Showing papers in "Infor in 2017"

A importância da utilização de diferentes recursos didáticos no Ensino de Ciências e Biologia

Abstract: Ainda hoje, a educacao apresenta inumeras caracteristicas de um ensino tradicional, com a ideia de que somente o professor tem conhecimento enquanto os saberes dos alunos nao sao considerados. Devido a isso, com o passar do tempo os alunos podem perder o interesse pelas aulas, pois alem de seus conhecimentos nao serem valorizados, nao sao utilizados diferentes recursos e metodologias para a implementacao das aulas. Existem diversos meios e recursos que podem tornar a aula mais atrativa, e que, desde que sejam bem utilizados, contribuem para que aluno tenha interesse pelo conteudo trabalhado e assim construa conhecimentos. No entanto, por diversos motivos muitos professores nao fazem uso destes recursos, seja por falta de estrutura, tempo ou por nao acreditarem que esse pode auxiliar na aprendizagem dos alunos. Nesse sentido o presente trabalho tem por objetivo analisar, a partir da utilizacao de entrevistas com professores de Ciencias e Biologia de escolas publicas a importância da utilizacao de diferentes recursos no ensino de ciencias e de biologia. As analises foram realizadas a luz da Analise Textual Discursiva (ATD), e os resultados demostram que o uso de metodologias e recursos diferentes proporcionam aos alunos ganhos significativos no processo de ensino e aprendizagem, os mesmos sentem-se motivados e se mostram mais interessados quando neles e despertado a vontade da construcao de conhecimento.

Evaluating NBA player performance using bounded integer data envelopment analysis

Abstract: Data envelopment analysis (DEA) assumes that data are continuous. However, there are situations where data are integers and bounded. For example, in basketball games, the total number of points tha...

A hybrid data envelopment analysis approach to analyse college graduation rate at higher education institutions

Abstract: College graduation rates have become a primary focus in measuring institutional performance and accountability in higher education. In 2009, President Obama set a goal for the United States to have...

A scheme for determining vehicle routes based on Arc-based service network design

Abstract: In freight transportation, less-than-truckload carriers often need to assign each vehicle a cyclic route so that drivers can come back home after a certain period of time However, the Node-Arc model for service network design addresses decisions on each arc and does not determine routes directly, although the vehicle balancing constraint ensures that the number of outgoing vehicles equals the number of incoming vehicles at each node How to transform the optimized service network into a set of vehicle routes remains an important problem that has not yet been studied In this paper, we propose a three-phase scheme to address this problem In the first stage, we present an algorithm based on the depth-first search to find all of the different cyclic routes in a service network design solution In the second stage, we propose to prune poor cyclic routes using real-life constraints so that a collection of acceptable vehicle routes can be obtained before route assignment Some of the pruning can also be done in the first stage to speed up the proposed algorithm In the third stage, we formulate the problem of selecting a set of cyclic routes to cover the entire network as a weighted set covering problem The resulting model is formulated as an integer program and solved with IBM ILOG CPLEX solver Experimental results on benchmark instances for service network design indicate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme which gives high-quality solutions in an efficient way

Centralized fixed cost allocation for generalized two-stage network DEA

Abstract: Many studies have dealt with the problem of fixed cost allocation by using data envelopment analysis. However, existing models allocate the fixed cost by treating the decision-making units (DMUs) as black-boxes and ignore the internal production structures of DMUs. To our knowledge, only a few work has considered the fixed cost allocation problem for an elementary two-stage production structure without external inputs and outputs. This paper deals with the fixed cost allocation problem for a general two-stage network production structure, in which both external inputs and outputs exist. Specifically, additive two-stage models are first presented to evaluate the performance for each DMU when allocating the fixed cost. Then, by introducing the concepts of satisfaction degree and fairness degree, we propose an approach to obtain an optimal allocation plan under the control of the centralized authority. Finally, an application to 27 banks is utilized to illustrate the proposed approach.

Optimization modelling for analyzing fantasy sport games

Abstract: In a fantasy sport game, participants act like a team manager building a team of real individual players of a professional sport. The real performances of these players (or their teams) are transla...

Data Envelopment Analysis may Obfuscate Corporate Financial Data: Using Support Vector Machine and Data Envelopment Analysis to Predict Corporate Failure for Nonmanufacturing Firms

Abstract: Corporate failure prediction has drawn numerous scholars’ attention because of its usefulness in corporate risk management, as well as in regulating corporate operational status. Most research on this topic focuses on manufacturing companies and relies heavily on corporate assets. The asset size of manufacturing companies plays a vital role in traditional research methods; Altman's score model is one such traditional method. However, a limited number of researchers studied corporate failure prediction for nonmanufacturing companies as the operational status of such companies is not solely correlated to their assets. In this paper, we use support vector machines (SVMs) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) to provide a new method for predicting corporate failure of nonmanufacturing firms. We show that using only DEA scores provides better predictions of corporate failure than using the original, raw, data for the provided dataset. To determine the DEA scores, we first generate efficiency scores using...

Estimating directional returns to scale in DEA

Abstract: Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is one of the most commonly used methods to estimate the returns to scale (RTS) of the public sector (e.g. research institutions). Existing studies are all based on ...

Base location and helicopter fleet composition in the oil industry

Abstract: The daily transportation of employees with helicopters to and from the oil platforms is an important and difficult logistical operation in the offshore oil industry. This paper presents a model for the problem of selecting the optimal helicopter fleet composition and deciding which land bases to allocate the helicopters to as well as deciding whether opening additional hubs for refuelling is required. To capture the operational aspects of the operations, the routing of the helicopters is included as an element of the model. In this paper, we show why including routing is important to ensure a good fleet composition and helicopter allocation. The problem is denoted the base location and fleet composition problem (BLFCP) and a model based on a priori generation of flights is proposed. The test cases are based on estimates of the expansion into new oil-producing sectors outside the Brazilian coast as well as test cases based on the Norwegian expansion into the Arctic. In addition, different approache...

Multiobjective fuzzy clustering with coalition formation: the case of brain image processing

Abstract: This paper presents a multi-objective fuzzy clustering approach under iterative modelling for the segmentation of human brain multispectral magnetic resonance image. It optimizes the global spatial fuzzy compactness and fuzzy spatial separation among clusters. Our method generates an ensemble of Pareto solutions among which the final solution will be proposed to the analyst. At this final step, the Shapley value concept is utilized to select the best solution. An empirical study on brain images shows a better performance of our proposed method when compared to competing algorithms.

Legislação e tecnologias assistivas: aspectos que asseguram a acessibilidade das pessoas com deficiências

Abstract: Esse estudo abordou a legislacao e a tecnologia, denominada assistiva, voltadas aos portadores de deficiencia, como principios para igualdade e usabilidade. Considerou-se esses dois aspectos como relevantes para garantir a acessibilidade das pessoas com limitacoes, apresentando as leis, decretos e normas, e as categorias de tecnologias assistivas disponiveis.

Ridesharing for emergency evacuation

Abstract: In this paper, we consider the evacuation problem that consists of grouping and routing evacuees to safe zones. Grouping evacuees reduces congestion on roads, addresses fuel shortage and supports i...

Efficient preprocessing methods for tabu search: an application on asymmetric travelling salesman problem

Abstract: This paper presents efficient methods of combining preprocessing methods and tabu search metaheuristic for solving large instances of the asymmetric travelling salesman problem (ATSP) with a focus ...

An additive super-efficiency DEA approach to measuring regional environmental performance in China

Abstract: It is one of the issues of current concern for international research engaged in data envelopment analysis (DEA) that how to achieve more accurate results of environmental and energy efficiency evaluation. Past studies about the application of DEA to environmental performance measurement often follow the concept of undesirable factors. In the context, slacks-based measure of super-efficiency, a non-radial super-efficiency model compared to the traditional radial super-efficiency DEA models, offers a remarkable alternative, largely due to their ability to deal with ranking the performance of efficient decision-making units (DMUs). This paper extends super-efficiency approach to the additive super-efficiency DEA approach with undesirable outputs to measuring environmental performance. Unlike the traditional radial super-efficiency DEA suffering from infeasibility, the additive super-efficiency models in the context of undesirable factors are always feasible. A case study of regional environmental pe...

A multiple criteria economic growth model with environmental quality and logistic population behaviour with variable carrying capacity

Abstract: We propose a new dynamic (macro)economic model that describes the interaction between physical capital, environmental quality and population dynamics With respect to other models in litera

A cyclic allocation model for the inventory-modulated capacitated location problem

Abstract: Hard capacity constraints have been used for decades in facility location modelling and planning. However, such constraints are unrealistic as a variety of operational tools can be used to extend capacity in the short term. To address this, the Inventory-Modulated Capacitated Location Problem (IMCLP) uses inventory as a method of mitigating the hard capacity constraints, but enforces single sourcing. In this paper, we examine a cyclic, day-specific allocation approach to assigning demand sites to processing facilities in the IMCLP. This enables the model to develop a day-of-the-week allocation policy that considers day-to-day variations in the daily processing capacity levels of a set of candidate processing facilities and/or systematic day-to-day demand variations. We demonstrate that allowing demands at a particular site to be allocated to multiple processing facilities in such a manner can be a cost-effective operational tool.

Production under a quota system: an extension of the weighted additive model to assess technical efficiency

Abstract: Since it was introduced, data envelopment analysis (DEA) has been applied to many different areas and has also been extended to numerous production contexts. In this paper, we focus our attention on the production framework under output quotas. Many types of markets throughout the world are subject to intervention by government policies, with the purpose of raising the prices that producers receive for their products through the imposition of production quotas. In this paper, we introduce a comprehensive approach based upon the extension of the weighted additive model in DEA with the aim of measuring technical inefficiency of firms producing under a quota system. Accordingly, we prove several interesting properties of the new approach and compare it with the conventional weighted additive model. The paper concludes by considering a case study that analyses milk production inefficiency in Canadian provinces, incorporating information on the quota assigned to each of the provinces.

Evaluating decision making units under uncertainty using fuzzy multi-objective nonlinear programming

Abstract: This paper proposes a new method to evaluate Decision Making Units (DMUs) under uncertainty using fuzzy Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). In the proposed multi-objective nonlinear programming methodology both the objective functions and the constraints are considered fuzzy. The coefficients of the decision variables in the objective functions and in the constraints, as well as the DMUs under assessment are assumed to be fuzzy numbers with triangular membership functions. A comparison between the current fuzzy DEA models and the proposed method is illustrated by a numerical example.

Quebec provincial government evaluates the potential of OR in the midst of its forest regime renewal

Abstract: In implementing a new forest management regime, the provincial government of Quebec is evaluating the use of operational research (OR) to develop plans. This article presents findings from one such study. The main objectives of this project were to quantify the potential reduction in wood procurement cost through (1) the inclusion of an optimization routine in the development of the annual plans and (2) a greater integration and coordination during delineation of harvest blocks and planning forest operations among companies. A wood procurement planning problem was formulated and solved as a mixed integer program. Inclusion of an optimization routine in the planning process led to a cost reduction of 0.88 $/m3 (2.6%) in comparison to the benchmark scenario. Greater integration and coordination coupled with the optimization routine reduced wood procurement costs by 1.52 $/m3 (4.5%), which translates into potential annual cost savings of $ 950, 000.

Mitos e crenças sobre altas habilidades ou superdotação entre professores de uma escola da DRE Pirituba/Jaraguá

Abstract: Alunos com Altas Habilidades ou Superdotacao sao muito mais recorrentes do que evidencia o senso comum, as estimativas mais timidas advertem que esse publico abrange de 3% a 5% de qualquer populacao. Mas por que sera que esses alunos nao sao reconhecidos na maioria das escolas? Essa pesquisa fez um levantamento sobre o que pensam os professores de uma escola da DRE Pirituba/Jaragua a respeito dessa clientela da Educacao Especial, a fim de saber a existencia de mitos que dificultam a correta identificacao desses alunos. Para isso, foi preparado um questionario contendo 23 perguntas fechadas sendo entrevistados 17 professores. A maioria dos participantes afirmou ter entrado em contato com o tema na graduacao, pos-graduacao ou cursos de formacao continuada, e demonstraram possuir certa criticidade a respeito de parte dos mitos apresentados. Porem, foi constatado que os mesmos nao conseguem identificar tais alunos em seu cotidiano escolar, tendo apenas uma professora apontando dois alunos em seu local de trabalho. Diante da presente situacao, nota-se que para ocorrer a inclusao e preciso mais do que dominar a teoria em partes, faz-se necessaria uma acao conjunta entre os profissionais da educacao, a comunidade e o poder publico em busca conhecimento e sensibilizacao de quem realmente sao esses estudantes que fazem parte do publico alvo da educacao especial, para que os mesmos sejam identificados como tais, apontados no censo escolar e atendidos em suas necessidades especificas, caso contrario permanecerao invisiveis na escola.

Análise da satisfação dos estudantes de um curso técnico EaD

Abstract: A oferta dos cursos na modalidade a distância, principalmente no âmbito das Instituicoes Federais de Ensino, tem tido ao longo dos ultimos anos, uma taxa significativa de estudantes aderentes, porem tambem possui um alto numero de evasao de alunos. Dessa forma, o presente estudo teve como objetivo analisar a satisfacao dos alunos do Curso Tecnico em Administracao EaD do Instituto Federal Farroupilha – Campus Santa Rosa, nos aspectos relativos a acessibilidade, interatividade e usabilidade no Ambiente Virtual de Aprendizagem. Participaram da pesquisa 79 alunos do curso EaD, composto por um publico predominantemente feminino, 76%, em que 27% dos estudantes ja possuem ensino superior e 61% ja possui um curso tecnico. Sao estudantes oriundos dos polos a distância das cidades de Sao Miguel das Missoes, Sobradinho, Santo Ângelo, Nova Palma e da cidade de Tres Passos no estado do Rio Grande do Sul. A pesquisa foi aplicada no periodo de julho a agosto de 2016. Quanto a metodologia utilizada caracterizou-se como exploratoria, descritiva, bibliografica, estudo de caso, utilizando de uma abordagem quantitativa e qualitativa. Como resultados percebeu-se que do total dos alunos, 54,1% escolheram o curso por uma questao de oportunidade, estando 84,9% dos discentes satisfeitos quanto a acessibilidade ao AVA, 85% satisfeitos quanto a interatividade junto a seus tutor presencial, 76% satisfeitos no que tange a interacao com seus tutores a distância. Ja no que tange ao uso da plataforma, 88,5% apresentaram-se satisfeitos, e mais de 90% apresentam-se satisfeitos com a dinâmica do curso.

Needle exchange for controlling HIV spread under endogenous infectivity

Abstract: Losses due to Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections among injection drug users are substantial. Among HIV prevention programmes targeting injection drug users (IDUs), needle and syr...

Como as tecnologias móveis têm sido utilizadas na educação? Estudo em duas instituições de ensino superior brasileiras

Abstract: Este trabalho tem como objetivo apresentar os resultados de um estudo exploratorio realizado com alunos, professores, coordenadores de curso e de tecnologia em cursos de graduacao virtual, com o objetivo de identificar quais recursos das tecnologias moveis tem sido utilizados e com qual finalidade academica. O estudo mostrou que a maioria dos alunos e professores das universidades objeto deste estudo esta fazendo um uso adaptado das tecnologias moveis de comunicacao. Esse uso envolve o acesso ao material didatico (leitura, video e audio), a ambientes de interacao (aluno/aluno, aluno/professor, professor/professor), a agenda de atividades escolares e ainda o compartilhamento de arquivos a partir de dispositivos moveis. Dos quatro cursos analisados, apenas um esta fazendo o uso sistematizado dos dispositivos moveis, com materiais didaticos desenvolvidos especificamente para o uso em dispositivos moveis, atraves do ePub. Os resultados obtidos nesta pesquisa poderao servir de apoio para instituicoes interessadas, subsidiando o desenvolvimento ou o aprimoramento de praticas pedagogicas que envolvam dispositivos moveis de comunicacao.

Ingressantes em um curso de ciências biológicas a distância e a aprendizagem autorregulada

Abstract: O estudo objetiva identificar o perfil do alunado de um curso de Ciencias Biologicas de uma universidade estadual do Ceara que atua nos polos presenciais de Russas, Quixeramobim e Beberibe sob a perspectiva da aprendizagem autorregulada. Participaram do estudo 99 alunos recem-ingressos, os quais preencheram questionario com perguntas referentes ao perfil sociodemografico, formacao anterior, experiencia em EaD, motivacao e disponibilidade para o curso, alem de habilidades necessarias para o aluno desta modalidade de ensino. Encontrou-se um perfil de alunos jovens, solteiros e sem filhos, na maioria sem experiencia previa com EaD e que buscou o curso tendo por justificativa falta de tempo para frequentar o ensino presencial. A grande maioria refere possuir habilidades como autonomia, organizacao do tempo, familiaridade com recursos tecnologicos e facilidade de interacao. Visualiza-se um perfil diferenciado no publico que buscou o curso, porem, ainda imbuido de mitos referentes a EaD como a necessidade de utilizar menos tempo de dedicacao ao curso quando comparado ao ensino presencial. Destacou-se a consideravel dependencia do tutor e dos encontros presenciais percebidas pelos alunos, o que deve ser foco de atencao da equipe gestora do curso, visto poder comprometer a qualidade de formacao deste aluno, interferindo na sua autonomia de estudos.

Setting goals for economic activities in Mexico

Abstract: This paper evaluates the relative efficiencies of a set of economic activities in Mexico through time, with the aim of setting targets for their future performance for the year 2018. These evaluations are based upon parameters obtained by the economic census recorded by the INEGI (‘Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Geografia INEGI’ for Mexico); the data have been collected every 5 years, specifically in 1998, 2003, 2008 and 2013. To establish future performance targets, we apply the benchmarking tool Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) together with the Malmquist index methodology, to measure the relative efficiency of each economic activity. DEA has been widely used in settings where the decision-making units (DMUs) are directly comparable, however for this particular case, the DMUs under study produce widely varying outcomes, hence are non-homogeneous. The paper presents a methodology for measuring efficiency when the DMUs involved exhibit such non-homogeneity. This is accomplished by recognizing ...