Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T16:58:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Renan Faria.pdf: 1138485 bytes, checksum: b2c93fff6bcbf6153741e12f671cadc2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-08-29 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The purpose of this research was to investigate and analyze the meaning production for 10th graders of a school from the state network in Minas Gerais, about cartesian graphs that represent the rectilinear movement. The aspects favored in the understanding and elaboration of the graph using pencils and paper, a sensor, the graphic calculator, the teacher s paper and the activities in this environment were particularly analyzed, besides the interventions that occurred. The starting point was based in a story, in which the students were incited to build their cartesian graphic representation, using pencils and paper. After that, they used the sensor with the graphic calculator. The students were instructed by the teachers and they should move accordingly in order to reproduce a d x t graph, corresponding to the one offered in the calculator screen. Thus, it was tried to contemplate student-student, teacher-student and student technology. The speeches and the actions were recorded and transcribed. As a theoretical reference the researcher used the Embodiment Cognition Theory, based on Lakoff and Núñes, especially in the role of the cultural metaphors and in the Model of Argumentative Strategies (MEA) for the analysis of the speeches and gestures organized in episodes, which aimed at the understanding of the meanings produced. The ideas from Mobile et al. about the visualization aspects were applied, contemplating the implications that different dispositions of symbols and graphs have in the meaning production by the students. It was concluded that the adequate use of the technology enabled an immediate feedback to the students and that this interferes in the kind of relation that the teacher has with his/her students, modifying, also, the understanding about the use of technology in the classroom / Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo investigar e analisar a produção de significados, para alunos do primeiro ano do Ensino Médio de uma escola da rede estadual de Minas Gerais, para gráficos cartesianos que representam o movimento retilíneo. Em particular, foram analisados os aspectos favorecidos na compreensão e elaboração do gráfico com lápis e papel e com o uso do sensor e calculadora gráfica e também o papel do professor e das atividades nesse ambiente além das interações ocorridas. O ponto de partida baseou-se em uma história, na qual os alunos foram instigados a construir sua representação gráfica cartesiana, utilizandose de lápis e papel. Em seguida, empregaram o sensor com a calculadora gráfica. Os alunos foram instruídos pelos professores e deveriam se movimentar de modo a reproduzir um gráfico d x t, correspondente ao oferecido na tela da calculadora. Assim, procurou-se contemplar a interação aluno-aluno, professor-aluno e alunotecnologia. As falas e as ações foram gravadas e transcritas. Como referencial teórico, o pesquisador valeu-se da Teoria da Cognição Corporificada, baseada e Lakoff e Nunes, em particular no papel das metáforas conceituais e no Modelo de Estratégia Argumentativa (MEA) para análise das falas e gestos organizadas em episódios que visavam a compreensão dos significados produzidos. As idéias de Nobile et al. Sobre aspectos de visualização foram empregadas, contemplando-se as implicações que distintas disposições de símbolos e gráficos acarretam na produção de significados pelos alunos. Concluiu-se que o uso adequado da tecnologia propiciou um feedback imediato aos estudantes e que isso interfere no tipo de relação que o professor tem com seus alunos, modificando, também, a compreensão sobre o uso de tecnologia em sala de aula

This thesis reports the development, testing, and application of computer programs for simulating Lagrangian-Stochastic particle dispersion in coastal seas, with particular application to tide and storm induced dispersion in South Australian seas. The three-dimensional tidal equations are briefly discussed for the two types of surge models used, and finite-difference methods for numerically solving these equations are considered. Different methods of simulating flows at open sea boundaries are investigated. The method of particle tracking and the development of the particle tracking model is also described. Various tests are conducted to investigate both the advective and diffusive aspects of dispersion, and a number of scenarios for the simulation of open (ocean) and closed (coastal) boundaries are considered. Various aspects of the particle tracking routine are given specific characteristics according to the nature of the particle being considered. Application of the tide and storm surge model to the Great Australian Bight is described. This uses spherical polar co-ordinates to account for the curvature of the earth, and an oblique boundary element to increase accuracy of the coastline representation. The effect of a low pressure system moving from west to east across the Bight and the resulting significant observed surge at Thevenard during the storm of April 1996 is simulated. This storm resulted in a significant number of deaths in aquaculture farms containing southern bluefin tuna (Thunnas maccoyii) within the Boston Bay region to the extreme east of the Bight due to the agitation of almost neutrally buoyant organic sediments at the sea floor. The effects of this storm are further considered using a Cartesian co-ordinate fine-grid local model of Boston Bay, in Spencer Gulf, South Australia, where both tidal and storm (wind and outside surge) induced flows are simulated. The dispersion of suspended neutrally buoyant sediment throughout the region is considered, and compared with the mortalities of tuna at various farms within the region. Tidal and storm induced currents in the Gulf St. Vincent region, South Australia, have also been modelled using Cartesian co-ordinates. Detailed consideration has been given to the modelling of tides, winds, atmospheric pressures and outside surges from the two open boundaries in Investigator Strait and Backstairs Passage. The information obtained has enabled the modelling of a number of storm surge scenarios. Further to this, various simulations of the dispersion of the larvae of the western king prawn (Penaeus latisulcatus) have been driven using the storm surge model developed. These incorporate currents near the surface and the sea floor, as well as the consideration of changes in behaviour during the life history of the larvae. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences, 2000.

Abstract in English below.

One of the common research goals in disciplines such as computer graphics and robotics is to understand the subtleties of human motion and develop tools for recreating natural and meaningful motion. Physical simulation of virtual human characters is a promising approach since it provides a testbed for developing and testing control strategies required to execute various human behaviors. Designing generic control algorithms for simulating a wide range of human activities, which can robustly adapt to varying physical environments, has remained a primary challenge. This dissertation introduces methods for generic and robust control of virtual characters in an interactive physical environment. Our approach is to use the information of the physical contacts between the character and her environment in the control design. We leverage high-level knowledge of the kinematics goals and the interaction with the surroundings to develop active control strategies that robustly adapt to variations in the physical scene. For synthesizing intentional motion requiring long-term planning, we exploit properties of the physical model for creating efficient and robust controllers in an interactive framework. The control design leverages the reference motion capture data and the contact information with the environment for interactive long-term planning. Finally, we propose a compact soft contact model for handling contacts for rigid body virtual characters. This model aims at improving the robustness of existing control methods without adding any complexity to the control design and opens up possibilities for new control algorithms to synthesize agile human motion.

This work deals with discretizing viscous fluxes in the context of unstructured data based finite volume and meshless solvers, two competing methodologies for simulating viscous flows past complex industrial geometries. The two important requirements of a viscous discretization procedure are consistency and positivity. While consistency is a fundamental requirement, positivity is linked to the robustness of the solution methodology. The following advancements are made through this work within the finite volume and meshless frameworks. Finite Volume Method: Several viscous discretization procedures available in the literature are reviewed for: 1. ability to handle general grid elements 2. efficiency, particularly for 3D computations 3. consistency 4. positivity as applied to a model equation 5. global error behavior as applied to a model equation. While some of the popular procedures result in inconsistent formulation, the consistent procedures are observed to be computationally expensive and also have problems associated with robustness. From a systematic global error study, we have observed that even a formally inconsistent scheme exhibits consistency in terms of global error i.e., the global error decreases with grid refinement. This observation is important and also encouraging from the view point of devising a suitable discretization scheme for viscous fluxes. This study suggests that, one can relax the consistency requirement in order to gain in terms of robustness and computational cost, two key ingredients for any industrial flow solver. Some of the procedures are analysed for positivity as applied to a Laplacian and it is found that the two requirements of a viscous discretization procedure, consistency(accuracy) and positivity are essentially conflicting. Based on the review, four representative schemes are selected and used in HIFUN-2D(High resolution Flow Solver on UNstructured Meshes), an unstructured data based cell center finite volume flow solver, to simulate standard laminar and turbulent flow test cases. From the analysis, we can advocate the use of Green Gauss theorem based diamond path procedure which can render high level of robustness to the flow solver for industrial computations. Meshless Method: An Upwind-Least Squares Finite Difference(LSFD-U) meshless solver is developed for simulating viscous flows. Different viscous discretization procedures are proposed and analysed for positivity and the procedure which is found to be more positive is employed. Obtaining suitable point distribution, particularly for viscous flow computations happens to be one of the important components for the success of the meshless solvers. In principle, the meshless solvers can operate on any point distribution obtained using structured, unstructured and Cartesian meshes. But, the Cartesian meshing happens to be the most natural candidate for obtaining the point distribution. Therefore, the performance of LSFD-U for simulating viscous flows using point distribution obtained from Cartesian like grids is evaluated. While we have successfully computed laminar viscous flows, there are difficulties in terms of solving turbulent flows. In this context, we have evolved a strategy to generate suitable point distribution for simulating turbulent flows using meshless solver. The strategy involves a hybrid Cartesian point distribution wherein the region of boundary layer is filled with high aspect ratio body-fitted structured mesh and the potential flow region with unit aspect ratio Cartesian mesh. The main advantage of our solver is in terms of handling the structured and Cartesian grid interface. The interface algorithm is considerably simplified compared to the hybrid Cartesian mesh based finite volume methodology by exploiting the advantage accrue out of the use of meshless solver. Cheap, simple and robust discretization procedures are evolved for both inviscid and viscous fluxes, exploiting the basic features exhibited by the hybrid point distribution. These procedures are also subjected to positivity analysis and a systematic global error study. It should be remarked that the viscous discretization procedure employed in structured grid block is positive and in fact, this feature imparts the required robustness to the solver for computing turbulent flows. We have demonstrated the capability of the meshless solver LSFDU to solve turbulent flow past complex aerodynamic configurations by solving flow past a multi element airfoil configuration. In our view, the success shown by this work in computing turbulent flows can be considered as a landmark development in the area of meshless solvers and has great potential in industrial applications.

This thesis reports the development, testing, and application of computer programs for simulating Lagrangian-Stochastic particle dispersion in coastal seas, with particular application to tide and storm induced dispersion in South Australian seas. The three-dimensional tidal equations are briefly discussed for the two types of surge models used, and finite-difference methods for numerically solving these equations are considered. Different methods of simulating flows at open sea boundaries are investigated. The method of particle tracking and the development of the particle tracking model is also described. Various tests are conducted to investigate both the advective and diffusive aspects of dispersion, and a number of scenarios for the simulation of open (ocean) and closed (coastal) boundaries are considered. Various aspects of the particle tracking routine are given specific characteristics according to the nature of the particle being considered. Application of the tide and storm surge model to the Great Australian Bight is described. This uses spherical polar co-ordinates to account for the curvature of the earth, and an oblique boundary element to increase accuracy of the coastline representation. The effect of a low pressure system moving from west to east across the Bight and the resulting significant observed surge at Thevenard during the storm of April 1996 is simulated. This storm resulted in a significant number of deaths in aquaculture farms containing southern bluefin tuna (Thunnas maccoyii) within the Boston Bay region to the extreme east of the Bight due to the agitation of almost neutrally buoyant organic sediments at the sea floor. The effects of this storm are further considered using a Cartesian co-ordinate fine-grid local model of Boston Bay, in Spencer Gulf, South Australia, where both tidal and storm (wind and outside surge) induced flows are simulated. The dispersion of suspended neutrally buoyant sediment throughout the region is considered, and compared with the mortalities of tuna at various farms within the region. Tidal and storm induced currents in the Gulf St. Vincent region, South Australia, have also been modelled using Cartesian co-ordinates. Detailed consideration has been given to the modelling of tides, winds, atmospheric pressures and outside surges from the two open boundaries in Investigator Strait and Backstairs Passage. The information obtained has enabled the modelling of a number of storm surge scenarios. Further to this, various simulations of the dispersion of the larvae of the western king prawn (Penaeus latisulcatus) have been driven using the storm surge model developed. These incorporate currents near the surface and the sea floor, as well as the consideration of changes in behaviour during the life history of the larvae. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences, 2000.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / In this work we present the determination of the second Hamming weight of generalized Reed- Muller codes in most cases (see Teorema 4.6). Our main reference is [13], although we have also used results from [3] and [5]. In the first chapter we describe finite fields e we show how they can be constructed. In chapter 2 we present the basics of coding theory. We define what are error correcting codes, the Hamming metric, the parameters of a code, the equivalence of codes through the concept of isometry, and we briefly present generalized Reed-Muller codes and their parameters. In chapter 3 we present some results from Grobner bases theory and the definition of Affine Cartesian codes, which generalize the generalized Reed-Muller codes. we use tools from Grobner bases theory to determine the dimension and the minimum distance of Affine Cartesian codes. We finish our work in chapter 4, with the determination of the second Hamming weight for generalized Reed-Muller codes in most cases. / Nesse trabalho apresentamos o cálculo do segundo peso de Hamming de códigos de Reed-Muller generalizados na maioria dos casos (v. Teorema 4.6). Nossa referência principal sera [13], embora tenhamos utilizado também resultados de [3] e [5]. No primeiro capítulo descrevemos os corpos finitos e mostramos como podem ser construídos. No capítulo 2 apresentamos os conceitos básicos da teoria de códigos. Nele, definimos o que são os códigos corretores de erros, a métrica de Hamming, os parâmetros de um código, a equivalência de códigos através da noção de isometria, bem como uma breve apresentação dos códigos de Reed-Muller generalizados e seus parâmetros. No capítulo 3 sao apresentados alguns resultados da teoria de Bases de Grobner e a definição dos Códigos Cartesianos Afins, que são uma generalização dos códigos de Reed-Muller generalizados. Usamos ferramentas da teoria de bases de Grobner para determinar a dimensão e distância mínima de Códigos Cartesianos Afins. Para finalizar nosso trabalho, no capítulo 4 determinamos o segundo peso de Hamming do Código de Reed-Muller generalizado na maioria dos casos. / Mestre em Matemática

This thesis didactically maps and describes new didactical mathematic environment and the possibilities of its application in teaching in the first grade of primary education. In this thesis I describe the process of an experiment conducted with pupils of the 1st - 5th year of elementary school, with whom I have tried and verified a series of new environment exercises. Based on the reflection of this experiment, and the analysis of pupils' solutions, I formulated a final version of these exercises. I led the process of the whole experiment in line with the constructivist educational style. In the theory part, I am mentioning the important terms of mathematics and its didactics, that are necessary for the purposes of this thesis, and that I refer to the relevant professional literature. This thesis also contains the analysis of chosen textbook collections that are related to its topic. The last part of this thesis is the final and complete series of exercises useful for teaching mathematics in the 1st grade of elementary school, especially if the teacher aims to purposefully develop the pupils' understanding of the terminology and relations from the mathematical areas of analytic geometry, functions and sequences.

Submitted by Izabel Franco (izabel-franco@ufscar.br) on 2016-10-03T18:47:50Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DissMAA.pdf: 3325891 bytes, checksum: 1b4744d48d74943990bed42753cc4b4c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2016-10-20T18:27:58Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissMAA.pdf: 3325891 bytes, checksum: 1b4744d48d74943990bed42753cc4b4c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2016-10-20T18:28:04Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissMAA.pdf: 3325891 bytes, checksum: 1b4744d48d74943990bed42753cc4b4c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-20T18:28:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissMAA.pdf: 3325891 bytes, checksum: 1b4744d48d74943990bed42753cc4b4c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-04 / Não recebi financiamento / The use of technology based on Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), a reconfigurable technology, has become a frequent object of study. This technique is feasible and a promising application in the development of embedded systems, however, the difficulty in finding a flexible and efficient way to perform such an application is their bigger problem. In this work, a virtual and reconfigurable architecture (AVR) in FPGA for hardware applications is presented using a Genetic Programming Software on the development of an optimal reconfiguration for this AVR, in order to build a hardware capable of performing a given task in an embedded system. This proposal is a simple, flexible and efficient way to achieve appropriate applications in embedded systems, when compared to other reconfigurable hardware techniques. The representation of phenotype of the proposed evolutionary system is based on a bi-dimensional network function elements (EF). The GPLAB tool for MATLAB is used in Genetic Programming, and the solution found by this procedure is converted into a memory mapping to represent the best solution, where it is used to reconfigure the hardware. In the tests, GPLAB found results for logic circuits in a few generations, and for image filters containing efficient solutions, where there was little hardware occupation, especially memory, in the cases this has been presented, with a reduced chromosome size, shows a proposal efficiency. / O uso da tecnologia baseada em Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), de forma reconfigurável, para a solução de diversos problemas atuais, tem se tornado um frequente objeto de estudo. Essa técnica é de aplicação viável e promissora na elaboração de sistemas embarcados, porém, a dificuldade em encontrar uma forma flexível e eficiente de realizar tal aplicação é o seu maior problema. Neste trabalho, é apresentada uma arquitetura virtual e reconfigurável (AVR) em FPGA para aplicações em hardware, utilizando um software de Programação Genética na elaboração de uma reconfiguração ótima para esta AVR, de forma a construir um hardware capaz de efetuar uma determinada tarefa em um sistema embarcado. Esta proposta é uma forma simples, flexível e eficiente de realizar aplicações adequadas em sistemas embarcados, quando comparada a outras técnicas de hardware reconfigurável. A representação do fenótipo no sistema evolutivo proposto se baseia em uma rede de elementos de função (EF) bidimensional. A ferramenta GPLAB, para MATLAB, é usada na Programação Genética, e a solução encontrada por esta é convertida em um mapeamento de memória com o cromossomo da melhor solução, onde este é usado para reconfigurar o hardware. Nos testes realizados, a GPLAB encontrou resultados para circuitos lógicos em poucas gerações, e para filtros de imagem encontrou soluções eficientes, onde ocorreu pouca ocupação de hardware, principalmente da memória nos casos apresentados, apresentando um cromossomo de tamanho reduzido, o que demonstra uma boa eficiência da proposta.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:36:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 JoseEP_TESE.pdf: 4599191 bytes, checksum: d2333069155f93ee6ff447f7f4254297 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-02-28 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico / It has been remarkable among the Science Teaching debates the necessity that students do not learn only theories, laws and concepts, but also develop skills which allows them to act towards a critical citizenship. Therefore, some of the skills for the natural sciences learning must be taught consciously, intentionally and in a planned way, as component of a basic competence. Studies of the last twenty years have shown that students and teachers have plenty of difficulties about skills development and, among several, the skill of interpreting Cartesian graphics, essential for the comprehension of Natural Science. In that sense, the development of that type of professional knowledge during the initial education of future Chemistry teachers has become strategic, not only because they need to know how to use it, but also because they need to know how to teach it. This research has as its general objective the organization, development and study of a process of formation of the skill of interpreting Cartesian graphics as part of the teachers professional knowledge. It has been accomplished through a formative experience with six undergraduate students of the Teaching Degree Course of Chemistry of Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte), in Brazil. In order to develop that skill, we have used as reference P. Ya. Galperin s Theory of the Stepwise Formation of Mental Actions and Concepts and its following qualitative indicators: action form, degree of generalization, degree of consciousness, degree of independence and degree of solidness. The research, in a qualitative approach, has prioritized as instruments of data collecting the registering of the activities of the undergraduate students, the observation, the questionnaire and the diagnosis tests. At the first moment, a teaching framework has been planned for the development of the skill of interpreting Cartesian graphics based on the presupposed conceptions and steps of Galperin s Theory. At the second moment, the referred framework has been applied and the process of the skill formation has been studied. The results have shown the possibility of develop the skill conscious about the invariant operation system, with a high degree of generalization and internalized the operational invariant in the mental plane. The students have attested the contributions at that type of formative experience. The research reveals the importance of going deeper about the teaching comprehension of the individualities tied to the process of internalization, according to Galperin s Theory, when the update of abilities as part of the teaching professional knowledge is the issue / ? not?ria nas discuss?es da ?rea de Did?tica das Ci?ncias a necessidade de que os estudantes n?o s? aprendam teorias, leis e conceitos, mas que tamb?m desenvolvam habilidades que lhes permitam o agir competente para a cidadania cr?tica. Nessa perspectiva, algumas das habilidades para a aprendizagem das ci?ncias naturais devem ser ensinadas de modo consciente, intencional e planejadas, como componente dessa compet?ncia b?sica. Estudos nos ?ltimos vinte anos t?m mostrado que estudantes e professores t?m diversas dificuldades no desenvolvimento de habilidades, dentre elas, a de interpretar gr?ficos cartesianos, essencial para a compreens?o das Ci?ncias Naturais. Nesse sentido, o desenvolvimento desse conhecimento profissional na forma??o inicial de futuros professores de Qu?mica passa a ser estrat?gico n?o apenas para saber utiliz?-lo, mas para saber ensin?-lo. Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo geral a organiza??o, o desenvolvimento e o estudo de um processo de forma??o da habilidade de interpretar gr?ficos cartesianos como parte do conhecimento profissional docente, a partir de uma experi?ncia formativa com seis estudantes do curso de Licenciatura em Qu?mica da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN). Para o desenvolvimento dessa habilidade, utilizamos como referencial a Teoria da Forma??o por Etapas das A??es Mentais e dos Conceitos de P. Ya. Galperin e seus seguintes indicadores qualitativos: forma da a??o, grau de generaliza??o, grau de consci?ncia, grau de independ?ncia e grau de solidez. A pesquisa, de natureza qualitativa, privilegiou como instrumentos de coleta de dados o registro de atividades dos licenciandos, a observa??o, o question?rio e testes diagn?sticos. No primeiro momento, foi planejado um Sistema Did?tico para o desenvolvimento da habilidade de interpretar gr?ficos cartesianos, com base nos pressupostos e etapas da Teoria de Galperin. No segundo momento, o referido Sistema foi aplicado junto aos licenciandos e o processo de forma??o da habilidade foi desenvolvido. Os resultados mostraram a possibilidade de formar a habilidade com consci?ncia do sistema de opera??es invariante, com alto grau de generaliza??o e internalizada a invariante operacional no plano mental. Os estudantes manifestaram as contribui??es positivas desse tipo de experi?ncia formativa. A pesquisa, por sua vez, revela a import?ncia de se aprofundar na compreens?o did?tica das individualidades no processo de assimila??o, segundo a Teoria de Galperin, quando se trata da atualiza??o de habilidades como parte do conhecimento profissional docente