Creating Virtual Animals Through Machine Learning

Approximately 42 percent of threatened or endangered species are at risk due to invasive species. Some invasive species find the new habitat by themselves during migrations, others are misplaced by humans, be it by mistake or necessity. This project aims to create a virtual habitat, populated by intelligent agents that represent the animals present in it. Programmers and scientists can add invasive species, and simulate what might happen. This will allow a more proactive response to this type of crisis. Different data-driven models are explored in order to find the best one for the problem at hands. Game engines are discussed, they have improved greatly over the last decade, and are accessible to everyone. Reliable tools to build simple or complex prototypes that give us graphic representations that can be photo realisticAproximadamente 42 por cento das espécies em vias de extinção estão em risco devido a espécies invasoras. Algumas dessas espécies invasoras chegam aos novos habitats através de migrações, outras chegam através da mão humana, voluntaria ou involuntariamente. Este projeto tem como objetivo criar um habitat virtual, com agentes inteligentes que rep resentam os animais presentes nesse mesmo habitat. Programadores e cientistas poderão adicionar espécies invasoras, e simular o que pode acontecer. Isto irá permitir uma resposta mais proativa quando estes tipos de crises acontecem. Diferentes modelos orientados a dados são explorados, a fim de perceber qual será o melhor para resolver o problema. Game engines são discutidos, este tipo de ferramenta tem evoluído bastante ao longo da última década, são ferramentas grátis, que podem ser usadas para criar protótipos com gráficos simples, ou foto realista

Setting up a network of agrometeorological stations in East Timor

A developed and sustainable agriculture requires a permanent and reliable monitoring of climatic/ meteorological elements in (agro) meteorological stations which should be located close to agricultural, silvicultural or pastoral activities. An adequate network of meteorological stations is then a necessary condition to support innovation and development in any country. Developing countries, mainly those with a history of frequent conflicts, presents deficient number of weather stations, often poorly composed and improperly distributed within their territories, and without a regular operation that allows continuity of records for a sufficiently long period of time. The objective of this work was to build a network of meteorological and agro-meteorological stations in East Timor. To achieve this goal, the number and location of pre-existing stations, their structure and composition (number and type of sensors, communication system,… ), the administrative division of the country and the available agro-ecological zoning, the agricultural and forestry practices in the country, the existing centres for the agricultural research and the history of the weathers records were taken into account. Several troubles were found (some of the automatic stations were assembled incorrectly, others stations duplicated information regarding the same agricultural area, vast areas with relevant agro-ecological representativeness were not monitored …). It was proposed the elimination of 11 existing stations, the relocation of 7 new stations in places not covered until then, the automation of 3 manual meteorological stations. Two networks were then purposed, a major with 15 agro-meteorological stations (all automatized) and one other secondary composed by 32 weather stations (only two were manual). The set of the 47 stations corresponded to a density of 329 km2/station. The flexibility in the composition of each of the networks was safeguarded and intends to respond effectively to any substantive change in the conditions in a country in constant change. It was also discussed the national coverage by these networks under a “management concept for weather stations”

IMPLEMENTING A NETWORK OF WEATHER AND AGROMETEOROLOGICAL STATIONS: A CASE STUDY IN TIMOR-LESTE

Modern and developed agriculture requires permanent and reliable monitoring of both meteorological/climatic and biological variables in agrometeorological stations. The main objective of the work was to implement a network of agrometeorological stations in Timor-Leste, a developing Southeast Asian country with irregular weather/climate monitoring for the past decades mainly due to political instability (wars, occupations,...) and at that time still devoid of any national network of meteorological stations. For this purpose, we took into account the administrative division of the country and the available agro-climatic zoning, the location of the existing stations and of those with relevant historical records, the agricultural and forestry practices in the country, the existing agricultural research centres as well as the structure and composition of the existing stations (number and type of sensors, communication system, …) and the human resources to ensure a proper stations network management. The implementation of a network composed of 50 weather stations was proposed to cover the entire national territory (299.34 km2/station). A network of agrometeorological stations was purposed by strengthening the equipment in 15 out of these 50 weather stations with sensors that measure agrometeorological parameters and by assuring the ability to maintain it . Flexibility in the composition of each network has been safeguarded for the purpose of responding to any substantial change in financial or technical conditions in an ever-changing country. All methodologies and recommendations were discussed on the basis of a “management concept for weather stations” which requires not only scientific rigor in the choice of locations to be monitored, but also maintenance, human resources training and the involvement of beneficiary populations

Academic achievement in public higher education quality – A study on the effects of teachers’ commitment, teaching and evaluation methodologies in Nursing and Management degrees students.

The huge development of science and technology and the political, social and economic changes that characterize post-modern societies, demand from education systems a quality formation for all citizens. The great challenge of the XXI century in education is not only to ensure the acquisition of a range of varied and current competencies, but also to guarantee the quality of learning. Therefore, the quality of education is a major concern to governments, politicians, academics and researchers and has been an issue widely discussed in scientific meetings and studied in several education research programs in different countries in the Western world. The results of research on education quality show a positive correlation between students’ academic performance and education quality. However, we must go further, it is necessary to research quality indicators, to understand how students perceive education quality. In order to achieve these goals, we developed an exploratory study with students from different higher education institutions in Portugal. Data sampling consists in students of different courses of higher education in Alentejo (Portugal). Data collection was conducted through a survey questionnaire. This work presents the analysis of students’ representations of quality, in Nursing and Management degrees in the University of Évora and in Beja Polytechnic Institute, under three dimensions: teacher’s commitment, teaching methodology and evaluation methodologies, as to relate the influence of these variables with the academic success of students

A descoberta do elemento : memórias de um percurso profissional

Este relatório apresenta uma reflexão teoricamente fundamentada sobre alguns episódios do meu percurso profissional que considero terem sido mais significativos, na medida em que potenciaram uma (re)construção da minha identidade profissional, sendo, igualmente, exemplos do meu modo de ser, estar e sentir. Essas vivências ocorreram em três momentos distintos do meu percurso profissional. O primeiro momento foi vivenciado numa Escola do Ensino Básico onde, apesar das diferentes resistências sentidas, foi possível, através do desenvolvimento de uma atividade artística, integrar alunos surdos-mudos na Comunidade Educativa daquela Escola. O segundo momento foi vivenciado num Colégio Católico e retrata as tentativas de integração social de um aluno com fobia social que, na altura, revelaram ter sucesso. O terceiro momento relata a minha frequência no curso de pós-graduação em Administração Educativa e centra-se na importância da formação dos professores e nas mudanças que este curso gerou na minha prática educativa. Esta reflexão é, assim, caracterizada pela importância do trabalho colaborativo, assim como no estabelecimento de uma relação pedagógica mais próxima, que respeite as diferenças existentes em cada pessoa, enquanto seres únicos e irrepetíveis. Neste sentido é reforçada a importância das dimensões da emoção, da afetividade e da sensibilidade ao outro, ou seja, no estabelecimento de uma comunidade de relacionamentos, que assente em princípios e valores éticos. Por outro lado, esta reflexão permitiu-me tirar conclusões sobre a necessidade de desenvolver uma autonomia escolar mais alargada e efetiva, com um modelo de financiamento justo e equitativo que permita que os pais possam escolher o Projeto Educativo que pretendem para os seus filhos, desenvolvendo, assim, uma verdadeiro espírito de Liberdade, Autonomia, Respeito e Responsabilidade. Desta forma, seria possível melhorar a aprendizagem e o sucesso educativo dos alunos, assim como continuar a alimentar a paixão pela Educação que deve residir em cada professor.This report presents a reflection theoretically founded on a few episodes of my career that I consider to have been most significant in that it potentiated a (re) construction of my professional identity, and also examples of my way of being and feeling . These experiences occurred in three distinct moments of my career. The first moment was experienced in a Basic Education School, where despite the different resistances felt, it was possible, through the development of an artistic activity, to integrate deaf-mutes students within the school’s educational community. The second moment was experienced in a Catholic school and portrays the attempts of social integration of a student with social phobia who, at the time, proved to be successful. The third moment relates the frequency in a post-graduation course in Educational Administration and focuses on the importance of teacher training and the changes that this course led into my educational practice. This reflection is thus characterized by the importance of collaborative work as well as the establishment of a closer pedagogical relationship that respects the differences in each person as a unique and unrepeatable being. This way it is reinforced the importance of the dimensions of emotion, affection and sensitivity towards the other, that is, the establishment of a community of relationships, which is based on ethical principles and values. Moreover, this reflection has allowed me to draw conclusions about the need to develop broader and more effective school autonomy, with a model of fair and equitable funding that allows parents to choose the educational project they want for their children, developing thus a true spirit of Freedom, Autonomy, Respect and Responsibility. This way, it would be possible to improve students’ learning and educational success, as well as to continue to fuel the passion for education that resides in each teacher

A fossil bone of a giant ground sloth from the last millennium of the pleistocene: New data from Salto department, Uruguay

During the Pleistocene-Holocene transition at ~10.0 uncalibrated, or ~11.7 calibrated kya, the Americas were undoubtedly inhabited by humans from north to south ends. The groups living in that time had cultural and adaptive differences in terms of subsistence and technological pursuits. Particularly in the southern cone of South America, archaeological remains witnessed hunter-gatherers living at ~11.0 - 10.0 uncalibrated kya. They mostly used the so-called “fishtail,” or just “Fell” points, a widespread Paleo-American marker. Despite that, they exploited different faunal species, including extant and extinct fauna. At the Salto Department in the northwestern region of Uruguay, on the Itaperibí Grande creek shore, archaeological remains of bones and stones were recovered. One of the most remarkable is a fragmented fossil femur of Lestodon armatus, a mega-mammal giant ground sloth. In its anterior face, this specimen shows diverse kinds of marks. However, no clear association among the findings was documented. Then, in order to check the possible relationship between the bone and the artifacts, the specimen was subjected to radiocarbon dating and it was analyzed in detail from a taphonomic perspective to evaluate the origin of the marks. The radiocarbon assay indicates that the specimen belongs to the last millennium of the Pleistocene. The date is relevant as it is one of the few assays obtained on a sample from that time. The taphonomic study revealed that the marks were not produced by human activity, hence, its primary relationship with the stone artifacts is uncertain. Despite that, these data make an important contribution to the knowledge about the fauna contemporaneously living with the earliest hunt er-gatherer that were foraging the regional landscape during one of the colonization events that populated the southern cone of South America.Fil: Nami, Hugo Gabriel. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Geología. Instituto de Geofísica "Daniel Valencio"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Geociencias Básicas, Aplicadas y Ambientales de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Geociencias Básicas, Aplicadas y Ambientales de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Chichkoyan, Karina Vanesa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Lujan. Rectorado. Instituto de Investigaciones Geograficas; ArgentinaFil: Trindade, Mario. Museo de Arqueología y Ciencias Naturales; UruguayFil: Lanata, Jose Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Diversidad Cultural y Procesos de Cambio. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro. Instituto de Investigaciones en Diversidad Cultural y Procesos de Cambio; Argentin

Representações dos estudantes sobre qualidade de ensino – estudos psicométricos de validação de um questionário no ensino público português

O presente estudo integra um projecto mais amplo, cuja finalidade principal consiste em verificar como as representações dos estudantes, sobre a qualidade de ensino, evoluem na transição de ciclo de estudos, em concreto, na passagem do ensino básico para o ensino secundário, e deste para o superior, acompanhando-os de forma longitudinal. As variáveis aqui consideradas foram as seguintes: motivação, empenho dos docentes do curso, materiais pedagógicos, metodologias de ensino, metodologias de avaliação, programas das unidades curriculares, organização do processo de ensino e aprendizagem, infra-estruturas e recursos da instituição de ensino superior, perfil e estrutura do curso, satisfação e rendimento académico. Neste trabalho damos conta do processo de construção do questionário que sustentou a recolha de informação. Trata-se de um questionário de auto-relato, constituído por 68 itens numa escala de resposta de quatro pontos: discordo completamente, discordo, concordo, concordo completamente, que tem como objectivo conhecer as representações de qualidade dos estudantes face ao ensino a que são sujeitos. Apresentamos os estudos de sensibilidade, validade e consistência interna do questionário com uma amostra de alunos do ensino público superior português

Variáveis de contexo que suportam as representações de qualidade do ensino superior

A crescente importância atribuída às questões relativas à qualidade da educação, vigente nas organizações de ensino superior, tem dado o mote à investigação científica, visando potenciar o desenvolvimento de mecanismos de aferição e desenvolvimento de estratégias de monitorização dessa qualidade, numa perspectiva de auxílio ao planeamento para a melhoria. Este trabalho, inserido no âmbito do projecto “Da qualidade do ensino ao sucesso académico: um estudo longitudinal sobre a perspectiva dos estudantes dos ensinos secundário e superior. Procura de práticas eficazes para um rendimento académico de sucesso” (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-007101), financiado pela FCT, estuda as representações dos estudantes universitários acerca da qualidade do ensino e as percepções que têm da organização dos processos de ensino e de aprendizagem, numa perspectiva de avaliação do seu grau de satisfação face ao perfil do curso que frequentam, as metodologias de ensino seguidas, o empenho dos docentes, as infra-estruturas e os recursos do estabelecimento de ensino. Foi utilizado um questionário original de auto-relato, com os itens distribuídos numa escala de quatro pontos: discordo completamente, discordo, concordo, concordo completamente. Apresentamos estudos de sensibilidade, validade e consistência interna do questionário, incorporando já adaptações sugeridas por ensaios prévios, derivados deste mesmo projecto de investigação, com uma amostra de alunos dos cursos de Gestão e Enfermagem da Universidade de Évora e do Instituto Politécnico de Beja

A modelização e o papel do design na inovação e liderança de organizações distribuídas e multiculturais

No actual contexto criativo e tecnológico é imperativo analisar e mapear a complexidade destas organizações cada vez mais distribuídas e globais. As divergências culturais e a gestão de pessoas, processos e tarefas têm um impacto nas decisões e performance das equipas de design. Este estudo centra-se numa análise da literatura das últimas décadas sobre os modelos culturais, as formas de liderança, de comunicação, de gestão criativa e de design. Os processos de inovação, os paradigmas de comunicação multimodal, o uso da tecnologia, a abolição do espaço físico e temporal são também objeto de grande foco neste estudo. O modelo de gestão de design e inovação a ser apresentado pretende servir de alavanca para a operacionalização de uma estrutura multidimensional, bem como de suporte académico para futuros estudos e desenvolvimentos sobre o tema.In the current creative and technological context, it is imperative to analyze and map the complexity of these increasingly distributed and global organizations. Cultural differences and the management of people, processes and tasks have an impact on the decisions and performance of design teams. This study focuses on an analysis of the literature of the last decades on cultural models, forms of leadership, communication, creative and design management. Innovation processes, multimodal communication paradigms, the use of technology, the abolition of physical and temporal spaces are also objects of great focus in this study. The design and innovation management model to be presented intends to serve as a lever for an operationalization of a multidimensional structure, as well as an academic support for future studies and developments on the subject

Academic Performance in Public Higher Education Institutions: A study on the effects of Teacher Commitment, Teaching Methodologies and Evaluation Methodologies in Students attending Nursing and Management courses.

The rapid development of science and technology as well as politic, social and economical dynamics which characterize post-modern societies, demand from educational systems a high quality education accessible to all. The main challenge of the XXI century in the educational field is not only to assure that students acquire a wide range of skills which are permanently updated, but also to guarantee the quality of those learning experiences. Consequently, the quality level in education is one of the major concerns of those government leaders, politicians, academics and researchers. This has also been a highly discussed subject in scientific meetings and it has been studied in many educational research programs in the many different countries of the western world. Research results on education quality show a positive relation between student’s academic performance and teaching quality. However, it is necessary to venture further; research on quality indicators is needed in order to understand how students recognize quality in teaching. In order to achieve this, we have developed an exploratory study involving students from different higher education institutions in Portugal. The data was collected using a questionnaire survey and the sample consists of students in different courses from higher education institutions in Alentejo (Portugal). This work shows the analysis of what students in Nursing and Management courses at the University of Évora and Polytechnic Institute of Beja, recognize as tecahing quality in three different domains: teacher commitment, teaching methodologies and evaluation methodologies. The aim of the analysis is to verify the influence of these variables on students’ academic performance