Abstract The Industrial Engineering undergraduate program offered at the University of Brasília was structured on Project Based Learning (PBL) methodology. This innovative educational proposal allows the students to deploy their technical competencies through real problem solving situations. The methodology also stimulates the development of the students’ soft skills, by exposing them to a challenging environment. At the end of each project, the results are presented to an external agent, and are subsequently implemented. The objective of this paper is to present the evolution of the PSP courses, which adopt as guidelines both the PMBOK project management framework, as well as content from specific technical courses related to the project’s subject. One other relevant aspect of the PSP courses is their involvement of both undergraduate and graduate students from different Engineering areas, such as Industrial, Mechanical and Civil Engineering, which serves to foster a more holistic and integrated problem-solving skillset.

Urea is a well-known additive used as a mild protein denaturant. The effect of urea on proteins, micellar systems and other colloids is still under debate. In particular, urea has shown interesting effects on the ion binding in systems like charged micelles, vesicles or Langmuir-Blodgett films. The urea effect on polymeric aggregates in water is still an open field. For instance, the additive may affect properties such as cmc, LCST, UCST and others. In particular, LCST is a property that can be very convenient for designing smart systems that respond to temperature. Previous studies have indicated that the LCST of positive charged copolymers aggregates based on poly[N-dimethyl(ethylamine methacrylate)], PDMAEMA, can be nicely modulated by anions in aqueous solution and such phenomenon depends on the nature of the anion present. In this work, it has been demonstrated that urea also affects the LCST of PMMA-block-PDMAEMA aggregates in aqueous solution. In addition, in the presence of high concentrations of the additive, the specific behavior of the anions is lost, supporting the general mechanism of urea reducing the differences on ion binding to surfaces in aqueous solutions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time those phenomena are shown in polymer micelles.

Esta pesquisa visa propor uma forma de análise sistêmica do setor calçadista que integre a abordagem de Cenário Prospectivos à Dinâmica de Sistemas. Objetiva-se com isso disponibilizar alternativas que possibilitem análise, descrição e simulação de tendências de mercado para um período de cinco anos. Para a construção dos cenários, adotou-se o método descrito por Grumbach. Após a geração dos cenários, realizou-se a integração com a modelagem hard da Dinâmica de Sistemas. Os resultados indicam que a abordagem proposta pode contribuir para apontar oportunidades e ameaças do ambiente externo, bem como pontos fortes e fracos do ambiente interno, a fim de auxiliar nas decisões estratégicas e na adoção de procedimentos adequados para proteger o mercado calçadista pesquisado.

This research proposes a way of systemically analyzing the footwear sector that integrates the Prospective Scenarios approach and System Dynamics. In doing so the objective is to suggest alternatives that make it possible to analyze, describe and simulate market trends for a period of up to five years. The method described by Grumbach was used for constructing the scenarios, which were subsequently integrated with the 'hard' modeling approach of System Dynamics. The results indicate that the proposed approach may contribute when it comes to indicating the opportunities and threats from the external environment and the strengths and weaknesses in the internal environment. The approach also helps when taking strategic decisions and adopting suitable procedures to protect the footwear market in which the research was carried out.

Alguns autores vêm estudando o problema clássico de atender otimamente a demanda por capacidade crescente ao longo de um horizonte infinito, considerando, para isso, formas determinísticas ou estocásticas de expansão da demanda, bem como diferentes formulações de previsão. Com esse enfoque, somente os custos de investimento, descontados a uma taxa predefinida de juros, são considerados na análise. Adicionando outros desembolsos e receitas, os administradores usualmente estimam o fluxo de caixa descontado do projeto, admitindo que a empresa seguirá um plano predeterminado, independentemente da forma como os eventos se desenrolarão no futuro. O enfoque de opções reais, por outro lado, introduz a possibilidade de incorporar outras alternativas de decisão na análise econômica, tais como a opção de esperar ou postergar, abandonar, trocar, etc. Neste artigo se faz, em primeiro lugar, uma revisão dos modelos clássicos de expansão de capacidade. A seguir, os conceitos e propriedades do enfoque de opções reais, com ênfase na equação de Black-Scholes, são brevemente discutidos. Finalmente é apresentado e discutido um exemplo de aplicação.

Some authors, considering deterministic or stochastic demand patterns and different forecasting formulations, have studied the classical problem of optimally meeting a growing demand for capacity, over an infinite horizon. With this approach, only investment costs discounted with a predefined interest rate are considered in the analysis. Adding other expenditures and revenues, managers usually estimate the discounted cash flow of the project, and assume the organization will follow a predetermined plan when investing, regardless of how events unfold in the future. The real options approach, on the other hand, introduces the possibility of incorporating other decision alternatives in the economic analysis, such as the option of waiting or postponing, abandoning, switching, etc. In this paper we first review the classical capacity expansion models. Then, the concepts and properties of the real options approach, with emphasis on the Black-Scholes equation, are briefly discussed. Finally, an application example is presented and discussed.

Neste artigo, analisamos as características das festas populares de São João e do Carnaval em Corumbá (MS, antigo MT), na passagem do século XIX para o XX. A população pobre vivia a cidade à sua moda, produzindo lazer e festas, espaços de intensa sociabilidade. Os rituais que as constituíam situavam-se entre os universos religioso e profano, o que conferia maior autonomia para a população operar nesses espaços. Assim, elementos simbólicos, como a água e o fogo, sofreram re-atualizações (re-significações), consideradas supersticiosas pela Igreja Católica.

This article analyses the characteristics of popular feasts of Saint John and the Carnival in the city of Corumbá, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, formerly state of Mato Grosso (Brazil), during the turn of the 20th century. The poor population lived in the city in its own way, producing leisure and feasts, spheres of intense sociability. The constituting rituals fall within religious and secular universes, conferring greater autonomy to the population to act in these spheres. Thus, symbolic elements such as water and fire undergo resignifications considered superstitions by Catholic Church.

O artigo tem por objetivo analisar algumas experiências de vida de seis ocupantes de terra, na luta por moradia, na cidade de São Paulo. A partir de relações sociais conflituosas, estabelecidas por esses ocupantes com os vizinhos às áreas ocupadas, relatada por eles em entrevistas gravadas, pretende-se compreender como foram reelaborando sua linguagem e identidade.

The article has as subject to analyse some life experiences of six land accupants on fight for habitation in São Paulo City. From the conflictous social relationship established by these occupants with neighbours living in the occupied areas, narrated by themselves in recorded interviews, the author aims to understend how their identify and language was reelaborated.