(1) To develop an index that allows the measurement of the quality of interactive media used by children in early childhood. (2) To verify whether there is an association between the index and cognitive development, expressive language, and fine and gross motor development. A quantitative, cross-sectional, exploratory study with 103 children, aged 24 to 42 months, evaluated by the Bayley Scale of Infant and Toddler Development. The criteria for the index were selected from the literature: (1) media use by parents; (2) time of daily media use; (3) media type; (4) what do you use the media for; (5) who do you use the media with (6) monitoring (limits time, content, interacts during use); (7) purpose of use; (8) parents' opinion of the media. For development of the multicriteria index, the multi-attribute utility theory was applied, and Spearman correlation and simple linear regression (p<0.05) were used to verify the association between the index and child development. The index showed a positive and significant correlation with child development in the following domains: language (r=0.40, p<0.001), cognitive (r=0.23, p=0.04), and fine motor=0.22, p=0.04). Simple linear regression analysis showed that the use of interactive media accounts for 22% of language development (p<0.001). The multicriteria index developed to verify the quality of interactive media used by children in early childhood showed that it has the potential to be used. The positive and significant associations between the quality of interactive media use and child development was verified, mainly regarding language.

Brazil, one of the largest ore producers in the world, holds 95% of the world’s quartz reserves. The aim of this research is to enhance mitigation measures in quartz ore exploration common in the Serra do Espinhaço Meridional region through the specific study of a mining venture. The three (3) phases of the study were: (1) characterization of the project under study and evaluation of the impacts generated; (2) evaluation of the economic feasibility of using the waste as a coarse aggregate for concrete production; (3) evaluation of the technical feasibility of reusing this waste through analysis of compressive strength. The results of the study show potential negative impacts on occupational health from the piles of disposed waste, specifically silicosis, caused by silica dust dispersed in the air. In the economic analysis, a decrease of 49.05% was verified in coarse aggregate cost through the use of the residue. The compressive strength of the concrete was 26.80 MPa when quartz residue was used and 29.2 MPa when limestone was used. The quartz residue generated by the venture can be reused as aggregate for the production of concrete, generating improvements in environmental and health aspects.

The ceramic materials industry has vast potential for use of waste from industrial processes, such as iron mining tailings. The aim of this study was to test technological use of tailings samples from the dam rupture of the Samarco S.A. Company in 2015 to produce structural ceramics. Sedimentation and flotation processes were used to improve their characteristics, analyzing their chemical and mineralogical composition and granulometry. We produced 48 samples with a mixture of soil and residues in proportions of 10, 20, and 30 wt%, with sintering at 950 °C. The results showed that co-processing of iron mining tailings can be considered viable for improving certain aspects of some technological properties. The maximum amount of residue used was 30 wt% for any of the fractions used, as above this concentration the specimens lose important characteristics.

A new method is proposed to convert ordinal ranking of a number of criteria and an additional piece of information into numerical weights. A literature review of methods for assigning cardinal weights based on ordinal ranking is performed, as well as an analysis of their behaviour. The new method, called ‘constant weight ratio’ (CWR), enables better adjustment to the decision-maker’s preferences than purely ordinal ranking methods. It also solves the problem of the excessive decrease in the weight of the most important criterion (or criteria) when the total number of criteria is large and the weight of the most important criterion (or criteria) must be high. It is achieved via three simple steps and flexible input data. The additional piece of information may be: (i) the relative importance of the criteria, i.e., the weight ratio, (ii) the total weight of the most important set of criteria, or (iii) the weight of the most important criterion. The proposed method is applied to two case studies in the cultural sector to illustrate that the resulting weights are equivalent to other methods requiring more input data from the decision maker.

RESUMO A erosão é a principal forma de degradação de solos em todo o mundo. No enfoque geotécnico, a erodibilidade do solo é importante na avaliação da estabilidade de taludes e encostas, sendo bastante comum sua avaliação por ensaios de laboratório. Este estudo objetivou avaliar a erodibilidade de um Neossolo Litólico Distrófico típico, arenoso, empregando o ensaio de Inderbitzen modificado, bem como verificar o efeito de blocos de contenção nas perdas de solo por erosão hídrica. Os ensaios de Inderbitzen modificados foram realizados em amostras de solo indeformadas, coletadas em formas metálicas com dimensões de 0,4 x 0,2, 0,15 m. Essas amostras receberam aplicação simultânea de água como precipitação simulada (300 mm.h-1) e como escoamento superficial (6 L.min-1). Foram avaliados os efeitos de cobertura vegetal (presença x ausência), declividade (5%, 17,5% e 35%), presença e modelo dos blocos de contenção e espaçamento entre os blocos (0,1 m, 0,2 m e 0,4 m) em ensaios inteiramente casualizados. As perdas de solo médias ficaram entre 0,03 e 2,1 g.cm-2, com erodibilidade estimada de 0,0034 g.cm-2.min-1.Pa-1. A cobertura vegetal e a declividade foram os fatores experimentais mais importantes que afetaram as perdas de solo. A utilização de linha de blocos de contenção reduziu significativamente as perdas de solo nos ensaios com cobertura vegetal e na maior declividade avaliada (35%). Nos ensaios sem cobertura vegetal as diferenças observadas com o uso de blocos de contenção não foram estatisticamente significativas.

Soil-cement is a building material that is considered low-cost and has a low environmental impact. Despite its benefits, performance optimisation studies are scarce compared to other materials such as concrete. The possibility of obtaining soil-cement with improved characteristics, such as flexural strength, would enable the increased use of this product in new applications in construction. The aim of this study is to produce high-performance soil-cement (HPSC) specimens and to evaluate and compare this new material with high-performance concrete (HPC) in terms of flexural strength. A total of 12 specimens were produced with a mixture of 23.5% (by mass) of cement with the application of 10 MPa of pressure for its compaction. The results show that, at 28 days, the specimens reached an average strength of 6.73 MPa and, at 240 days, 12.34 MPa. This means that the HPSC reached a flexural strength resistance equivalent to HPC without the need for mined materials, such as sand and gravel, or the additives adopted in some doses of HPC, such as superplasticisers. Therefore, when using local soil, HPSC can be considered an environmentally preferable alternative to HPC for many construction applications where flexural strength is a requirement.