Devido a insatisfação dos usuários com os sistemas de informação (SI) disponíveis nas organizações e a necessidade de melhorar o desempenho individual na execução das tarefas, muitos grupos de trabalho implementam, de forma autônoma, recursos de tecnologia e sistemas não disponíveis pelo departamento de TI. Assim, a satisfação e o comportamento produtivo no trabalho podem ser explicados pela teoria das características do trabalho proposta por Hackman e Oldham, que podem atuar como variável preditora do uso de soluções e tecnologias alternativas. Motivada por esse contexto, esta pesquisa tem por objetivo analisar como as características do trabalho estão relacionadas com o comportamento workaround e com uso da shadow IT, avaliando o impacto no desempenho individual. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi alcançado ao longo da execução de 3 artigos. O artigo 1 apresenta uma revisão de literatura sobre os fatores: características do trabalho, comportamento workaround, uso da shadow IT e desempenho individual, sendo comprovado teoricamente a relação entre as temáticas, dando origem ao desenvolvimento do modelo teórico testado no artigo 2. No artigo 2 foi realizada a aplicação de um survey com 369 usuários de TI que possibilitou a realização de testes estatísticos para assegurar a validade e confiabilidade do modelo de pesquisa proposto no artigo 1, além do teste das 5 hipóteses propostas neste estudo. Neste artigo pode-se concluir que as características do trabalho possuem uma relação positiva com o comportamento workaround e com o uso da shadow IT. Com relação ao impacto no desempenho individual, os achados desta pesquisa demonstram que tanto o comportamento workaround quanto o uso da shadow IT possuem uma relação positiva com o desempenho individual. Ademais, confirma-se a relação entre o comportamento workaround e o uso da shadow IT que são conceitos semelhantes, mas que possuem importantes diferenças. Dentre as sugestões de pesquisa, recomenda-se o estudo do comportamento workaround com o compartilhamento do conhecimento, pois o uso de soluções alternativas proporciona uma comunicação mais rápida e dinâmica, impulsionando a colaboração entre colegas de trabalho, parceiros externos e cliente. Por fim, no artigo 3 buscou-se verificar o papel mediador do comportamento workaround e do uso da shadow IT na relação entre as características do trabalho e o desempenho individual. O principal resultado deste artigo evidencia que o efeito direto entre as características do trabalho e o desempenho não foi suportado, o que confirma a mediação total, já que o efeito indireto foi maior do que o efeito direto que não apresentou significância. Assim, o efeito das características do trabalho no desempenho individual é melhor explicado pela variável comportamento workaround e pelo uso da shadow IT. Como a análise e moderação e a mediação são conceitos similares pois descrevem uma situação em que o relacionamento de 2 construtos depende de uma terceira variável em que as diferenças estão na fundamentação teórica e na interpretação dos resultados, sugere-se um estudo comparativo que demonstre como os construtos deste modelo se comportam através da análise de moderação. / Users' dissatisfaction with the information systems (IS) available in organizations and the need to improve individual performance in the execution of tasks, many workgroups autonomously implement technology resources and systems not available to the IT department. Thus, satisfaction and productive behavior at work can be explained by the theory of the job characteristics proposed by Hackman and Oldham, which can act as a predictor of the use of alternative solutions and technologies. Motivated by this context, this research aims to analyze how the job characteristics are related to the workaround behavior and using shadow IT, evaluating the impact on individual performance. The objective of this research was achieved during the execution of 3 articles. Article 1 presents a review of the literature on the factors: job characteristics, workaround behavior, use of shadow IT and individual performance, theoretically proving the relationship between the themes, giving rise to the development of the theoretical model tested in article 2. In the article 2 a survey was carried out with 369 IT users that allowed the performance of statistical tests to ensure the validity and reliability of the research model proposed in article 1, in addition to the test of the 5 hypotheses proposed in this study. In this paper it can be concluded that the job characteristics have a positive relationship with the workaround behavior and the use of shadow IT. Regarding the impact on individual performance, the findings of this research demonstrate that both the workaround behavior and the use of shadow IT have a positive relationship with individual performance. In addition, the relationship between the workaround behavior and the use of shadow IT is confirmed, which are similar concepts, but which have important differences. Among research suggestions, it is recommended to study workaround behavior with knowledge sharing, as the use of alternative solutions provides faster and more dynamic communication, boosting collaboration among colleagues, external partners and the client. Finally, article 3 sought to verify the mediating role of the workaround behavior and the use of shadow IT in the relation between the job characteristics and the individual performance. The main result of this article shows that the direct effect between the job characteristics and the performance was not supported, which confirms the total mediation, since the indirect effect was greater than the direct effect that did not present significance. Thus, the effect of job characteristics on individual performance is best explained by the variable workaround behavior and by the use of shadow IT. Since analysis and moderation and mediation are similar concepts because they describe a situation in which the relationship of 2 constructs depends on a third variable in which the differences are in the theoretical basis and in the interpretation of the results, a comparative study is suggested that demonstrates how the constructs of this model behave through moderation analysis.

O trabalho discute a questão da precificação eficiente em sistemas de distribuição de energia, abordando desde a teoria econômica clássica aplicada aos modelos de produção e transporte da energia, passando por uma avaliação crítica da atual metodologia de estrutura tarifária vigente no Brasil, até o detalhamento de uma proposta consistente e simplificadora de estrutura de preços para a atividade da distribuição de energia. A teoria de monopólios naturais é o pano de fundo para uma discussão integrada dos modelos clássicos de estrutura de preços para o transporte da energia elétrica. Nesta avaliação do estado da arte, são abordadas as teorias da precificação linear, da precificação não linear e da precificação de ponta. A atual metodologia nacional de cálculo da estrutura tarifária de uso das redes de distribuição, aplicada pela Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica ANEEL, é revisitada sob uma visão técnica crítica. Como resultado, são desconstruídos alguns conceitos e processos vigentes pela constatação de uma excessiva complexidade operacional aliada a uma carência de fundamentação econômica e matemática. Por fim, é proposta uma metodologia simplificadora para a estrutura de preços de uso das redes de distribuição de energia, objetivando maior eficiência econômica, maior simplicidade operacional na aplicação e sólida fundamentação teórica, reduzindo arbitrariedades e subjetividades existentes na atual metodologia. / The present work discusses the question of efficient pricing on electric power distribution systems. The subject is approached from the discussion of the classical economic theory applied to energy production and transport models, passing through a critical evaluation of the current rate structure used in Brazil, to the description of a consistent and simplified proposal for the electric power distribution rate design. The theory of natural monopolies is the background of an integrated discussion on classical rate design models concerning the electric energy transportation activity. By the classical problem analysis, some theories commonly approached are linear pricing, non linear pricing and peak load pricing. The current Brazilian methodology used for the rate design of the usage of distribution networks, applied by the National Regulatory Agency (ANEEL), is revisited under a critical technical vision. As a result, some concepts are reassessed due to the observed excessive operational complexity allied to the lack of economical and statistical foundation. Finally, a simplified methodology for the rate structure of the usage of electrical distribution networks is proposed. The methodology aims, at the same time, greater economic efficiency, simpler operational application and a solid theoretical foundation, thereby reducing arbitrariness and subjectivity found in the current methodology.

據手稿本影印. / Thesis (M.A.)--香港中文大學硏究院敎育學部. / Ju shou gao ben ying yin. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-106). / Thesis (M.A.)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue yan jiu yuan jiao yu xue bu. / Chapter 第一章 --- 導言 --- p.1 / Chapter 一 --- 寫作教學的問題 --- p.1 / Chapter 二 --- 新加坡語文教育概況 --- p.4 / Chapter 三 --- 研究目的 --- p.7 / Chapter 第二章 --- 研究方法 --- p.9 / Chapter 一 --- 詞義界定 --- p.9 / Chapter 二 --- 依據和準則 --- p.11 / Chapter 三 --- 研究對象 --- p.12 / Chapter 四 --- 資料收集 --- p.14 / Chapter 五 --- 研究限制 --- p.15 / Chapter 第三章 --- 結果與討論 --- p.18 / Chapter 一 --- 語法意義 --- p.21 / Chapter 二 --- 詞彙意義 --- p.53 / Chapter 第四章 --- 結 論 / 參考書目 --- p.101

Les technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC) occupent une place importante dans les débats publics sénégalais. En outre, elles semblent être au centre des préoccupations des dirigeants de ce pays, car les espoirs qu’elles suscitent dans le domaine de l’éducation sont assez nombreux. Mais, l’introduction des TIC dans les lycées soulève également des interrogations de la part des chercheurs et des acteurs éducatifs quant à leurs usages. Cette thèse porte sur les pratiques numériques des lycéens. L’objectif que nous poursuivons est de comprendre dans quelle mesure les usages des TIC peuvent leur permettre de s’approprier des savoirs. Ici, comprendre c’est, s’intéresser aux représentations, aux connaissances et aux compétences qui impliquent l’usage des outils informatisés, mais aussi aux sens des usages. La question des usages des TIC par les élèves suscite un intérêt particulier auprès des chercheurs de certaines disciplines, particulièrement ceux de la sociologie des usages, des sciences cognitives et des sciences de l’éducation. Ainsi, nous avons privilégié une approche théorique pluridisciplinaire et une pluralité méthodologique (le questionnaire, l’observation directe et l’entretien d’explicitation) en ayant recours à des outils spécifiques pour recueillir les données (dictaphone, notes, captures d’écrans). L’analyse a permis de voir que ces usagers-apprenants s’approprient les technologies numériques à des fins d’apprentissage et a mis en relief le « versant sombre » de leurs pratiques. Partant des données obtenues nous proposons quelques pistes de réflexion pour une intégration optimale des TIC dans les pratiques d’enseignement et d’apprentissage. / Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are central to Senegalese public debates. Moreover, the leaders of this country view them as very advantageous to education. However, their introduction in high schools raises a lot of questions from both researchers and educators as regards their usage. This study is about digital practices of high school students Our aim is to understand the extent to which the use of ICTs can enable them to acquire knowledge. Understanding in this regard implies looking at the perceptions, knowledge and skills related to the use of computerized tools, but also the meanings of this usage. The use of ICTs by pupils is also of particular interest to researchers in the fields of humanities and social sciences, especially those in the sociology, cognitive sciences and education areas. Thus, in order to better define the subject, this study used a multidisciplinary theoretical approach and a plural methodology (questionnaires, direct observation and interviews) as well as specific tools (voice-recorder, notes and screenshots) to collect data during two field investigations that were conducted in Dakar secondary schools (from March to April 2013 and November to December 2015). The analysis revealed that these learner-users use digital technologies for learning purposes but also highlighted the "dark side" of their practices. On the basis of the data obtained, we also suggest ways in which ICTs can be optimally integrated in teaching and learning practices.

Le nombre de personnes vivant dans les villes a considérablement augmenté depuis 1950, passant de 746 millions à 3,9 milliards en 2014.La croissance démographique et l'urbanisation devraient ajouter 2,5 milliards de personnes à la population urbaine mondiale d'ici 2050.Cette situation pose de nouveaux défis sur la manière de concevoir des villes qui accueillent de telles quantités de population d'une manière durable, qui devrait aborder plusieurs aspects, allant des questions économiques aux questions sociales et environnementales.Les processus urbains sont la conséquence de différents facteurs d'interaction, liés entre eux de telle sorte que le processus qui en résulte est complexe à mesurer et à comprendre.Étant donné le nombre croissant de personnes vivant dans les villes, il devient urgent de comprendre la complexité sous-jacente de ces modèles urbains.A cette fin, nous proposons dans cette thèse des outils d'aide à la décision appliqués dans le contexte de l'analyse urbaine, qui permettent d'étudier les phénomènes de mixité et d'étalement urbain.Tout d'abord, un cadre permettant de saisir la répartition spatiale de l'utilisation des terres dans les villes est présenté.En premier lieu, les données urbaines sont extraites d'OpenStreetMap.En utilisant les techniques d'estimation de la densité du noyau, des estimations de la densité d'utilisation des terres sont ensuite effectuées pour les utilisations résidentielles et les activités.Les résultats sont utilisés pour calculer les indices de développement spatial mixte.En outre, des estimations de densité pour différents types d'activités sont proposées, qui décrivent un modèle clair de localisation dans les villes en fonction de leur type.Nous fournissons les résultats des systèmes d'information géographique, qui s'avèrent être un atout, en particulier pour les urbanistes, en soutenant et en facilitant leur processus de prise de décision - surtout en comparaison relative avec les mesures agrégées.Deuxièmement, les travaux susmentionnés ont été étendus pour le calcul des indices d'étalement urbain.L'approche proposée formalise l'étalement urbain sous l'angle du développement durable, en trois dimensions : la mixité de l'utilisation des sols, la dispersion des zones bâties et l'accessibilité aux opportunités d'activités.Il en résulte un nombre gérable de dimensions, où chaque dimension est formalisée d'une manière facile à interpréter, et en particulier une pertinence par rapport aux aspects de l'étalement urbain qui entravent le développement durable.Troisièmement, nous proposons deux approches pour effectuer des estimations désagrégées de la population.Le premier exploite l'information sur les surfaces résidentielles, en supposant une consommation de surface résidentielle constante par habitant.Grâce à l'utilisation de données maillées - c'est-à-dire agrégées - sur les secteurs de recensement, une désagrégation fine est effectuée pour répartir les données démographiques dans les bâtiments.Le second consiste en un réseau neuronal entièrement convolutif qui cartographie les données de population à grain grossier à fin.Nous utilisons la base de données OpenStreetMap pour extraire un ensemble de caractéristiques urbaines qui décrivent un contexte urbain local et guident la procédure de désagrégation.Les densités de population sont estimées pour des mailles 25 fois plus petites que la résolution d'entrée, c'est-à-dire 200m par 200m. / The number of people living in cities has been increasing considerably since 1950, from 746 million to 3.9 billion in 2014.The continuing population growth and urbanization are projected to add 2.5 billion people to the world's urban population by 2050.This situation brings new challenges on how to conceive cities that host such amounts of population in a sustainable way, which should address several aspects, ranging from economical to social and environmental matters.Urban processes take place as a consequence of different interacting factors, linked between them in such a way that the resulting process is complex to measure and understand.Given the increasing number of people living in cities, understanding the underlying complexity of these urban patterns is thus becoming a pressing issue.To this end, we propose in this thesis decision-support tools applied in the context of urban analysis, which allow to study land use mix and urban sprawl phenomena.In our first contribution, a framework for capturing spatial land use mix in cities is presented.In the first place, urban data are extracted from OpenStreetMap.Using Kernel Density Estimation techniques, land use density estimations are then carried out for residential and activity uses.The outputs are employed to calculate spatial mixed-use development indices.Additionally, density estimations for different activity types (i.e. commercial and industrial, leisure and amenities, and shops) are proposed.We provide fine-grained Geographic Information System outputs, which happen to be an asset particularly for urban planners, supporting and aiding their decision-making procedure -- specially in relative comparison to aggregated measures.In a second contribution, the above work was extended for calculating spatial urban sprawl indices.The proposed approach formalizes sprawl under a sustainable development angle, into three dimensions: land use mix, dispersion of built-up area, and accessibility to activity opportunities.This results in a manageable number of dimensions, where each dimension is formalized in an easy-to-interpret way, and in particular pertinence to the aspects of sprawl that impede sustainable development.In our third contribution, we propose two approaches for performing disaggregated population estimates.The first one exploits information on residential surfaces, assuming a constant residential surface consumption per-capita.By means of employing gridded -- i.e. aggregated -- census tract data, a fine disaggregation is carried out to distribute population count data into buildings.The second one consists of a fully convolutional neural network that maps coarse-grained to fine-grained population data.We use the OpenStreetMap database to extract a set of urban features which describe a local urban context and guide the disaggregation procedure.Population densities are estimated for grid-cells 25 times smaller than the input resolution, i.e. 200m by 200m.

Submitted by Maicon Juliano Schmidt (maicons) on 2015-05-29T13:32:27Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Júlio Cezar Santos Pires_.pdf: 1421846 bytes, checksum: 20f1800d942c84a72b6cb04d163cc92f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-29T13:32:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Júlio Cezar Santos Pires_.pdf: 1421846 bytes, checksum: 20f1800d942c84a72b6cb04d163cc92f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-04-29 / CTIC/RNP - Centro de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento em Tecnologias Digitais para informação e Comunicação / Com os constantes avanços tecnológicos, surgem novas tendências para prover uma base de serviços para a nova era da tecnologia da informação. Com isso, surgem novos paradigmas para sistemas distribuídos, como, por exemplo, a Computação em Nuvem (ou Cloud Computing), que possui como ideia base a disponibilização de recursos computacionais sob demanda por meio da Internet, permitindo, assim, a sua utilização em qualquer lugar e pelos mais diversos tipos de aplicações. Entre as principais características da computação em nuvem, tem-se a elasticidade, provisionamento de serviço e cobrança baseada na utilização efetiva dos recursos. Visando tornar estas características, na prática, possíveis, torna-se indispensável que a infraestrutura disponha de um sistema de monitoramento. Neste contexto, este trabalho apresenta o BSPMon, um sistema de monitoramento de recursos preditivo para aplicações paralelas em Cloud Computing. Com o objetivo de ter um controle fino sobre os recursos computacionais, o BSPMon coletará métricas de desempenho nos três níveis da infraestrutura: máquina física, máquina virtual e aplicação, efetuando, desta forma, um monitoramento hierárquico multinível dos recursos. De posse destas métricas de desempenho, o BSPMon efetuará predições sobre as demandas, visando melhores resultados para a tomada de decisão em situações de migração, previsão, controle sobre o SLA, provisionamento e consolidação dos recursos. O sistema proposto atuará no nível de middleware, de forma transparente para a aplicação. A partir das avaliações obtidas na predição, os resultados apontam baixa intrusividade na infraestrutura, eficiência energética e predições com taxa de acerto superior a 90%. / Due to constant technological advances, there are new trends to provide a service base for the new era of information technology. Thus, there are new paradigms for distributed systems, for example, Cloud Computing, which has as basic idea of the provision of computational resources on demand via the Internet, thus allowing their use anywhere and for many different types of applications. Among the main features of cloud computing, there is elasticity, service provisioning and billing based on the effective use of resources. In order to make these features in practice possible, it is essential that the infrastructure to have a monitoring system. In this context, this work presents the BSPMon, a monitoring system of predictive features for parallel applications in Cloud Computing. In order to have fine control over computing resources, the BSPMon collect performance metrics in three levels of infrastructure: physical machine, virtual machine and application, making thus a multilevel hierarchical resource monitoring. With such performance metrics, the BSPMon shall make predictions about the demands, to obtain better results for decision making in migration scenarios, prediction, control over the SLA, provisioning and consolidation of resources. The proposed system will operate in the middleware level, transparently to the application. From the evaluations obtained in the prediction, the results indicate low intrusiveness in infrastructure, energy efficiency and predictions accuracy rate above 90 %.

O estudo \"Análise sócio-ambiental da bacia do Rio Biguaçu - SC: subsídios ao planejamento e ordenamento territorial\" objetiva a análise integrada de informações de aspectos naturais e sócio-econômicos, que permitam o entendimento na perspectiva geográfica para fins de planejamento territorial ambiental. A área da bacia é de 389,7 km2, compreendendo todo o município de Antônio Carlos e grande parte do município de Biguaçu. A geologia é formada pelos terrenos pré-cambriano e cobertura sedimentar cenozóica de origem fluvial e marinha. Na geomorfologia, o embasamento cristalino corresponde ao modelado de dissecação (75,97% da área total da bacia) e os depósitos quaternários são representados pelo modelado de acumulação (24,03% do total da bacia). Os solos dominantes são os cambissolos, seguidos dos argissolos vermelho-amarelos, gleissolos e neosssolos. A vegetação típica é a mata atlântica, sendo dominante a vegetação secundária (capoeirões e capoeiras). Foram produzidos nove mapas temáticos: hipsométrico, clinográfico, geológico, unidades do relevo, solos, ocupação e uso da terra, fragilidade ambiental, legislação ambiental e zoneamento ambiental, todos na escala original 1: 50.000. Os problemas ambientais levantados na pesquisa foram: ausência de mata ciliar ao longo dos rios em áreas de preservação permanente, poluição dos recursos hídricos superficiais por esgotos domésticos e resíduos de agrotóxicos, lixo, erosão nas margens dos rios e assoreamento da foz do rio Biguaçu. No município de Biguaçu a indústria química (plásticos) é a principal atividade econômica. Destaca-se também o cultivo de grama e de hortaliças. No município de Antônio Carlos o destaque da economia é o cultivo de hortaliças. No mapa de zoneamento ambiental foram definidas zonas produtivas (rural e urbana) e a zona de restrições legais (vegetação secundária, manguezal, área de proteção permanente de rios e RPPN). Nas diretrizes para o ordenamento territorial ambiental foram propostas seis unidades de intervenções e gestão: marinha, flúviomarinha, planície fluvial, Serra de São Miguel e Planalto de Biguaçu/Três Riachos e Planalto de Cimeira. Foram propostas ações visando a mitigação do quadro geral de degradação ambiental na qual está inserida a bacia do rio Biguaçu. Através de projetos e estudos, as ações sugeridas visam a compatibilização da utilização econômica dos recursos da natureza com a preservação do meio físico-biótico, promovendo a qualidade de vida das populações humanas. / \"Socio-environmental analysis of Biguaçu River Basin - SC: subsides to the planning and territorial ordaining\" is a study that aims to an integrated analysis of information on the natural and socio-economical aspects which. The basin area is of 389.7 Km2, and contains all Antonio Carlos District and most of Biguaçu District. The geology is formed by the Precambrian lands and Cenozoic sedimentary cover from fluvial and marine origin. In geomorphology, the crystalline base corresponds to the dissection modeling (75.97% of the basin total area) and the quaternary deposits are represented by the accumulation modeling (24.03% of the total of the basin). The dominating soils are the Cambisoils, followed by the red-yellow Clay soils, Gley soils and Neosoils. The typical vegetation is the Atlantic Tropical Forest, in which the secondary vegetation is dominant (dense forest and coppice). Nine thematic maps have been produced: hypsometric, clinographic, geologic, relief unities, soils, occupation and soil usage, environmental fragility, environmental legislation and environmental zoning, all in the original scale of 1:50.000. The following environmental problems have been found in the research: lack of riparian vegetation in areas of permanent preservation, superficial hydric recourses polluted by domestic sewage and agrotoxic waste residues, garbage, erosion on the margins of the rivers and silting of Biguaçu River mouth. In Biguaçu District, the chemical industry (plastics) is the main economical activity. Grass and vegetable growth is also a highlight. In Antonio Carlos District the most important activity is the vegetable growth. In the environmental zoning map, productive zones (rural and urban) and the legal restriction zone (secondary vegetation, mangrove, river permanent protection area and RPPN) have been defined. In the guidelines for the environmental territorial ordaining, six units of intervention and management have been proposed: marine, fluvial-marine, fluvial plain, São Miguel mountain chain and Biguaçu plateau/Três Riachos and Cimeira plateau. Actions have been proposed, aiming to a mitigation of the general picture of environmental degradation in which is Biguaçu River Basin. Through projects and studies, the suggested actions aim to the compatibilization of the economical utilization of the natural resources, with the preservation of the physical-biotic environment, promoting life quality for the human populations.

O trabalho discute a questão da precificação eficiente em sistemas de distribuição de energia, abordando desde a teoria econômica clássica aplicada aos modelos de produção e transporte da energia, passando por uma avaliação crítica da atual metodologia de estrutura tarifária vigente no Brasil, até o detalhamento de uma proposta consistente e simplificadora de estrutura de preços para a atividade da distribuição de energia. A teoria de monopólios naturais é o pano de fundo para uma discussão integrada dos modelos clássicos de estrutura de preços para o transporte da energia elétrica. Nesta avaliação do estado da arte, são abordadas as teorias da precificação linear, da precificação não linear e da precificação de ponta. A atual metodologia nacional de cálculo da estrutura tarifária de uso das redes de distribuição, aplicada pela Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica ANEEL, é revisitada sob uma visão técnica crítica. Como resultado, são desconstruídos alguns conceitos e processos vigentes pela constatação de uma excessiva complexidade operacional aliada a uma carência de fundamentação econômica e matemática. Por fim, é proposta uma metodologia simplificadora para a estrutura de preços de uso das redes de distribuição de energia, objetivando maior eficiência econômica, maior simplicidade operacional na aplicação e sólida fundamentação teórica, reduzindo arbitrariedades e subjetividades existentes na atual metodologia. / The present work discusses the question of efficient pricing on electric power distribution systems. The subject is approached from the discussion of the classical economic theory applied to energy production and transport models, passing through a critical evaluation of the current rate structure used in Brazil, to the description of a consistent and simplified proposal for the electric power distribution rate design. The theory of natural monopolies is the background of an integrated discussion on classical rate design models concerning the electric energy transportation activity. By the classical problem analysis, some theories commonly approached are linear pricing, non linear pricing and peak load pricing. The current Brazilian methodology used for the rate design of the usage of distribution networks, applied by the National Regulatory Agency (ANEEL), is revisited under a critical technical vision. As a result, some concepts are reassessed due to the observed excessive operational complexity allied to the lack of economical and statistical foundation. Finally, a simplified methodology for the rate structure of the usage of electrical distribution networks is proposed. The methodology aims, at the same time, greater economic efficiency, simpler operational application and a solid theoretical foundation, thereby reducing arbitrariness and subjectivity found in the current methodology.

<p>As pedagogical innovations continue to be developed and adopted in engineering education, it is important to understand how these innovations affect the students’ experiences and achievements. A common data analysis practice when evaluating educational innovations is to aggregate the data from all of the students together. However, this data aggregation inherently biases the results toward the characteristics of the dominant student group, leaving the experiences of minority groups largely unexplored. In this dissertation, I investigate the students’ experiences and achievements in an undergraduate dynamics course, and I intentionally use analysis methods that disaggregate the data to better understand the behaviors and performance of smaller subgroups of students, not just the majority.</p> <p> This dissertation presents three studies that examine: 1) the validity, reliability, and fairness of a standardized set of conceptual questions on the final exam, with a focus on gender fairness, 2) how and why the students use the available resources, and 3) how the students’ holistic resource usage patterns relate to their academic achievement. My motivation for choosing these studies was that conceptual assessments and customized resources are two key components of the learning environment for the dynamics course. However, the quality of the conceptual exam questions used for the course had yet to be evaluated. Similarly, the learning environment for the course incorporates many customized resources, including a custom-written “lecturebook” (a hybrid of a textbook and a workbook) and an extensive online library of videos, but little was known about how the students used these resources, or how the students’ pattern of resource usage related to their performance in the course. </p> <p> The first study in this dissertation used multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis to investigate item-level gender bias in a 12-item Abbreviated Dynamics Concept Inventory (aDCI), which was a set of standardized conceptual questions included on the final exam. The results suggested that two items were slightly biased against women, with stereotypically-masculine contexts and content as possible sources of the bias. The bias in the aDCI items likely unfairly lowered some women’s final exam scores, highlighting the need for engineering educators to consider the fairness of their assessments.</p> <p> The second study used a cluster analysis of survey responses to identify nine archetypical patterns of resource usage, all of which differed from the average resource-usage pattern of the aggregated sample. An analysis of forty-four student interviews, organized by resource-usage cluster, determined that students exhibited their resource-usage behaviors largely because of how they perceived the resource’s availability, accessibility, and quality. The results illustrate that there is no “typical” way in which the students used the resources, so it is important for instructors to consider a wide array of usage behaviors when designing a course’s learning environment and resources.</p> <p> The third study utilized a multiple regression analysis to find that <i>on average</i> a student’s resource-usage pattern is not related to their achievement when controlling for many other demographic, cognitive, and non-cognitive factors that can affect resource usage and performance. However, two individual resource-usage patterns were significantly related to achievement. Students who primarily used their lecturebook and their peers for support performed better than their similar peers in other resource-usage clusters. Conversely, students who rarely used their lecturebook had lower course grades than their peers. Drawing from the results of the second study, general study-habit suggestions for the students in the course were extracted from the qualitative themes found in the interviews of the students in these two clusters.</p> <p> Overall, the results of these three studies highlight how the experiences and achievements of smaller groups of students would go unnoticed if analytical methods that only utilized aggregated data were used. While the setting of this research is specific to the assessments and resources of a given dynamics course, the methods used to disaggregate the data to gain insights about different subgroups of students are applicable to many engineering education contexts. My hope is that this work inspires more researchers to consider the experiences of all students, not just those of the majority.</p>

Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-23T14:04:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 monica pertel.pdf: 1272767 bytes, checksum: 60a2549781d95544d6d9427008b1fde9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-07-09 / A busca pela sustentabilidade no meio urbano compreende o uso das mais variadas práticas possíveis de conservação dos recursos como água e energia. Nesse sentido, a parcela referente ao consumo de água e energia nas residências é estratégica para a concepção de programas de conservação desses recursos em áreas urbanas, visto que o consumo residencial é responsável por uma grande parcela do consumo urbano, chegando a cerca de 80% em Minas Gerais. Visando avaliar um método de conservação de água, esse trabalho avaliou quantitativamente a economia gerada em uma edificação dotada de um sistema de reúso de águas cinza quando comparada a uma edificação com sistema hidrossanitário convencional. O monitoramento foi realizado de fevereiro a setembro de 2007 no edifício convencional e de fevereiro a setembro de 2008 naquele com sistema reúso de águas cinza, por meio de leituras diárias, sempre às 8h, de todos os hidrômetros e medidores de energia, além do levantamento de perfis de consumo de 24h. O consumo energético das bombas de recalque foi medido por meio eletrônico com a instalação de um analisador de energia. O consumo de água, avaliado através de perfis horários e dos indicadores per capita, por área e por dormitório, foi consistentemente mais elevado no edifício convencional, havendo um maior consumo nos meses de inverno nas duas edificações. Cerca de 32% da água cinza produzida são aproveitados como água de reúso na edificação, sendo que o volume de água de reúso utilizado é cerca de 22% do consumo total na edificação. Em termos energéticos, no edifício convencional o consumo das bombas de recalque foi de cerca de 8% do total de energia consumida. No dotado de reúso o consumo foi de 7% do total de energia consumida, sendo que 3% das bombas de água potável e 4% das bombas de reúso. Os valores altos de consumo energético das bombas sugerem uma maior atenção aos projetos de bombeamento. Foi observado um indicador de 1,40kWh/m³ para o edifício convencional e de 0,88kWh/m³ para o dotado de reúso. A avaliação de perdas realizada por meio da setorização permitiu inferir que há, possivelmente um vazamento de cerca de 1,88m³/dia invisível na edificação dotada de reúso antes do reservatório superior. Foi observado erros de medição nos hidrômetros das colunas de abastecimento para pequenas vazões. Não foram observados vazamentos nos apartamentos. Os resultados demonstram a importância do reúso como forma de conservação de água potável e de redução do esgoto sanitário. / The pursuit of urban sustainability entails the most diverse water and energy conservation praxes. In this context, the rational use of water and energy by residential buildings plays a strategic role in the conception of natural resources conservation programs in urban areas, since the residential usage is responsible for as much as 80% in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Seeking the evaluation of a water conservation method, the present work examined quantitatively the economic gain generated in a residential building outfitted with a gray water reuse system opposed to a building with conventional hydro-sanitary system. Data was collected from February to September of 2007 in the conventional building and from February to September of 2008 in the one equipped with the gray water reuse system. Data collection comprises daily readings, at 8:00 a.m., of the water and electricity consumption, as well as the 24h usage profile. The water pump electrical consumption was measured by an electronic gauge, installed on each pump. Based on the hourly usage profiles, per capita, per area and per bedroom, the water usage was consistently higher in the conventional building and more intense over the winter in both buildings. Approximately 32% of the produced gray water was diverted and reused, representing 22% of the total water consumption in the building. In terms of the electrical usage, the water pumps installed in the conventional residential building represented 8% of the total spent energy, while in the building outfitted with the gray water reuse system, it accounted for 7% of the total, from which 3% were used on the drinking water pumping system and 4% in the gray water system. The high electrical usage by the pumps suggests that the water systems should be more carefully designed. Energy consumption per cubic meter of conveyed water of 1,40kWh/m3 was observed in the conventional building, while in the one equipped with gray water reuse systems, a lower value of 0.88kWh/m3 was observed. The evaluation of water losses carried out by building sections, allowed the identification of a leakage of 1,88m3/day, in the building equipped with the gray water reuse system invisible by other means. Errors in the water flow meter were observed at low flow conditions. No evident leakages were observed inside the residences. The results show the potential of gray water reuse as water conservation and waste water reduction praxes.