Apresenta um diagnóstico geral sobre a situação dos professores da educação básica no País, tendo por base as fontes de dados atualmente existentes. Os indicadores apresentados apontam que, se muito se caminhou na melhoria da qualificação dos professores, muito ainda há que se fazer neste aspecto e, em especial, na melhoria das condições de trabalho e dos salários dos professores e da infra-estrutura das escolas. Palavras-chave: valorização do magistério; escolaridade; mercado de trabalho; condições de trabalho; rendimento médio; políticas públicas. Abstract It presents a general diagnosis about the situation of basic education teachers in the Country, with basis on sources of existent data. The presented indicators point that, if much has been done on the improvement of teachers' qualification, there is still much to do concerning this aspect and, especially, the improvement on their work conditions and on their wages as well as on the infrastructure of schools. Keywords: valorization; education; job market; work conditions; monthly medium revenue; public politics.

Analisa os principais fatores associados ao analfabetismo com base nos dados do Censo de 2000, realizado pelo IBGE. As principais conclusões do estudo indicam que o analfabetismo é um fenômeno que está presente com maior predominância não só nas regiões mais pobres do País como, também, na periferia dos grandes centros urbanos. Constata-se, ainda, um número considerável de analfabetos na faixa de 10 a 18 anos de idade, o que mostra que, no Brasil, a freqüência à escola não é um antídoto contra o analfabetismo. Observa-se também que, nos municípios onde a média de anos de estudo é elevada, o número de analfabetos é pequeno. Esses fatos apontam para a necessidade de as políticas de combate ao analfabetismo levarem em conta os diferentes perfis dos segmentos que se encontram nessa situação, bem como atuarem pari passu com as políticas de ampliação da escolaridade da população brasileira. Palavras-chave: taxa de analfabetismo; indicadores educacionais; desigualdades regionais. Abstract The paper analyzes the main factors associated to illiteracy, with basis on data collected by School Census 2000, accomplished by IBGE. The main conclusions of the study indicate that illiteracy is a phenomenon that is present with larger predominance not only in the poorer areas of the country but also, in the periphery of great urban centers. One still verifies a considerable number of illiterates varying from 10 to 18 years of age, which shows that, in Brazil, school frequency is not an antidote against illiteracy. One also observes that in municipal districts, where the average of school years is elevated, the number of illiterates is small. These facts point out the necessity to fight illiteracy, taking into account the different profiles of the segments that are in this situation, as well as acting simultaneously with the politics of increasing education in Brazil. Keywords: illiteracy rate, educational indicators, regional inequalities.

Sustenta que o acesso das escolas às novas tecnologias de informação poderá converter-se num poderoso instrumento para a superação de deficiências crônicas do sistema educacional brasileiro, sobretudo na educação básica. Nesse contexto, o processo educacional deve ser criativo e flexível, propiciando a criação de ambientes de aprendizagem que incorporem as novas tecnologias, colocando-as a serviço da formação de cidadãos críticos e produtivos. A criação desses novos ambientes de aprendizagem e sua ação eficiente exigem não só a implantação de uma infra-estrutura de laboratórios de informática, a utilização da rede mundial de computadores e de aplicativos facilitadores da aprendizagem, mas sobretudo alterações no papel dos principais atores do processo ensino-aprendizagem: a escola, o professor e o aluno. Palavras-chave: inclusão digital; acesso à Internet; escolas; informática na educação; informatização; censo escolar. Abstract This paper discusses that school access to the new information technologies will become a powerful instrument for the overcoming of chronic deficiencies of the Brazilian educational system, above all, in basic education. In this context, the educational process must be creative and flexible, propitiating the creation of learning environment that incorporates the new technologies, placing them in the service of the formation of critical and productive citizens. The creation of these new learning environments and their efficient action demand not only the implantation of an infrastructure of computer science laboratories, the use of the world-wide net of computers and learning applications, but above all, alterations in the role of the main actors of the teaching-learning process: the school, the teacher and the pupil. Keywords: digital inclusion; access to the Internet in schools; pedagogical use of computer science; computerization of schools; school census.

Voice input for control of camera functions was investigated in this study. Objectives were to (1) assess the feasibility of a voice-commanded camera control system, and (2) identify factors that differ between voice and manual control of camera functions. Subjects participated in a remote manipulation task that required extensive camera-aided viewing. Each subject was exposed to two conditions, voice and manual input, with a counterbalanced administration order. Voice input was found to be significantly slower than manual input for this task. However, in terms of remote manipulator performance errors and subject preference, there was no difference between modalities. Voice control of continuous camera functions is not recommended. It is believed that the use of voice input for discrete functions, such as multiplexing or camera switching, could aid performance. Hybrid mixes of voice and manual input may provide the best use of both modalities. This report contributes to a better understanding of the issues that affect the design of an efficient human/telerobot interface.

As a prelude to the assembly of the International Space Station Alpha, the Space Shuttle will dock with the current Russian Mir Space Station several times. In order to align the docking interfaces, the Shuttle commander will use a camera view of a target mounted inside the Mir docking hatch to determine and to correct misalignment. An evaluation took place at NASA's Johnson Space Center to determine if modifications to the target design resolved previous visibility issues and to quantify the effect of orbital shadows on the commander's ability to perceive target cues. Both the commander and pilot of the first two docking missions participated as subjects. Results of this evaluation showed that target visibility issues were resolved. Critical information was also provided to operations engineers regarding how to deal with orbital shadows during rendezvous. These results assisted ground operations controllers in instructing the STS-63 crew on what image data was required to verify expected on-orbit conditions for upcoming Shuttlemir missions.