Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T13:19:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 5058240 bytes, checksum: ff69e0ffa240351075407c15de737da7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-06-27 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The majority of studies on the policies of Adult Education are based mainly on issues related to the implementation of programs. These programs are such as, but not limited to: reasons for school evasion, aspects of training and/or teaching practices, and adaptation of curriculum and teaching methodologies. Thus, a scarcity of studies addressing the consequences of the actions of Adult Education programs in the daily life of the subjects who participated in them, and especially in their families, can be identified. In this context, this study aimed to analyze the implications of the National Program for Integration of Professional Education with Basic Education in an Adult Education Format PROEJA in the personal and family lives as well as the social development of its graduates. Specifically, its objectives were: To characterize the PROEJA in its principles, propositions and public at the IFMG Campus in Bambuí; to characterize the socioeconomic profile of PROEJA graduates and their families, to identify the determinants of integration of the graduates into the program, to analyze the insights of graduates on the changes in their lives particularly those related to their quality life and that of their families following their entrance into PROEJA. The research's outlining followed a qualitative approach. The methodological procedures used consisted of document research, complemented by semi-structured interviews conducted with 31 graduates of PROEJA at the IFMG Campus in Bambuí, particularly from courses in Business Management, Agricultural Mechanics and Automotive Mechanics. The collected data was analyzed using the Content Analysis Method through thematic categories predefined from theoretical and empirical indicators taking into account the proposed objectives for the research. The results showed that these subjects returned to the schooling process, through PROEJA, due to recognition of what a lack of schooling made in their lives. In their evaluations, the insertion into an Adult Education Program was considered as a possibility to complete the final stage of Basic Education, and develop a vocational training. From the standpoint of the influence of PROEJA on improving their quality of life, the survey revealed that the graduates perceived improvements, especially in social, intellectual and emotional constructs. Overall, it was concluded that PROEJA brought improvements in the quality of life to most of the students and their families, especially by promoting skills and competencies of existing skills. So in conclusion, it is considered that the proposed objectives were achieved satisfactorily, and that this research can contribute to broader discussions about the changes PROEJA is capable of generating in the lives of its students and their families. / A maioria dos estudos sobre as políticas da EJA encontra-se ancorados, principalmente, nas questões relacionadas à operacionalização dos programas, tais como motivos da evasão escolar, aspectos da formação e/ou das práticas docentes, adequação do currículo, metodologias de ensino, entre outros. Identifica-se, assim, uma escassez de estudos que abordam os reflexos das ações dos programas de EJA no cotidiano de vida dos sujeitos que delas participaram e, sobretudo, de suas respectivas famílias. É neste contexto que o presente estudo teve como objetivo geral analisar as implicações do Programa Nacional de Integração da Educação Profissional com a Educação Básica na Modalidade de Educação de Jovens e Adultos PROEJA na vida pessoal, familiar e social dos seus egressos. Especificamente, foram seus objetivos: caracterizar o PROEJA em seus princípios, proposições e público no IFMG Campus Bambuí; caracterizar o perfil socioeconômico dos egressos do PROEJA e de suas famílias; identificar os fatores determinantes de inserção dos egressos no Programa; analisar as concepções dos egressos sobre as mudanças ocorridas em suas vidas, particularmente, em relação à qualidade de vida desses e à de suas famílias, pelo ingresso no PROEJA. O delineamento da pesquisa seguiu a abordagem qualitativa. Os procedimentos metodológicos utilizados consistiram de pesquisa documental, complementada com entrevista semi-estruturada realizada com 31 egressos do PROEJA do IFMG Campus Bambuí, particularmente dos cursos técnicos em Gestão Comercial, Mecânica Agrícola e Mecânica Automotiva. Os dados obtidos foram analisados por meio do Método de Análise de Conteúdo, mediante categorias temáticas previamente definidas a partir de indicadores empíricos e teóricos, tendo em vista os objetivos propostos para a pesquisa. Os resultados mostraram que estes sujeitos retornaram ao processo de escolarização, por meio do PROEJA, pelo reconhecimento da falta que fez a escolaridade em suas vidas. Em suas avaliações, a inserção em um Programa de Educação de Jovens e Adultos é considerada como possibilidade de concluir a etapa final da Educação Básica, além de desenvolver uma formação profissional. Do ponto de vista da influência do PROEJA na melhoria da qualidade de vida, a pesquisa revelou que os egressos perceberam melhorias, principalmente, nas dimensões social, intelectual e emocional. De uma forma geral, pôde-se concluir que o PROEJA trouxe melhorias na qualidade de vida da maioria dos pesquisados e de suas famílias, principalmente pela promoção das capacidades e competências do ser, estar e fazer. Considera-se que os objetivos propostos foram alcançados satisfatoriamente e que essa pesquisa poderá contribuir para a ampliação das discussões sobre as mudanças que o PROEJA é capaz de gerar na vida de seus educandos e de suas famílias.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T13:16:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 parte1.pdf: 3036963 bytes, checksum: 5247e6d6c3b18fc97322f51dcc64aff3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-03-18 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This thesis aimed at knowing the adequacy of the functional theory of human values in the ambit within and between cultures. Specifically, the content and structure of values proposed by this theory were tested. In this sense, two studies were carried out. Study 1 tested the content hypotheses and structure of values, considering a sample of 34,020 participants from all five regions of Brazil. They had a mean age of 26 years, being equally distributed by gender. In order to test these hypotheses, the sample was divided by region: North (n = 2328), Northeast (n = 17,431), Midwest (n = 2735), Southeast (n = 8554) and south (n = 2919). Initially, the content hypothesis was verified using confirmatory factor analysis (AFC), assuming that the 18 values could be represented in six values subfunctions (original model), confronting it with alternative factor structures (uni, bi, tri and pentafactorial). Regardless of region, the original model was the most adequate, with fit indexes acceptable (GFI, RMSEA). Subsequently, it was tested the structure hypothesis by confirmatory (Proxscal) multidimensional scaling (MDS), adopting the Tucker s Phi as an indicator of model fit. Consistently, in the five regions this value was above the recommended (0.90), indicating that the values could be represented in a space 3 (type of orientation: personal, social and central) x 2 (type of motivation: materialistic and idealistic). Study 2 aimed to replicate these findings, considering a total sample of 4,890 participants, whose mean age was 24.2 years, most female (57.7%), distributed in 12 countries: Germany (n = 156) , Argentina (n = 406), Brazil (n = 1,235), Colombia (n = 230), Spain (n = 874), Philippines (n = 279), Honduras (n = 199), England (n = 298); Israel (n = 167), Mexico (n = 274), New Zealand (n = 257) and Peru (n = 615). In the case of the content hypothesis, were tested by ACF the original model (hexafatorial) and alternatives (uni, bi, tri and pentafactorial), confirming in seven countries (Germany, Brazil, Spain, England, Israel, New Zealand, and Peru) better adequacy of the original model (Δχ ²; ECVI); in the other five countries (Argentina, Colombia, Philippines, Honduras and Mexico) the best models were the penta and hexafatorial, which did not differ between each other. In addition, it was tested the factorial invariance of the original model (hexafatorial), which gathered the configural, metric and structural invariance properties. As for the structure hypothesis, in all countries the fit indicator (Tucker's Phi) was adequate (φ ≥ 0.93), allowing to conclude that the values are configured in a 3 x 2 space, as theorized. It was sought to determine whether this structure remained equivalent across countries, by Generalized Procrustes Analysis (GPA), which allowed proving that the structure was similar in through the different countries (total adjustment greater than 0.90, average values of φ and Raw Stress of 0.94 and 0.11, respectively). It was concluded that, besides theoretically grounded, integrative and parsimonious, the functional theory of human values gathers empirical evidence of its suitability in Brazil and in other countries. Therefore, it can be properly used to understand human values and its correlates. / Esta tese objetivou conhecer a adequação da Teoria funcionalista dos valores humanos nos âmbitos intra e intercultural. Concretamente, testaram-se as hipóteses de conteúdo e estrutura dos valores proposta por esta teoria. Neste sentido, realizaram-se dois estudos. O Estudo 1 considerou uma amostra de 34.020 participantes das cinco regiões do Brasil. Estes tinham idade média de 26 anos, sendo equitativamente distribuídos quando ao sexo. Com o fim de testar tais hipóteses, a amostra foi dividida segundo a região: Norte (n = 2.328), Nordeste (n = 17.431), Centro-Oeste (n = 2.735), Sudeste (n = 8.554) e Sul (n = 2.919). Inicialmente, por meio de análise fatorial confirmatória (AFC), checou-se a hipótese de conteúdo, admitindo que os 18 valores poderiam ser representados em seis subfunções valorativas (modelo original), confrontando-o com estruturas fatoriais alternativas (uni, bi, tri e pentafatorial). Independente da região, o modelo original foi o mais adequado, apresentando indicadores de ajuste aceitáveis (GFI, RMSEA). Posteriormente, testou-se a hipótese de estrutura por meio de escalonamento multidimensional (EMD) confirmatório (Proxscal), adotando o Phi de Tucker (ϕ) como indicador de ajuste do modelo. Coerentemente, nas cinco regiões este indicador se situou acima do recomendado (0,90), indicando que os valores poderiam ser representados em um espaço 3 (tipo de orientação: pessoal, central e social) x 2 (tipo de motivador: materialista e idealista). O Estudo 2 teve como objetivo replicar estes achados, considerando uma amostra total de 4.890 participantes, cuja idade média foi de 24.2 anos, sendo a maioria do sexo feminino (57,7%), distribuídos em 12 países: Alemanha (n = 156), Argentina (n = 406), Brasil (n = 1.235), Colômbia (n = 230), Espanha (n = 874), Filipinas (n = 279), Honduras (n = 199), Inglaterra (n = 298), Israel (n = 167), México (n = 274), Nova Zelândia (n = 257) e Peru (n = 615). No caso da hipótese de conteúdo, testaram-se por meio de AFC o modelo original (hexafatorial) e os alternativos (uni, bi, tri e pentafatorial), confirmando-se em sete países (Alemanha, Brasil, Espanha, Inglaterra, Israel, Nova Zelândia e Peru) a adequação melhor do modelo original (Δχ², ECVI); nos outros cinco países (Argentina, Colômbia, Filipinas, Honduras e México) os melhores modelos foram os penta e hexafatorial, não diferindo entre eles. Além disso, testou-se a invariância fatorial do modelo original (hexafatorial), que reuniu as propriedade de invariância configural, métrica e estrutural. Quanto à hipótese de estrutura, em todos os países o indicador de ajuste (Phi de Tucker) se mostrou adequado (ϕ ≥ 0,93), permitindo afirmar que os valores se configuram em um espaço 3 x 2, como teorizado. Buscou-se ainda verificar se esta estrutura se mantinha equivalente através dos países, realizando análises procrustes generalizadas (APG), as quais permitiram comprovar que a estrutura era similar nos diversos países (ajuste total superior a 0,90; valores médios de ϕ e Raw Stress de 0,94 e 0,11, respectivamente). Concluiu-se que, além de fundamentada, parcimoniosa e integradora, a Teoria funcionalista dos valores humanos reúne evidências empíricas de sua adequação tanto no Brasil como em outros países. Portanto, poderá ser utilizada para compreender os valores humanos e seus correlatos.

Houve um crescimento substancial constatado nos últimos anos no número de pessoas adotando dietas veganas em várias áreas do mundo, incluindo nas Américas, na Europa e em diferentes regiões da Ásia. Em 2012, já existiam cerca de 16 milhões, 5 milhões e 1,68 milhão de pessoas veganas nos Estados Unidos, Brasil e Inglaterra, respectivamente. Questões de saúde, de meio ambiente e de direitos dos animais são algumas das preocupações do consumidor vegano. Essas causalidades também são características do consumo consciente. O consumo de produtos está conduzido por fatores econômicos, sociais, culturais, pessoais e ambientais que atuam sobre o fator a decisão de compra e de o comportamento do consumidor. Nesse sentido, questiona-se qual é o perfil e suas principais motivações que influenciam o comportamento do consumidor vegano no Brasil Para obter essa resposta, foram escritos dois artigos, a fim de atender os seguintes objetivos: Artigo I) contextualizar o estado da arte do consumo vegano; e Artigo II) caracterizar o perfil dos consumidores veganos; e identificar e analisar as motivações que orientam e influenciam o comportamento de consumidores veganos, com base na Teoria do Comportamento Planejado (TCP). Para o consumidor vegano, a TCP auxilia na abordagem das motivações que fazem parte para a compreensão do comportamento do consumidor planejado. Os resultados encontrados no primeiro artigo apresentam que as pesquisas sobre o consumo vegano cresce a partir de 2009, sendo um dos países que mais pesquisam sobre o assunto são os Estados Unidos, com 22 artigos. Além disso, ressalta-se que ao longo dos anos foram descobertas novas pesquisas que ratificam a importância de os indivíduos aderirem uma dieta vegana, por questões de saúde, de meio ambiente, corroborando para o consumo consciente Já no segundo artigo, os resultados mostram que a maioria dos consumidores veganos são do sexo feminino, jovens, solteiros, com ensino superior completo e pós-graduação e com menos e mais de um ano de veganismo. As principais variáveis que influenciam e orientam o comportamento do consumidor vegano estão relacionadas a sua saúde, às intenções comportamentais, aos alimentos ecoinovadores, ao direito dos animais e ao meio ambiente. Portanto, o comportamento do consumidor vegano, quando aplicado à TCP, revela que as atitudes, normas subjetivas e controle percebido geram um comportamento do consumidor planejado ao veganismo. Conclui-se que o consumo vegano tornou-se um nicho de mercado, contribuindo para a produção de alimentos ecoinovadores. Sob o ponto de vista do agronegócio, salienta-se que novas cadeias de produção de alimentos, diferenciação de produtos, estímulo à produção de orgânicos, estratégias de mercado e ampliação da oferta para atender a demanda são algumas ações positivas que podem impactar e promover a expansão desse nicho de mercado. / There has been substantial growth in recent years in the number of people adopting vegan diets in various areas of the world, including in the Americas, Europe and different regions of Asia. In 2012, there were already around 16 million, 5 million and 1.68 million vegans in the United States, Brazil and England, respectively. Health, environment and animal rights issues are some of the concerns of the vegan consumer. These causalities are also characteristic of conscious consumption. The consumption of products is driven by economic, social, cultural, personal and environmental factors that act on the buying decision factor and consumer behavior. In this sense, it is questioned what is the profile and its main motivations that influence the behavior of the vegan consumer in Brazil To obtain this answer, two articles were written in order to meet the following objectives: Article I) contextualize the state of the art of vegan consumption; and Article II) characterize the profile of vegan consumers; and to identify and analyze the motivations that guide and influence the behavior of vegan consumers, based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TCP). For the vegan consumer, TCP assists in approaching the motivations that are part of understanding the intended consumer behavior. The results found in the first article show that research on vegan consumption grows from 2009, with one of the most researched countries being the United States, with 22 articles. In addition, it is emphasized that over the years new research has been discovered that ratify the importance of individuals adhering to a vegan diet, for health reasons, of the environment, corroborating for conscious consumption. The second article, the results show that the majority of vegan consumers are female, young, single, with full college and postgraduate education and with less than and more than one year of veganism. The main variables that influence and guide the behavior of the vegan consumer are related to their health, behavioral intentions, ecoinovator foods, animal rights and the environment Therefore, vegan consumer behavior, when applied to TCP, reveals that attitudes, subjective norms and perceived control generate consumer behavior designed for veganism. Concluded that vegan consumption has become a niche market, contributing to the production of ecoinovadores foods. The point of view of agribusiness, it should be pointed out that new food production chains, product differentiation, organic production incentives, market strategies and supply expansion to meet demand are some positive actions that can impact and promote expansion of this niche market.

O reconhecimento dos aspectos socioculturais e ambientais da agricultura a partir da década de 1990 promoveram a ascensão de novos conceitos e a percepção da agricultura para além das suas funções produtivas, despontando no meio rural novas ocupações não agrícolas, como o turismo rural. Deste modo, a crescente busca pela integração entre cidade e campo através de atividades como o agroturismo, da mesma forma que o reconhecimento da necessidade de valorização do modo de vida rural e a importância da conscientização de crianças e jovens sobre as atividades de produção agropecuária, em especial a produção de alimentos, despertaram o aparecimento de uma nova modalidade de turismo rural voltada a prática pedagógica e reconhecida como uma ferramenta potencial para o desenvolvimento local, o Turismo Rural Pedagógico (TRP). Assim, esta dissertação propôs-se a investigar as motivações e os benefícios socioeconômicos do TRP para as famílias e a comunidade ao entorno do projeto Viva Ciranda e roteiro Caminhos Rurais, assim como identificar o perfil dos empreendedores e empreendimento, motivações, benefícios e a interação entre empreendedores e suas comunidades rurais. Para tanto, foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas e abertas com os empreendedores e comunidade local. Já para a identificação das motivações foram utilizadas questões fechadas através da escala de Likert. A análise dos dados qualitativos foi realizada através da categorização das respostas e do software Web-QDA, já os dados quantitativos foram organizados e tabulados no software Excel. Os resultados revelaram que o TRP consolida-se, nas experiências pesquisadas, como uma interessante opção de investimento e de estratégia de desenvolvimento local, atraindo diferentes perfis de empreendedores e de estabelecimentos. Observou-se que, embora represente uma oportunidade de diversificação econômica, as principais motivações para iniciar e permanecer no TRP, bem como os principais benefícios reconhecidos pelos empreendedores, estão vinculados aos aspectos sociais como a valorização do meio rural, a satisfação pessoal e a conexão entre os meios rural e urbano. Além disso, a pesquisa verificou o reconhecimento e a valorização dessa prática pela comunidade ao entorno das propriedades pedagógicas. / The recognition of the socio-cultural and environmental aspects of agriculture from the 1990s brought about new concepts and the perception of agriculture beyond its productive role, emerging non-agricultural activities in rural areas, such as rural tourism. Therefore, the pursuit of integration between city and country through activities such as agritourism as well as the acceptance of the need for rural appreciation and children and young people’s awareness about agricultural production, especially food production aroused the emergence of a new type of rural tourism focused on pedagogical practices, which is recognized as a potential tool for local development: the Pedagogical rural tourism (PRT). Accordingly, this study aimed to investigate the motivations and socio-economic benefits of the PRT for families and community around Viva Ciranda project and Roteiro Caminhos Rurais, identifying the profile of entrepreneurs and enterprise, motivations, benefits, and the interaction between entrepreneurs and their rural communities. For this purpose, semi-structured and open interviews with entrepreneurs and local community were designed. Closed questions using Likert scale were applied to identify the motivations. Qualitative data analysis was performed through both categorization of responses and WEB-QDA software. Quantitative data were organized and tabulated in Excel software. The results revealed the PRT establishes itself as an appealing investment option and local development strategy, attracting different profiles of entrepreneurs and institutions. In spite of representing an opportunity for economic diversification, the main inducement to start and stay in the PRT as well as its main benefits are related to social issues such as appreciation of rural environment, personal satisfaction and the connection between rural and urban. Besides that, the appreciation of this practice by the community around the pedagogical properties was observed.

O reconhecimento dos aspectos socioculturais e ambientais da agricultura a partir da década de 1990 promoveram a ascensão de novos conceitos e a percepção da agricultura para além das suas funções produtivas, despontando no meio rural novas ocupações não agrícolas, como o turismo rural. Deste modo, a crescente busca pela integração entre cidade e campo através de atividades como o agroturismo, da mesma forma que o reconhecimento da necessidade de valorização do modo de vida rural e a importância da conscientização de crianças e jovens sobre as atividades de produção agropecuária, em especial a produção de alimentos, despertaram o aparecimento de uma nova modalidade de turismo rural voltada a prática pedagógica e reconhecida como uma ferramenta potencial para o desenvolvimento local, o Turismo Rural Pedagógico (TRP). Assim, esta dissertação propôs-se a investigar as motivações e os benefícios socioeconômicos do TRP para as famílias e a comunidade ao entorno do projeto Viva Ciranda e roteiro Caminhos Rurais, assim como identificar o perfil dos empreendedores e empreendimento, motivações, benefícios e a interação entre empreendedores e suas comunidades rurais. Para tanto, foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas e abertas com os empreendedores e comunidade local. Já para a identificação das motivações foram utilizadas questões fechadas através da escala de Likert. A análise dos dados qualitativos foi realizada através da categorização das respostas e do software Web-QDA, já os dados quantitativos foram organizados e tabulados no software Excel. Os resultados revelaram que o TRP consolida-se, nas experiências pesquisadas, como uma interessante opção de investimento e de estratégia de desenvolvimento local, atraindo diferentes perfis de empreendedores e de estabelecimentos. Observou-se que, embora represente uma oportunidade de diversificação econômica, as principais motivações para iniciar e permanecer no TRP, bem como os principais benefícios reconhecidos pelos empreendedores, estão vinculados aos aspectos sociais como a valorização do meio rural, a satisfação pessoal e a conexão entre os meios rural e urbano. Além disso, a pesquisa verificou o reconhecimento e a valorização dessa prática pela comunidade ao entorno das propriedades pedagógicas. / The recognition of the socio-cultural and environmental aspects of agriculture from the 1990s brought about new concepts and the perception of agriculture beyond its productive role, emerging non-agricultural activities in rural areas, such as rural tourism. Therefore, the pursuit of integration between city and country through activities such as agritourism as well as the acceptance of the need for rural appreciation and children and young people’s awareness about agricultural production, especially food production aroused the emergence of a new type of rural tourism focused on pedagogical practices, which is recognized as a potential tool for local development: the Pedagogical rural tourism (PRT). Accordingly, this study aimed to investigate the motivations and socio-economic benefits of the PRT for families and community around Viva Ciranda project and Roteiro Caminhos Rurais, identifying the profile of entrepreneurs and enterprise, motivations, benefits, and the interaction between entrepreneurs and their rural communities. For this purpose, semi-structured and open interviews with entrepreneurs and local community were designed. Closed questions using Likert scale were applied to identify the motivations. Qualitative data analysis was performed through both categorization of responses and WEB-QDA software. Quantitative data were organized and tabulated in Excel software. The results revealed the PRT establishes itself as an appealing investment option and local development strategy, attracting different profiles of entrepreneurs and institutions. In spite of representing an opportunity for economic diversification, the main inducement to start and stay in the PRT as well as its main benefits are related to social issues such as appreciation of rural environment, personal satisfaction and the connection between rural and urban. Besides that, the appreciation of this practice by the community around the pedagogical properties was observed.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e TecnolÃgico / Esta pesquisa investiga alguns aspectos da difÃcil questÃo dos fatores pelos quais se pode considerar um enunciado inadequado à situaÃÃo de interaÃÃo em que à usado e à gramÃtica da lÃngua, conforme concepÃÃo funcionalista de gramÃtica como sistema sensÃvel Ãs pressÃes do uso. PropÃe uma tipologia que engloba os tipos de inadequaÃÃo encontrados no corpus de anÃlise, correlacionados a um quadro em que a inadequaÃÃo seja vista como nÃo-satisfaÃÃo de uma demanda funcional. A hipÃtese bÃsica, considerando que demandas internas e externas ao sistema competem entre si pela expressÃo morfossintÃtica (DUBOIS, 1985), à a de que essa competiÃÃo entre motivaÃÃes pragmÃticas, semÃnticas e morfossintÃticas pode nÃo se resolver satisfatoriamente em algumas situaÃÃes de uso da lÃngua, produzindo-se construÃÃes inadequadas quanto a algum tipo de motivaÃÃo. A anÃlise serve-se do instrumental teÃrico da GramÃtica Discursivo-Funcional (HENGEVELD; MACKENZIE, 2008), que, ao compreender a gramÃtica como parte de um modelo de interaÃÃo verbal, permite dar conta dos fatores cognitivos, interacionais e textuais que tÃm impacto nos aspectos gramaticais da predicaÃÃo. Trabalhamos com um corpus constituÃdo principalmente por um conjunto de enunciados considerados inadequados, retirados de um banco de redaÃÃes escolares de estudantes do Ensino MÃdio da rede pÃblica em Fortaleza, coletado por nÃs. / This research analyzes some aspects of the question of the factors through which it can be considered that a sentence is inadequate concerning the interaction event in which it is used and the grammar of the specific language, according to a functionalist view of language as a system flexible when faced with usage pressure. It proposes a typology contemplating the types of inadequate usages found in the corpus, related to a frame in which the inadequate usage is seen as the non-satisfaction of a functional demand. Considering that pragmatic and semantic motivations compete for the morphosyntactic expression (DUBOIS, 1987), the basic hypothesis is that competing motivations can be left unsolved so that an inadequate construction is produced. The analysis is based on the theory of Functional-Discourse Grammar (HENGEVELD; MACKENZIE, 2008). This theory comprehends the grammar as part of a wider model of verbal interaction, so that it can account of the cognitive, interactive and textual factors which have an impact on the grammatical aspects of the predication. The corpus takes a set of presumably inadequate sentences collected from a bank of high school studentsâ texts.

Developing artificial agents able to autonomously discover new goals, to select them and learn the related skills is an important challenge for robotics. This becomes even crucial if we want robots to interact with real environments where they have to face many unpredictable problems and where it is not clear which skills will be the more suitable to solve them. The ability to learn and store multiple skills in order to use them when required is one of the main characteristics of biological agents: forming ample repertoires of actions is important to widen the possibility for an agent to better adapt to different environments and to improve its chance of survival and reproduction. Moreover, humans and other mammals explore the environment and learn new skills not only on the basis of reward-related stimuli but also on the basis of novel or unexpected neutral stimuli. The mechanisms related to this kind of learning processes have been studied under the heading of “Intrinsic Motivations” (IMs), and in the last decades the concept of IMs have been used in developmental and autonomous robotics to foster an artificial curiosity that can improve the autonomy and versatility of artificial agents. In the research presented in this thesis I focus on the development of open-ended learning robots able to autonomously discover interesting events in the environment and autonomously learn the skills necessary to reproduce those events. In particular, this research focuses on the role that IMs can play in fostering those processes and in improving the autonomy and versatility of artificial agents. Taking inspiration from recent and past research in this field, I tackle some of the interesting open challenges related to IMs and to the implementation of intrinsically motivated robots. I first focus on the neurophysiology underlying IM learning signals, and in particular on the relations between IMs and phasic dopamine (DA). With the support of a first computational model, I propose a new hypothesis that addresses the dispute over the nature and the functions of phasic DA activations: reconciling two contrasting theories in the literature and taking xi into account the different experimental data, I suggest that phasic DA can be considered as a reinforcement prediction error learning signal determined by both unexpected changes in the environment (temporary, intrinsic reinforcements) and biological rewards (permanent, extrinsic reinforcements). The results obtained with my computational model support the presented hypothesis, showing how such a learning signal can serve two important functions: driving both the discovery and acquisition of novel actions and the maximisation of rewards. Moreover, those results provide a first example of the power of IMs to guide artificial agents in the cumulative learning of complex behaviours that would not be learnt simply providing a direct reward for the final tasks. In a second work, I move to investigate the issues related to the implementation of IMs signal in robots. Since the literature still lacks a specific analysis of which is the best IM signal to drive skill acquisition, I compare in a robotic setup different typologies of IMs, as well as the different mechanisms used to implement them. The results provide two important contributions: 1) they show how IM signals based on the competence of the system are able to generate a better guidance for skill acquisition with respect to the signals based on the knowledge of the agent; 2) they identify a proper mechanism to generate a competence-based IM signal, showing that the stronger the link between the IM signal and the competence of the system, the better the performance. Following the aim of widening the autonomy and the versatility of artificial agents, in a third work I focus on the improvement of the control architecture of the robot. I build a new 3-level architecture that allows the system to select the goals to pursue, to search for the best way to achieve them, and acquire the related skills. I implement this architecture in a simulated iCub robot and test it in a 3D experimental scenario where the agent has to learn, on the basis of IMs, a reaching task where it is not clear which arm of the robot is the most suitable to reach the different targets. The performance of the system is compared to the one of my previous 2-level architecture system, where tasks and computational resources are associated at design time. The better performance of the system endowed with the new 3-level architecture highlights the importance of developing robots with different levels of autonomy, and in particular both the high-level of goal selection and the low-level of motor control. Finally, I focus on a crucial issue for autonomous robotics: the development of a system that is able not only to select its own goals, but also to discover them through the interaction with the environment. In the last work I present GRAIL, a Goal-discovering Robotic Architecture for Intrisically-motivated Learning. Building on the insights provided by my previous research, GRAIL is a 4-level hierarchical architecture that for the first time assembles in unique system different features necessary for the development of truly autonomous robots. GRAIL is able to autonomously 1) discover new goals, 2) create and store representations of the events associated to those goals, 3) select the goal to pursue, 4) select the computational resources to learn to achieve the desired goal, and 5) self-generate its own learning signals on the basis of the achievement of the selected goals. I implement GRAIL in a simulated iCub and test it in three different 3D experimental setup, comparing its performance to my previous systems, showing its capacity to generate new goals in unknown scenarios, and testing its ability to cope with stochastic environments. The experiments highlight on the one hand the importance of an appropriate hierarchical architecture for supporting the development of autonomous robots, and on the other hand how IMs (together with goals) can play a crucial role in the autonomous learning of multiple skills.

Denna replikationsstudie undersökte vilka motivations- och hygienfaktorer som predicerar arbetstillfredsställelse hos medarbetare med repetitiva arbetsuppgifter inom en svensk industriell verksamhet samt om de demografiska egenskaperna (ålder och anställningstid) påverkade den upplevda arbetstillfredsställelsen. Faktorerna som inkluderades i studien utgick från Herzbergs (1966) Motivations- och hygienteori. I studien deltog 79 industriarbetare (17 kvinnor, 62 män) med repetitiva arbetsuppgifter. Åldersspannet på respondenterna var 20 – 64 år (M=38,61, SD=11,6). Enkäten som användes i aktuell studie är ursprungligen utformad av Teck-Hong och Waheed (2011) och användes med anledning av att den innehåller frågor som undersöker samtliga faktorer i Motivations-och hygienteorin. Stegvis regressionsanalys användes för att analysera inkomna data. Den faktor som ansågs predicera arbetstillfredsställelse starkast var erkännande, följt av arbetsvillkor och därefter relation till chefer. Vidare visade ett independent sample t-test att de demografiska variablerna inte hade en effekt på arbetstillfredsställelsen. En slutsats som drogs var att majoriteten av de faktorer som predicerar arbetstillfredsställelse tillhör kategorin hygienfaktorer.

Magister Artium - MA / In this thesis, I explore the code-switching practices of long-term Angolans migrants in Cape Town when they interact with those who have been here for a much shorter period. In my Honours research essay, I revealed a tendency among those who have lived in Cape Town for some time to code-switch from Portuguese to English even in the presence of more recent migrants from Angola, who have little or no mastery of English. This thesis thus considers the effects of space, discourses of power, language ideologies and attitudes on the patterns of inter- and intra-sentential code-switching by these long-term migrants in interaction with each other as well as with the more recent “Angolan arrivals” in Cape Town. Twenty Angolan migrants participated in this study. Of these, ten were long-term migrants to South Africa, while a further ten were relative newcomers. While the long-term migrants could claim to be bilingual in Portuguese and English, the newcomers were largely limited to a few English words in their repertoire. However, both groups could speak one or more of the indigenous languages of Angola, like Kimbundu, Umbundu, Kikongo and even Lingala (which is an indigenous language from Republic Democratic of Congo). Some of the long-term migrants had even acquired South African indigenous language such as isiXhosa and Afrikaans. The study made use of qualitative ethnographic methodologies to collect the data. These included recorded conversations, individual and focus group interviews, both general observation and participant observation. / South Africa

This is a qualitative study that has reviewed decision reports on academic cheating with content analysis as a method, aimed to investigate the actions that has led to disciplinary action and illustrate how students motivate their actions. The result shows that plagiarism is the main act that has led to disciplinary action. In the cheating plagiarism, the approach varies from the fact that the plagiarized texts may originate from students from other universities, classmates or it may be the result of collaboration between students. In the other cheating form unauthorised aids, the procedure is similar to the approach in terms of students bringing unauthorised aids on the examination. What varies is what kind of assistant students bring such as mobile phones, notes or writing sheets. The study can determine that student motivations for their actions may vary but include causes such as mistakes, pressed study situations and lack of resources, lack of time and stress, lack of knowledge and misinterpretations of the university rules.