A invenção da energia elétrica pode ser considerada como um dos eventos mais marcantes da história moderna. As fortes influências sociais e econômicas que o sistema elétrico exerce sobre a sociedade, atreladas a suas características próprias, fazem com que o sistema elétrico enfrente desafios que extrapolam sua própria dinâmica. Essa característica faz com que o Estado assuma uma grande responsabilidade pela gestão e planejamento dos sistemas elétricos, o que envolve questões de natureza não meramente econômicas que impulsionam e dão forma à dinâmica dos sistemas atualmente existentes, tanto no Brasil quanto no mundo. Dentre tais ações de intervenção do Estado, que alteram as condições de competitividade do sistema e toda sua dinâmica, estão políticas tecnológicas para induzir a inovação no setor. No Brasil, a lei 9.991/2000 que institui a obrigatoriedade de investimento de parte da receita operacional líquida (ROL) das empresas do setor em Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento (P&D), representa a política tecnológica específica para abordar tal questão. Tal lei visa induzir o desenvolvimento tecnológico no sistema para contribuir com o aumento de sua eficiência e na decorrente modicidade tarifária. Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo investigar a eficácia da política tecnológica aplicada ao sistema elétrico brasileiro em induzir a dinâmica do desenvolvimento tecnológico no setor. Tal investigação foi feita com base na teoria evolucionária do desenvolvimento tecnológico, através de estudos de caso para se testar a hipótese desenvolvida de que somente a obrigatoriedade de investimento em projetos de P&D não tem sido suficiente para induzir a dinâmica do desenvolvimento tecnológico no sistema elétrico brasileiro. Os resultados da pesquisa demonstram que a se confirma. É possível argumentar que a proposição apresentada, de que tal hipótese se relaciona ao baixo comprometimento das empresas com o tema, que não são induzidas a assumirem um comportamento condizente com a dinâmica de inovação no setor, dadas suas percepções de oportunidades e suas condições de apropriabilidade, é uma importante variável explicativa para a avaliação da política tecnológica no setor. / The invention of electricity can be considered as one of the most important events in modern history. The strong social and economic influences that the electrical system has on society, linked to its own characteristics, make the electrical system faces challenges that go beyond its own dynamics. This feature makes the state to assume a great responsibility for the management and planning of electrical systems, which involve issues not merely economic in nature that drive and shape the dynamics of systems currently exist, both in Brazil and worldwide. Among such actions of state intervention, which alter the competitive conditions of the system and all its dynamics, are policies to induce technological innovation in the industry. In Brazil, the law 9.991/2000 establishing the mandatory investment of part of the net operating income (NOI) of companies in the industry in research and development (R & D) represents the specific technology policy to address this issue. This law aims to lead the technological development in the system to contribute to the increase of its efficiency and the resulting low tariffs. This research aimed to investigate the effectiveness of technology policy applied to the Brazilian electric system to induce the dynamics of technological development in the sector. This research was based on the evolutionary theory of technological development, through case studies to test the hypothesis developed that only the obligation of investment projects in R & D has not been sufficient to induce the dynamics of technological development in the Brazilian electric system. The results show that the hypothesis is confirmed. It can be argued that the proposition presented, that this hypothesis relates to the low commitment of the companies with the theme, which are not induced to take a behavior consistent with the dynamics of innovation in the industry, given their perceptions of their opportunities and appropriability conditions, is an important explanatory variable for the evaluation of technology policy in the sector.

A invenção da energia elétrica pode ser considerada como um dos eventos mais marcantes da história moderna. As fortes influências sociais e econômicas que o sistema elétrico exerce sobre a sociedade, atreladas a suas características próprias, fazem com que o sistema elétrico enfrente desafios que extrapolam sua própria dinâmica. Essa característica faz com que o Estado assuma uma grande responsabilidade pela gestão e planejamento dos sistemas elétricos, o que envolve questões de natureza não meramente econômicas que impulsionam e dão forma à dinâmica dos sistemas atualmente existentes, tanto no Brasil quanto no mundo. Dentre tais ações de intervenção do Estado, que alteram as condições de competitividade do sistema e toda sua dinâmica, estão políticas tecnológicas para induzir a inovação no setor. No Brasil, a lei 9.991/2000 que institui a obrigatoriedade de investimento de parte da receita operacional líquida (ROL) das empresas do setor em Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento (P&D), representa a política tecnológica específica para abordar tal questão. Tal lei visa induzir o desenvolvimento tecnológico no sistema para contribuir com o aumento de sua eficiência e na decorrente modicidade tarifária. Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo investigar a eficácia da política tecnológica aplicada ao sistema elétrico brasileiro em induzir a dinâmica do desenvolvimento tecnológico no setor. Tal investigação foi feita com base na teoria evolucionária do desenvolvimento tecnológico, através de estudos de caso para se testar a hipótese desenvolvida de que somente a obrigatoriedade de investimento em projetos de P&D não tem sido suficiente para induzir a dinâmica do desenvolvimento tecnológico no sistema elétrico brasileiro. Os resultados da pesquisa demonstram que a se confirma. É possível argumentar que a proposição apresentada, de que tal hipótese se relaciona ao baixo comprometimento das empresas com o tema, que não são induzidas a assumirem um comportamento condizente com a dinâmica de inovação no setor, dadas suas percepções de oportunidades e suas condições de apropriabilidade, é uma importante variável explicativa para a avaliação da política tecnológica no setor. / The invention of electricity can be considered as one of the most important events in modern history. The strong social and economic influences that the electrical system has on society, linked to its own characteristics, make the electrical system faces challenges that go beyond its own dynamics. This feature makes the state to assume a great responsibility for the management and planning of electrical systems, which involve issues not merely economic in nature that drive and shape the dynamics of systems currently exist, both in Brazil and worldwide. Among such actions of state intervention, which alter the competitive conditions of the system and all its dynamics, are policies to induce technological innovation in the industry. In Brazil, the law 9.991/2000 establishing the mandatory investment of part of the net operating income (NOI) of companies in the industry in research and development (R & D) represents the specific technology policy to address this issue. This law aims to lead the technological development in the system to contribute to the increase of its efficiency and the resulting low tariffs. This research aimed to investigate the effectiveness of technology policy applied to the Brazilian electric system to induce the dynamics of technological development in the sector. This research was based on the evolutionary theory of technological development, through case studies to test the hypothesis developed that only the obligation of investment projects in R & D has not been sufficient to induce the dynamics of technological development in the Brazilian electric system. The results show that the hypothesis is confirmed. It can be argued that the proposition presented, that this hypothesis relates to the low commitment of the companies with the theme, which are not induced to take a behavior consistent with the dynamics of innovation in the industry, given their perceptions of their opportunities and appropriability conditions, is an important explanatory variable for the evaluation of technology policy in the sector.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Non-invasive surface recording of bioelectric potentials continues to be an essential tool in a variety of research and medical diagnostic procedures. However, the integrity of these recordings, and hence the reliability of subsequent analysis, diagnosis, or recommendations based on the recordings, can be significantly compromised when various types of noise are allowed to penetrate the recording circuit and contaminate the signals. In particular, for bioelectric phenomena in which the amplitude of the biosignal is relatively low, such as muscle activity (typically on the order of millivolts) or neural traffic (microvolts), external noise may substantially contaminate or even completely overwhelm the signal. In such circumstances, the tissue-electrode interface is typically the primary point of signal contamination since its impedance is relatively high compared to the rest of the recording circuit. Therefore, in the recording of low-amplitude biological signals, it is of paramount importance to minimize the impedance of the tissue-electrode interface in order to consistently obtain low-noise recordings. The aims of the current work were (1) to complete the development of a set of tools for rapid, simple, and reliable full-spectrum characterization and analytical modeling of the complex impedance of the tissue-electrode interface, and (2) to characterize the interfacial impedance and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at the surface of the skin across a variety of preparation methods and determine a factor or set of factors that contribute most effectively to the reduction of tissue-electrode impedance and noise contamination during recording. Specifically, we desired to test an initial hypothesis that surface abrasion is the principal determining factor in skin preparation to achieve consistently low-impedance, low-noise recordings. During the course of this master’s study, (1) a system with portable, battery-powered hardware and robust acquisition/analysis software for broadband impedance characterization has been achieved, and (2) the effects of skin preparation methods on the impedance of the tissue-electrode interface and the SNR of surface electromyographic recordings have been systematically quantified and compared in human subjects. We found our hypothesis to be strongly supported by the results: the degree of surface abrasion was the only factor that could be correlated to significant differences in either the interfacial impedance or the SNR. Given these findings, we believe that abrasion holds the key to consistently obtaining a low-impedance contact interface and high-quality recordings and should thus be considered an essential component of proper skin preparation prior to attachment of electrodes for recording of small bioelectric surface potentials.