and understanding of the research process and obtaining information through search engines and their management. Framed in a case study, having a group of 12th grade students as a sample for our study and through the application of a questionnaire, we have found out that these students fit in the ‗digital natives' profile set by Marc Prensky. An online search, supervised and reported in a screencast which led us to conclude that the search process is superficial and casual, with the preference for Wikipedia. Nevertheless, while searching on-line, the research motivation/intent seems to lead to a more efficient information management

Os motores de busca como extensão da memória humana : um estudo de caso com alunos do ensino secundário

Dissertação mestradoCiências da Educação (área de especialização em Tecnologia Educativa)A evolução da tecnologia associada aos computadores e às telecomunicações, juntamente com a invenção da World Wide Web na viragem dos anos noventa, permitiu o acesso à informação como nunca tinha acontecido até então, com inevitáveis consequências na sociedade a todos os níveis: novas formas de trabalho, de relacionamento, de pensamento e de acção vêm sendo progressivamente, incorporadas pelas pessoas no seu dia-a-dia. Em meados dos anos sessenta, Marshall McLuhan, referiu-se extensivamente à influência dos meios de comunicação na alteração de formas de estar, de pensar e agir do ser humano. Com base nestes pressupostos, decidimos investigar se os actuais alunos do ensino secundário, que viveram esta evolução tecnológica ao longo do seu percurso escolar, incorporaram os hábitos e destrezas que a tecnologia induz, em particular o conhecimento e compreensão do processo de pesquisa e obtenção de informação através dos motores de busca e respectiva gestão. Enquadrado num estudo de caso e tendo como amostra uma turma de alunos do 12º ano de escolaridade, constatamos, através da aplicação de um questionário, que estes sujeitos incorporam a tecnologia na sua vida escolar e social, enquadrando-se no perfil dos nativos digitais definido por Marc Prensky. Seis destes sujeitos efectuaram uma pesquisa on-line, orientada e registada em screencast, que nos permitiu concluir que o processo de pesquisa é superficial e pouco cuidado, não sendo evidente qualquer padrão processual (à excepção da preferência pela wikipédia). Contudo, a motivação/intencionalidade da pesquisa parece conduzir a uma gestão mais eficiente da informação. Este trabalho aponta para a necessidade de uma alfabetização informacional que permita a estes jovens gerir a informação de que dispõem, de modo a transformá-la em conhecimento.The evolution of technology related to computers and telecommunications, associated with the invention of the World Wide Web at the turning point of the nineties, has enabled the access to information as it has never happened before, with the inevitable consequences on society at all levels: new forms of work, relationship, thought and action are being progressively incorporated by people in their daily lives. In the mid-sixties, Marshall McLuhan referred extensively to the influence of the media in the humans' changing ways of being, thinking and acting. Based on these assumptions, we decided to investigate whether the current secondary school students, who have lived through this technological changes throughout their school careers, have incorporated the habits and skills that technology induces, in particular the knowledge and understanding of the research process and obtaining information through search engines and their management. Framed in a case study, having a group of 12th grade students as a sample for our study and through the application of a questionnaire, we have found out that these students incorporate the technology in their social and school life and they fit in the digital natives' profile set by Marc Prensky. Six of these students carried out an online survey, supervised and reported in a screencast which led us to conclude that the search process is superficial and casual, without showing any procedure pattern (the preference for Wikipedia was an exception). Nevertheless, the research motivation/intent seems to lead to a more efficient information management. This study shows us the need for information literacy which will allow these young people to manage the information at their disposal in such a way that it will be transformed into knowledge

Conhecer e utilizar a Web 2.0: um estudo com professores do 2º, 3º Ciclos e Secundário

O termo Web 2.0 é utilizado para descrever a segunda geração da World Wide Web, estando agora mais próximo da visão original de Tim Berners-Lee, isto é, a Web como espaço de colaboração, meio de interacção, comunicação global e compartilhamento de informações, construindo aquilo que ignamos por inteligência colectiva. O “trunfo” da Web 2.0 reside na facilidade de publicação e rapidez no armazenamento de textos e ficheiros, tornando-a num ambiente social e acessível a todos os utilizadores, um espaço onde cada um selecciona e controla a informação de acordo com as suas necessidades e interesses. Tendo como base este quadro conceptual foi desenvolvido um survey em que se procurou saber se os professores do 2º, 3º Ciclos e Secundário conhecem ferramentas da Web 2.0 e se as utilizam na sua prática lectiva. Participaram no estudo professores do 2º e 3º Ciclos do ensino básico e do ensino secundário de quatro escolas públicas da zona norte do país. Com base nos resultados obtidos, concluímos que a Web 2.0 é, na generalidade, ainda pouco conhecida da classe docente, sendo algumas das suas ferramentas completamente desconhecidas

Health-related quality of life in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus in the different geographical regions of Brazil : data from the Brazilian Type 1 Diabetes Study Group

Background: In type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) management, enhancing health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is as important as good metabolic control and prevention of secondary complications. This study aims to evaluate possible regional differences in HRQoL, demographic features and clinical characteristics of patients with T1DM in Brazil, a country of continental proportions, as well as investigate which variables could influence the HRQoL of these individuals and contribute to these regional disparities. Methods: This was a retrospective, cross-sectional, multicenter study performed by the Brazilian Type 1 Diabetes Study Group (BrazDiab1SG), by analyzing EuroQol scores from 3005 participants with T1DM, in 28 public clinics, among all geographical regions of Brazil. Data on demography, economic status, chronic complications, glycemic control and lipid profile were also collected. Results: We have found that the North-Northeast region presents a higher index in the assessment of the overall health status (EQ-VAS) compared to the Southeast (74.6 ± 30 and 70.4 ± 19, respectively; p < 0.05). In addition, North- Northeast presented a lower frequency of self-reported anxiety-depression compared to all regions of the country (North-Northeast: 1.53 ± 0.6; Southeast: 1.65 ± 0.7; South: 1.72 ± 0.7; Midwest: 1.67 ± 0.7; p < 0.05). These findings could not be entirely explained by the HbA1c levels or the other variables examined. Conclusions: Our study points to the existence of additional factors not yet evaluated that could be determinant in the HRQoL of people with T1DM and contribute to these regional disparities

Penilaian Kinerja Keuangan Koperasi di Kabupaten Pelalawan

This paper describe development and financial performance of cooperative in District Pelalawan among 2007 - 2008. Studies on primary and secondary cooperative in 12 sub-districts. Method in this stady use performance measuring of productivity, efficiency, growth, liquidity, and solvability of cooperative. Productivity of cooperative in Pelalawan was highly but efficiency still low. Profit and income were highly, even liquidity of cooperative very high, and solvability was good

Juxtaposing BTE and ATE – on the role of the European insurance industry in funding civil litigation

One of the ways in which legal services are financed, and indeed shaped, is through private insurance arrangement. Two contrasting types of legal expenses insurance contracts (LEI) seem to dominate in Europe: before the event (BTE) and after the event (ATE) legal expenses insurance. Notwithstanding institutional differences between different legal systems, BTE and ATE insurance arrangements may be instrumental if government policy is geared towards strengthening a market-oriented system of financing access to justice for individuals and business. At the same time, emphasizing the role of a private industry as a keeper of the gates to justice raises issues of accountability and transparency, not readily reconcilable with demands of competition. Moreover, multiple actors (clients, lawyers, courts, insurers) are involved, causing behavioural dynamics which are not easily predicted or influenced. Against this background, this paper looks into BTE and ATE arrangements by analysing the particularities of BTE and ATE arrangements currently available in some European jurisdictions and by painting a picture of their respective markets and legal contexts. This allows for some reflection on the performance of BTE and ATE providers as both financiers and keepers. Two issues emerge from the analysis that are worthy of some further reflection. Firstly, there is the problematic long-term sustainability of some ATE products. Secondly, the challenges faced by policymakers that would like to nudge consumers into voluntarily taking out BTE LEI

Search for stop and higgsino production using diphoton Higgs boson decays

Results are presented of a search for a "natural" supersymmetry scenario with gauge mediated symmetry breaking. It is assumed that only the supersymmetric partners of the top-quark (stop) and the Higgs boson (higgsino) are accessible. Events are examined in which there are two photons forming a Higgs boson candidate, and at least two b-quark jets. In 19.7 inverse femtobarns of proton-proton collision data at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV, recorded in the CMS experiment, no evidence of a signal is found and lower limits at the 95% confidence level are set, excluding the stop mass below 360 to 410 GeV, depending on the higgsino mass

Severe early onset preeclampsia: short and long term clinical, psychosocial and biochemical aspects

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy specific disorder commonly defined as de novo hypertension and proteinuria after 20 weeks gestational age. It occurs in approximately 3-5% of pregnancies and it is still a major cause of both foetal and maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide1. As extensive research has not yet elucidated the aetiology of preeclampsia, there are no rational preventive or therapeutic interventions available. The only rational treatment is delivery, which benefits the mother but is not in the interest of the foetus, if remote from term. Early onset preeclampsia (<32 weeks’ gestational age) occurs in less than 1% of pregnancies. It is, however often associated with maternal morbidity as the risk of progression to severe maternal disease is inversely related with gestational age at onset2. Resulting prematurity is therefore the main cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity in patients with severe preeclampsia3. Although the discussion is ongoing, perinatal survival is suggested to be increased in patients with preterm preeclampsia by expectant, non-interventional management. This temporising treatment option to lengthen pregnancy includes the use of antihypertensive medication to control hypertension, magnesium sulphate to prevent eclampsia and corticosteroids to enhance foetal lung maturity4. With optimal maternal haemodynamic status and reassuring foetal condition this results on average in an extension of 2 weeks. Prolongation of these pregnancies is a great challenge for clinicians to balance between potential maternal risks on one the eve hand and possible foetal benefits on the other. Clinical controversies regarding prolongation of preterm preeclamptic pregnancies still exist – also taking into account that preeclampsia is the leading cause of maternal mortality in the Netherlands5 - a debate which is even more pronounced in very preterm pregnancies with questionable foetal viability6-9. Do maternal risks of prolongation of these very early pregnancies outweigh the chances of neonatal survival? Counselling of women with very early onset preeclampsia not only comprises of knowledge of the outcome of those particular pregnancies, but also knowledge of outcomes of future pregnancies of these women is of major clinical importance. This thesis opens with a review of the literature on identifiable risk factors of preeclampsia

Optimasi Portofolio Resiko Menggunakan Model Markowitz MVO Dikaitkan dengan Keterbatasan Manusia dalam Memprediksi Masa Depan dalam Perspektif Al-Qur`an

Risk portfolio on modern finance has become increasingly technical, requiring the use of sophisticated mathematical tools in both research and practice. Since companies cannot insure themselves completely against risk, as human incompetence in predicting the future precisely that written in Al-Quran surah Luqman verse 34, they have to manage it to yield an optimal portfolio. The objective here is to minimize the variance among all portfolios, or alternatively, to maximize expected return among all portfolios that has at least a certain expected return. Furthermore, this study focuses on optimizing risk portfolio so called Markowitz MVO (Mean-Variance Optimization). Some theoretical frameworks for analysis are arithmetic mean, geometric mean, variance, covariance, linear programming, and quadratic programming. Moreover, finding a minimum variance portfolio produces a convex quadratic programming, that is minimizing the objective function ðð¥with constraintsð ð 𥠥 ðandð´ð¥ = ð. The outcome of this research is the solution of optimal risk portofolio in some investments that could be finished smoothly using MATLAB R2007b software together with its graphic analysis

Impacts of the Tropical Pacific/Indian Oceans on the Seasonal Cycle of the West African Monsoon

The current consensus is that drought has developed in the Sahel during the second half of the twentieth century as a result of remote effects of oceanic anomalies amplified by local land–atmosphere interactions. This paper focuses on the impacts of oceanic anomalies upon West African climate and specifically aims to identify those from SST anomalies in the Pacific/Indian Oceans during spring and summer seasons, when they were significant. Idealized sensitivity experiments are performed with four atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs). The prescribed SST patterns used in the AGCMs are based on the leading mode of covariability between SST anomalies over the Pacific/Indian Oceans and summer rainfall over West Africa. The results show that such oceanic anomalies in the Pacific/Indian Ocean lead to a northward shift of an anomalous dry belt from the Gulf of Guinea to the Sahel as the season advances. In the Sahel, the magnitude of rainfall anomalies is comparable to that obtained by other authors using SST anomalies confined to the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean. The mechanism connecting the Pacific/Indian SST anomalies with West African rainfall has a strong seasonal cycle. In spring (May and June), anomalous subsidence develops over both the Maritime Continent and the equatorial Atlantic in response to the enhanced equatorial heating. Precipitation increases over continental West Africa in association with stronger zonal convergence of moisture. In addition, precipitation decreases over the Gulf of Guinea. During the monsoon peak (July and August), the SST anomalies move westward over the equatorial Pacific and the two regions where subsidence occurred earlier in the seasons merge over West Africa. The monsoon weakens and rainfall decreases over the Sahel, especially in August.Peer reviewe