Master of Arts / This thesis is an exploratory study that aims to identify whether it is adequate to apply the current approach of considering policies related to geothermal energy under the general umbrella of renewable policies or we need to use a system-sector based approach specifically for geothermal energy systems. I have identified a total of twenty-three different policy types related to geothermal energy systems in U.S. states. To understand how geothermal related policies diffuse from one U.S. state to another, and, therefore, better design policies to promote the use of geothermal energy in U.S. states, we need to perform several diffusion studies. This process is time consuming and expensive. Thus, focusing on the most promising geothermal related policies, at least as a start, is crucial for future studies focusing on the diffusion of geothermal related policies between U.S. states. Therefore, this thesis focuses on the preliminary step of selecting a limited set of geothermal related policies for future policy diffusion studies. The main conclusions and answers provided in this thesis provide a strong support to the hypothesis that a system-sector based approach is needed when studying policies related to geothermal energy in U.S. states. I explicitly report that each of the three main geothermal systems is impacted by different set of policy categories and types. I also discuss that not all policies have the same impact on all sectors in which the geothermal energy is applied; in other words, the utilization of geothermal energy in the different sectors is promoted by different policies in distinguished ways. Moreover, the discussion in this thesis highlights the shortcomings of the common approach usually used in diffusion v studies of renewable energy policies. This approach considers all renewable energies as a general category, neglecting any potential impacts due to the unique characteristics of each renewable source. I show that, for example, the most popular policy types considered in policy diffusion studies for renewable energies are not the most significant ones for the different geothermal systems. I also highlight the fact that other policy types that are generally overlooked in policy diffusion studies of the generalized renewable energies are more significant for geothermal energy systems. These results indeed support my hypothesis regarding the importance of system-sector based approach when investigating geothermal energy policies.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T16:58:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Alexandre de Paula Silva.pdf: 437142 bytes, checksum: 8c90e74250518378ff9154e82ebe97de (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-10-24 / Secretaria da Educação do Estado de São Paulo / This research has the objective of investigating the function concept in the mathematics activities of the elementary teaching material in the public school system used in São Paulo during the beginning of the 2008 school year. A documentary research with qualitative caracter was developed by investigating if the function concept was implicit or explicit, if the activities favour its grasp and which kinds of registers of semiotic representation are in such activities, as well as if there is any treatment or conversion in the possible solution strategies. The research is based on the concepts about function presented by Bento de Jesus Caraça and on Raymond Duval's registers of semiotic representation. The results obtained reveal that the concept of function is implicitly present in the activities and favour its future study, therefore they deal with introductory concepts from that mathematical object like: direct and indirect proportionality, reason, the relation between the widths and the standards observation and generalization. They also reveal register transformations like treatment and conversions either congruent or non-congruents, however with no activities that could allow the conversion toward both sides. An interesting observed point was the fact that the activities don't show direct and formal definitions, and they give us the possibility of working with the concepts in a contextualized way and with an accessible language, consisting of a material we notice that matches with the current methodological orientations that are part of the official education documents / O presente trabalho tem como objetivo investigar o conceito de função nas atividades de matemática do material do Ensino Fundamental da rede pública estadual de São Paulo, utilizado no início do ano letivo de 2008. Foi realizada uma pesquisa documental de caráter qualitativo investigando se o conceito de função apresentava-se de forma implícita ou explícita, se as atividades proporcionam favorecimento em sua apreensão futura e quais os tipos de registros de representação semiótica que figuram em tais atividades, bem como se há tratamento ou conversão nas possíveis estratégias de solução. A pesquisa fundamentase nos conceitos sobre função apresentados por Bento de Jesus Caraça e na teoria dos registros de representação semiótica de Raymond Duval. Os resultados obtidos revelam que o conceito de função está presente nas atividades de forma implícita e favorecem o seu estudo futuro, pois tratam de conceitos introdutórios daquele objeto matemático como: proporcionalidade direta e indireta, razão, relação entre grandezas e observação e generalização de padrões. Revela-se haver transformações de registros do tipo tratamento e conversões tanto congruentes como não-congruentes; não havendo nenhuma atividade que possibilitasse a conversão nos dois sentidos. Um aspecto interessante observado foi o fato de que as atividades não apresentam definições diretas e formais e possibilitam o trabalho dos conceitos de forma contextualizada, numa linguagem acessível, constituindo um material que percebemos estar em consonância com as orientações metodológicas atuais constantes dos documentos oficiais da educação