This dissertation research sought to identify the challenges and prospects of initial training of the academic degrees courses of the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), to work in the Youth and Adult Education (EJA), considering the specifics of this modality in the High School stage. For the development of the research was used qualitative methodology, the study of case type, by applying semi-structured interviews and investigative-training dialogical circles, virtually, from generating themes that emerged from interviews with academics from some courses degrees of UFSM, who acted on the High School stage of Youth and Adult Education in their supervised training. As the main theoretical framework we used the propositions of Freire (1987, 1992, 1997, 2011 ..) in dialogue with other authors as Gadotti (1995, 2003, 2009), Soares (1996, 2002, 2011), Imbernón (2006) Henz (2003, 2010, 2013), Arroyo (2004, 2006, 2011), Brandão (2004), Libâneo (2001, 2002), Romão (2011), Nóvoa (1995, 1999), Pimenta (2002, 2012, 2014) and Gatti (2002, 2009, 2010). It was found from the weaknesses of the stages, the difficulty of theory/practice articulation and the need for greater approach and deepening of Youth and Adult Education in degrees courses of UFSM, considering that this modality has many special features to be recognized in the initial training of future education professionals. / A presente pesquisa dissertativa buscou identificar os desafios e as perspectivas da formação inicial dos acadêmicos dos cursos de licenciaturas da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), para atuarem na Educação de Jovens e Adultos (EJA), considerando as especificidades desta modalidade na etapa do Ensino Médio. Para o desenvolvimento da pesquisa utilizou-se a metodologia qualitativa, do tipo estudo de caso, mediante a aplicação de entrevistas semiestruturadas e círculos dialógicos investigativo-formativos, de forma virtual, a partir de temas geradores que emergiram das entrevistas com acadêmicos de alguns cursos de licenciaturas da UFSM, que atuaram na etapa do Ensino Médio da EJA em seus estágios supervisionados. Como principal aporte teórico foram utilizadas as proposições de Freire (1987, 1992, 1997, 2011) em diálogo com outros autores como Gadotti (1995, 2003, 2009), Soares (1996, 2002, 2011), Imbernón (2006), Henz (2003, 2010, 2013), Arroyo (2004, 2006, 2011), Brandão (2004), Libâneo (2001, 2002), Romão (2011), Nóvoa (1995, 1999), Pimenta (2002, 2012, 2014), e Gatti (2002, 2009, 2010). Constatou-se, a partir das fragilidades dos estágios, a dificuldade de articulação teoria/prática e a necessidade de uma maior abordagem e aprofundamento da EJA nos cursos de licenciaturas da UFSM, considerando que essa modalidade possui muitas particularidades a serem reconhecidas na formação inicial dos futuros profissionais da educação.

L’analyse de tolérances par des ensembles de contraintes repose sur la détermination de l’accumulation de variations géométriques par des sommes et intersections d’ensembles opérandes 6d. Les degrés de liberté des liaisons et les degrés d’invariance des surfaces génèrent des opérandes non-bornés (polyèdres), posant des problèmes de simulation. En 2014, L. Homria proposé une méthode pour résoudre ce problème, consistant à ajouter des limites artificielles(contraintes bouchon) sur les déplacements non-bornés. Même si cette méthode permet la manipulation d’objets bornés (polytopes), les contraintes bouchon augmentent la complexité des simulations. En réponse à cette difficulté, une méthode dérivée est proposée dans cette thèse.Cette méthode consiste à tracer et simplifier les contraintes bouchon au travers des opérations.Puis une seconde stratégie basée sur la décomposition d’un polyèdre en une somme d’un polytope et de lignes droites (associées aux déplacements non-bornés). Cette stratégie consiste à simuler d’une part les sommes de droites, et d’autre part, à déterminer la somme de polytopes dans un sous-espace de dimension inférieur à 6. Ces trois stratégies sont comparées au travers d’une application industrielle. Cela montre que la traçabilité des contraintes bouchons est un aspect fondamental pour contrôler leur propagation et pour réduire le temps de calcul des simulations. Toutefois, cette méthode exige encore de déterminer les limites des déplacements non-bornés. La deuxième méthode, adaptant systématiquement la dimension de l’espace de calcul, elle permet de diminuer davantage le temps de calcul. Ce travail permet d’envisager la mise en oeuvre de cette méthode selon des formulations statistiques avec la prise en compte des défauts de forme des surfaces. / The cumulative stack-up of geometric variations in mechanical systems can be modelled summing and intersecting sets of constraints. These constraints derive from tolerance zones or from contact restrictions between parts. The degrees of freedom (DOF) of jointsgenerate unbounded sets (i.e. polyhedra) which are difficult to deal with. L. Homri presented in 2014 a solution based on the setting of fictitious limits (called cap constraints) to each DOFto obtain bounded 6D sets (i.e. polytopes). These additional constraints, however, increase the complexity of the models, and therefore, of the computations. In response to this situation,we defined a derived strategy to control the effects of the propagation of the fictitious limits by tracing and simplifying the generated, new cap constraints. We proposed a second strategy based on the decomposition of polyhedra into the sum of a polytope and a set of straight lines.The strategy consists in isolating the straight lines (associated to the DOF) and summing the polytopes in the smallest sub-space. After solving an industrial case, we concluded that tracing caps constraints during the operations allows reducing the models complexity and,consequently, the computational time; however, it still involves working in 6d even in caseswhere this is not necessary. In contrast, the strategy based on the operands decompositionis more efficient due to the dimension reduction. This study allowed us to conclude that the management of mechanisms’ mobility is a crucial aspect in tolerance simulations. The gain on efficiency resulting from the developed strategies opens up the possibility for doing statistical treatment of tolerances and tolerance synthesis.

This study investigated factors reported by graduate students which influenced them to pursue a graduate degree in Adult and Continuing Education. A survey instrument was developed by three primary methods: (1) review of literature, (2) recommendations of former graduate students, and (3) recommendations of a panel of experts. The instrument was divided into three broad areas: (1) demographic information, (2) two open-ended questions, and (3) influential factors as reported in other studies.

A presente tese aborda os graus de interatividade presentes na experiência com e na obra de arte. O ato de experienciar na obra de arte nos mostra que qualquer experiência se constitui por relações intensivas entre corpos e meios em processos de interatividade. Constata-se que há diferentes graus de interatividade na experiência, sendo: misturas, atrações, incorporações e percepções. As misturas são as afecções voluntárias e involuntárias entre corpos em meios associados. A compreensão sobre as misturas dos corpos está relacionada às diferentes concepções filosóficas sobre imanência. As atrações falam de uma arte animal que nos ensina a potência do meio e os afectos dos corpos. O corpo que se menciona, aqui, não se restringe ao humano, mas também ao não humano – animal, tecnológico, imaterial – formado de velocidades e lentidões da matéria-tomando-forma. Tais corpos incorporam a vida via tecnologias dos fazeres e suas tecnicidades que não dissociam natural e artificial, analógico e digital, matéria e forma. As (im)percepções produzem paisagens efêmeras no sistema metaestável obra-humano-meio. As paisagens oscilam entre panoramas, presos a ilusionismos e representações miméticas; e simulacros que se formam no encontro das dessemelhanças e produzem realidades inventadas. Tais idéias são fundamentadas nas filosofias de Benetithus Espinosa, Gilbert Simondon e Gilles Deleuze. Ainda, são levadas para o campo da Arte Interativa, uma vez que estas obras se efetuam e se modificam ao longo da experiência artista/espectador/obra/meio. Deste modo, entende-se que os processos de interatividade direcionam-se para uma Ética da potência de agir dos corpos, ou seja, o quanto pode um corpo na experiência a partir das dinâmicas dos graus de interatividade na obra de arte. Tal investigação resulta na produção teórica da tese e na produção da videoinstalação “CorposAssociados” e da série de fotografias “Incorporações”. / This thesis addresses the degrees of interactivity produced with and within an artwork. The act of experiencing an artwork shows that any experience is made up of relations of intensity within processes of interactivity between bodies and milieus. It is maintained that there are various degrees of interactivity in experience: mixtures, attractions, incorporations, embodiments and perceptions. Mixtures are the voluntary and involuntary affects between bodies in associated milieus. The understanding of mixtures of bodies is related to various philosophical conceptions of immanence. Attractions speak of an animal art that shows us the potential of the milieu and the affects of bodies. The body referred to includes not only the human but non-human others as well—animal, technological, immaterial—formed by the speed or slowness of matter-taking-form. Such bodies embody life through technics and technicities which do not dissociate the natural and the artificial, the analog and the digital, matter and form. The (mis)perceptions produces an ephemeral landscapeness within the metastable system constituted by the artwork-human-milieu. The landscapes oscillate between panoramas—prisoners of illusion and mimetic representations—and simulacra which are formed in the encounter of dissimilarities which produce invented realities. These ideas are based on the philosophical writings of Baruch Spinoza, Gilbert Simondon and Gilles Deleuze and are applied to the field of interactive art in order to understand that artworks are created and modified through the artist/spectator/artwork/milieu experience. Thus, interactive processes are driven by an Ethics of the potential of bodies to act, which is to say, by what a body can do in its intensity in the dynamics of degrees of interactivity in the experience of the artwork. The research has resulted in this theory-based thesis, the production of a video installation entitled “CorposAssociados” and the series of photographs “Incorporações”.

Este trabalho aborda o projeto de um manipulador robótico cilíndrico acionado pneumaticamente de baixo custo e com 5 graus de liberdade. Este robô está sendo desenvolvido para realizar operações de movimentação de peças que venham a substituir postos de trabalho com ambiente insalubre e/ou de ações repetitivas nas quais as exigências de precisão, velocidade e capacidade de carga sejam limitadas. Os requisitos de projeto foram obtidos por meio de uma pesquisa em uma fábrica de ferramentas manuais. É apresentada a proposta de uma estrutura mecânica para suprir parte significativa das necessidades usuais de movimentação de peças em indústrias manufatureiras e o seu correspondente modelo teórico dinâmico não-linear, considerando o equacionamento dos atuadores pneumáticos acoplados ao sistema mecânico. Finalmente, é apresentado o projeto de um controlador linear por meio da técnica de realimentação de estados, com os ganhos definidos pela alocação de pólos a partir de um modelo linearizado de 3ª ordem. Para validação do modelo teórico e do algorítmo de controle propostos são apresentadas simulações de movimentação ponto a ponto e seguimento de trajetória. Os resultados mostram que a precisão de posicionamento do efetuador final é adequada para as tarefas de manipulação. / This work proposes the design of a low cost cylindrical robotic manipulator actuated pneumatically with 5 degrees of freedom. This robot is being developed to perform manipulation of parts, aiming to replace tasks usually performed in unhealthy environment and/or repetitive actions in which the requirements of accuracy, speed and load capacity are limited. The project requirements were obtained through a research in a manual tools factory. It is proposed a geometry that is intended to meet a significant amount of the usual moving parts demands in manufacturing industries and its corresponding nonlinear dynamic theoretic model, considering the pneumatic actuators model coupled to the mechanical system. Finally, the application of a linear control-law based on the technique of state feedback with design made by pole assignment using a linearized model of 3rd order is described. For validation of the theoretic model and proposed control algorithm are presented simulations of point to point regulation problem and trajectory tracking. The results show that the positioning accuracy of the end effector is suitable for achieving the planned tasks.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e TecnolÃgico / FundaÃÃo Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Cientifico e TecnolÃgico / Este trabalho tem como objetivo investigar a expressÃo da evidencialidade e sua relaÃÃo com os graus de comprometimento dos oradores com os conteÃdos enunciados na construÃÃo da argumentaÃÃo no discurso polÃtico. Para tal fim, analisamos trinta discursos (subdivididos em dois grupos temÃticos: 1 grupo â a vinda da Refinaria de PetrÃleo para o CearÃ; 2 grupo â a TransposiÃÃo do Rio SÃo Francisco), proferidos no Pequeno Expediente de SessÃes OrdinÃrias na AssemblÃia Legislativa do Estado do CearÃ, durante o perÃodo de 2005 e 2006. A evidencialidade à analisada, neste trabalho, quanto aos aspectos sintÃticos (meio lingÃÃstico, posiÃÃo no enunciado), semÃnticos (tipo de fonte, estratÃgia de veiculaÃÃo da informaÃÃo no enunciado, o que està diretamente relacionado ao modo como o enunciador deseja demonstrar que obteve a informaÃÃo por ele apresentada) e pragmÃticos (graus de comprometimento do polÃtico com o conteÃdo do seu discurso, imagens por ele suscitadas no processo argumentativo, papÃis discursivos assumidos pelos itens evidenciais). Sustentamos a hipÃtese de que fatores de ordem conceptual, interacional e contextual, como os propÃsitos enunciativos do polÃtico, as condiÃÃes de produÃÃo e a imagem que esse polÃtico deseja construir de si ante o auditÃrio, condicionam a manifestaÃÃo da evidencialidade, o tipo de qualificaÃÃo evidencial, bem como os efeitos de sentido de (des)comprometimento do polÃtico com o seu discurso. Adotamos, principalmente, a base teÃrica funcionalista, em que o usuÃrio assume papel central na investigaÃÃo; a descriÃÃo lingÃÃstica inclui, portanto, referÃncia ao falante, ao ouvinte e a seus papÃis e estatutos definidos na interaÃÃo verbal (DIK, 1989). Os resultados obtidos revelam que, na construÃÃo da argumentaÃÃo no discurso polÃtico, predomina o uso de marcas evidenciais do tipo relatado de fonte definida, comprovando que o polÃtico prefere nÃo se comprometer com a informaÃÃo reportada, assegurando ao interlocutor a possibilidade de avaliar por si sà a validade da informaÃÃo, de acordo com a qualidade da fonte expressa. Com relaÃÃo Ãs marcas evidenciais que assumimos como atinentes ao eixo do enunciador (experienciais, inferenciais e subjetivas), verificamos que, embora em menor quantidade, constituem estratÃgias importantes na construÃÃo de imagens legitimadoras da aÃÃo polÃtica, jà que o enunciador se mostra como alguÃm convicto de suas idÃias e projetos. Quanto aos aspectos morfossintÃticos da evidencialidade, observamos que o verbo à o meio de expressÃo mais freqÃente dessa categoria, ocupando, majoritariamente, a posiÃÃo intercalada (entre a fonte e o conteÃdo enunciado). / The present research aims at investigating the expression of evidentiality and its relation to the degrees of public speakerâs commitment with the contents uttered in political speech argumentationâs construction. Thirty speeches, subdivided in two thematic groups: 1) the arrival of a petrol refinery in the state of CearÃ; and 2) the transposition of SÃo Francisco River, and delivered in the Small Expedient of Ordinary Sessions in the State legislature of CearÃ, from 2005 to 2006, consisted the corpus of analysis. In this work, evidentiality analysis is concerned with the syntactic aspects (linguistic contexts, position in the statement), semantic (type of source, strategy of informationâs dissemination in the statement, what is directly related to the way as the speaker desires to demonstrate that he got the information presented by himself) and pragmatic (degrees of commitment of the politician with the content of his speech, elicited images in the argumentative process, discursive roles assumed by the items of evidence). We support the hypothesis that factors of conceptual, interacional and contextual order, as the communicative intentions of the politician, the conditions of production and the image that this politician desires to construct of himself before the audience, condition the evidentiality manifestation, the type of evidential qualification, as well as the (lack of) commitmentâs effects of meaning from the politician with his speech. We adopted, mainly, the functionalist theoretical basis, in which the user assumes a central role in the inquiry; the linguistic description includes, therefore, reference to the speaker, to the listener and to their roles and statutes defined in the verbal interaction (DIK, 1989). The results reveal that, in political speech argumentationâs construction, the use of evidences marks from the cited defined type of source prevails, proving that the politician prefers not to commit himself to the reported information, assuring to the interlocutor this responsibility to evaluate the validity of the information, in accordance with the quality of the expressed source. With regard to the evidential marks that we assume as referents of the speakerâs axis (inferential and subjective experiences), we verify that, although in lesser amount, they constitute important strategies in the construction of political actionâs legitimating images, since the speaker shows confidence in his ideas and projects. Concerning the morphosyntatic aspects of the evidentiality, we observe that the verb is the way of more frequent expression of this category, occupying, mainly, the intercalated position (between the source and the declared content).

Nesta pesquisa foram estudadas morfologias e posições do relevo que apresentam solos e depósitos com regimes hídricos caracterizados pela saturação temporária ou permanente, tendo os seguintes objetivos: (i) caracterização dos solos e depósitos presentes no setor inferior de vertentes e em fundos de vale, incluindo planícies fluviais, com ênfase em suas propriedades hidromórficas; (ii) identificação de graus de hidromorfia nos solos e depósitos desses setores e morfologias, e representação de sua variabilidade espacial; (iii) elaboração de proposições a respeito do regime de saturação hídrica nos setores estudados e de sua relação com os graus de hidromorfia identificados; (iv) elaboração de proposições sobre tendências espaciais hidrodinâmicas associadas à inundação fluvial nas áreas de planície. Sob o aspecto metodológico, a pesquisa foi desenvolvida de acordo com os princípios da abordagem geossistêmica, apresentando uma análise integrada que buscou identificar as inter-relações entre as variáveis pesquisadas. Para tal estudo, foram selecionados dois perfis transversais na Alta Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Cotia, que abrangeram o setor inferior de vertentes e fundos de vale, um deles com planície fluvial. Ao longo desses perfis transversais foram realizados os seguintes levantamentos e procedimentos: (i) levantamento morfométrico e construção de gráficos dos perfis; (ii) descrição dos atributos morfológicos dos solos e depósitos; (iii) monitoramento dos níveis dágua do lençol freático ou lençol suspenso nos pontos de descrição. A caracterização e análise detalhadas das propriedades hidromórficas revelaram gradações de intensidade nas mesmas, e, a partir dessa base, desenvolveu-se uma proposta para classificação dos solos e depósitos segundo graus de hidromorfia. Foram construídas representações gráficas bidimensionais que ilustraram a sucessão vertical e lateral de horizontes pedogenéticos e camadas com diferentes graus de hidromorfia ao longo dos setores e morfologias estudadas. Desta maneira, foram identificadas tendências gerais no que se refere à distribuição espacial dos graus de hidromorfia e à relação desses graus com o regime de saturação hídrica. Um dos padrões identificados consistiu no aumento do grau de hidromorfia dos perfis verticais de solos e depósitos com o aumento da profundidade, que está associado a um maior tempo de duração das condições de saturação hídrica nos horizontes mais profundos. Também foram observadas diferenças significativas na intensidade das propriedades hidromórficas das vertentes, quando comparadas às áreas de fundos de vale, incluindo a planície fluvial. Neste sentido, foram identificados graus de hidromorfia mais baixos nos horizontes A e B dos pontos localizados nas vertentes, e graus mais elevados nos horizontes A e B dos pontos localizados nos fundos de vale. Essas diferenças na ocorrência dos graus de hidromorfia foram atribuídas a distintos regimes de saturação hídrica, sendo que, de maneira geral, os horizontes pedogenéticos e as camadas com graus de hidromorfia elevados estão sujeitos a condições de saturação hídrica de maior duração ou permanentes, quando comparados àqueles que possuem graus de hidromorfia mais baixos, nos quais os eventos de saturação hídrica tem menor duração e/ou ocorrem com menor frequência. Com relação às proposições referentes à inundação fluvial na planície estudada, foram identificadas morfologias que recebem preferencialmente os fluxos fluviais da inundação e apresentam taxas de deposição mais elevadas, e setores com taxas de deposição mais baixas nos quais a inundação é menos frequente e há predomínio da deposição de sedimentos finos. / In this research we studied morphologies and relief positions with soils and deposits with moisture regimes characterized by temporary or permanent water saturation, with the following objectives: (i) characterization of soils and deposits located in lower slope sectors and valley bottoms, with an emphasis on their hydromorphic properties; (ii) identification of degrees of hydromorphy in the soils and deposits of these sectors and morphologies, and representation of their spatial variability; (iii) development of propositions about the regime of water saturation in the studied areas and its relationship with the degrees of hydromorphy; (iv) development of propositions about the hydrodynamics of floods in the studied floodplain. Regarding the methodological aspect, the research was conducted according to the principles of the geosystemic approach, presenting an integrated analysis which considered the inter-relations among the studied variables. For this study, we selected two cross profiles in the Cotia Drainage Basin, comprising lower slope sectors and valley bottoms, including a floodplain. Along these cross profiles, the following surveys were conducted: (i) topographic survey and construction of cross section graphics; (ii) description of the morphological attributes of soils and deposits, including detailed description of their hydromorphic properties; (iii) monitoring the water levels of the water table and perched water tables in the sites of description. The detailed characterization and analysis of the hydromorphic properties revealed gradations of intensity in them, and, based primarily on this, we developed a proposal for classification the soils and deposits of the study area according to degrees of hydromorphy. We built two-dimensional graphical representations which illustrated vertical and lateral successions of pedogenetic horizons or layers with different degrees of hydromorphy. Thus, general trends were identified in respect to the spatial distribution of the degrees of hydromorphy and in respect to its relationship with the regime of water saturation. One of the patterns identified consisted in the increase of the degree of hydromorphy in the soil profiles with increasing depth, associated with a longer duration of water saturation conditions in the deeper horizons. It were also observed significant differences in the intensity of the hydromorphic properties of the slopes, when compared to the valley bottom areas, including the floodplain. In this regard, lower degrees of hydromorphy were identified in the A and B horizons in the slope sectors, and higher degrees in the A and B horizons in the valley bottom areas. Such differences in the degree of hydromorphy were ascribed to distinct regimes of water saturation, considering that, in general, the horizons and layers with higher degrees of hydromorphy are subject to water saturation conditions of longer duration, when compared to those classified according to lower degrees of hydromorphy, in which the water saturation events have shorter duration and/or have lower frequency. Concerning the propositions about the hydrodynamics of floods in the studied floodplain, we identified morphologies that preferentially receive the overflowing river flows and have higher deposition rates, and sectors with lower deposition rates, where flooding is less frequent and there is a predominance of fine sediments deposition.

Real-time MRI scanning is used to visualize tissue and organs in motion. The real-time approach requires new interaction techniques to facilitate interaction with the scanning plane. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the use of input with six degrees of freedom – 6DOF. An overview over existing 6DOF input devices is given. Three devices are chosen for implementation and evaluation, Flock of Birds, SpaceBall and SpaceMouse. A simulator application is developed to test the different input devices. The simulator purpose is to imitate the real-time scanning situation. To be able to evaluate speed andaccuracy of the different interaction techniques, methods for measuring time and error are developed. A statistical survey is done on two different tasks to gather data of the interaction. The data is analyzed and the result is that the test subjects find the SpaceMouse superior to the other devices thanks to its kinesthetic feed-back properties and ergonomic benefits. However, the statistical data shows that Flock of Birds is the fastest device and no great difference is showed in accuracy between Flock of Birds and SpaceMouse. SpaceBall was the device that generated the least satisfying data.

Walking comes naturally to us and appears to be simple. However, this is not so and it is known that walking requires high level neural control and muscle coordination. There is no single, unifying theory of bipedal walking. Models of walking are useful in various ways such as developing computational theories of neural control, understanding muscle coordination and to design and analyze lower extremity prostheses. This thesis deals with modeling and simulation of walking from a kinematics and dynamics view point. Three sagittal planar models with increasing levels of complexity are presented in this thesis. The first model is a simple two degrees of freedom (DoF) model representing the motion at the hip and the knee joint. The second model is a three DoF model where the ankle joint motion is also taken into account. Finally, the third model considers both the legs and has seven DoF. The kinematic and dynamic equations of the models are derived, and the inverse dynamic analysis and forward dynamic simulation of the models are performed. The simulation results are compared with experimental data available in literature.

Undergraduate enrollment in colleges and universities has grown and changed drastically over the past 2 decades, with a significant portion of this growth coming from the increased number of nontraditional students who have made the decision to make their way onto college and university campuses to pursue a college degree. Due to these changes, many institutions of higher education have had to rethink the way they have historically operated. In an attempt to better meet the needs and demands of adult nontraditional students, colleges and universities have reviewed their existing programs and instituted programs that allow for the awarding of academic credit for prior learning. For those institutions of higher education involved in the prior learning assessment (PLA) process and interested in providing a quality program, an increased emphasis and focus should be on the importance of determining what a learning activity is, and more importantly, what constitutes college-level learning. This study focused on the identification and profiling of prior learning assessment (PLA) processes in Texas public universities offering nontraditional baccalaureate degree programs, the identification of commonalties among such programs, and the determination of program quality based on established standards. The instrument utilized in this study was designed on Urban Whitaker's 10 Standards of Good Practice. The population consisted of those public institutions of higher education in Texas that offer the Texas CIP code 30.9999.40 - Applied Arts and Sciences - baccalaureate degree. A within-stage mixed-model methodology was used. Open-ended questions were used to strengthen the data obtained from the quantitative portion. This research study suggests that, although there are similarities with regards to the types of PLA processes used in the awarding of PLA credit, many of the organizations could benefit from an evaluation of their current policies, procedures, and/or common practices related to the process of awarding credit via prior learning assessment as they relate to overall quality.