Modelling forest fire spread through discrete event simulation

First Online: 07 January 2024Forest fires are becoming a more common occurrence in Portugal as well as worldwide. To extinguish or reduce them more quickly and effectively, it is crucial to understand how they spread. This paper presents a study and a model that shows how wildfires spread, assuming the forest can be represented by a graph, where the nodes correspond to forest stands and the arcs to the path between them. In order to do this, algorithms were developed in Python, using discrete event simulation, that allow modelling the progression of the fire on the graph. This fire propagation model takes into account several aspects of the forest, the wind being the most influential one. Some tests were performed, considering different ignition points, wind directions and wind speeds.This work was supported by the Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (FCT), within the Center for Research and Development in Mathematics and Applications (CIDMA), project UIDB/04106/2020; and through project PCIF/GRF/0141/2019-An Optimization Framework to reduce Forest Fire

Students' acceptance of an educational videos platform: a study in a portuguese university

The Educast is an  educational  videos’ platform that captures simultaneously video and digital support materials. This paper presents a study on the acceptance of Educast, by students, using the Technology Acceptance Model–TAM. The data was collected through a questionnaire applied to 54 students which results were analyzed using descriptive analysis and non-parametric tests. It was concluded that students expressed a positive attitude towards the variables Perceived Ease Of Use, Perceived Usefulness and Attitude Toward Using. The comparison between ratings assigned to the questionnaire items by the students who viewed video recordings and those that did not was performed, and it was found that the former showed higher levels of agreement with the referred items than the latter. It is considered that introducing some training before students have contact with Educast should be taken into account. The result of this work can be valuable not only for researchers on the Education area, but also for teachers that intend to use educational videos in their teaching/learning environment.publishe

Motivação dos alunos para a utilização da tecnologia wiki: um estudo prático no ensino superior

No âmbito do processo ensino-aprendizagem (EA), os wikis permitem ajudar na criação de um ambiente dinâmico e colaborativo de aprendizagem, por meio da comunicação, troca de ideias e partilha de conhecimento. O presente trabalho faz parte de um projeto cujo intuito é avaliar a aceitação do uso dessa tecnologia como meio de promoção da qualidade do processo EA. Em particular, o estudo descrito neste artigo tem como objetivo avaliar a motivação para a utilização de wikis por parte de um grupo de alunos da área tecnológica do ensino superior e compará-la entre os alunos que pretendem continuar fazendo uso da ferramenta em atividades futuras e os que não planejam usar a tecnologia. Essa experiência foi feita em contexto de sala de aula e os dados foram obtidos através da aplicação de dois questionários e da análise do histórico do wiki criado para a atividade desenvolvida em classe. Os resultados revelaram que os alunos, apesar de conhecerem a ferramenta, desconheciam, na prática, o seu modo de edição. As características dos wikis mais bem classificadas pelos alunos se relacionam com a facilidade de utilização percebida e com a utilidade da ferramenta, na medida que em promove a aprendizagem por meio de conteúdos colocados pelos outros e a realização de trabalhos de grupo sem depender da presença física nem dos horários dos seus elementos. Verificou-se, ainda, que a motivação para o uso dos wikis revelou-se, em alguns itens, significativamente diferente entre os grupos comparados.Within the teaching-learning (TL) process, the wikis help to create a dynamic and collaborative learning environment through communication, exchange of ideas and sharing of knowledge. The present work is part of a project whose aim is to evaluate the acceptance of the use of this technology as a means to promote the quality of the TL process. In particular, the study described in this article has as its objective to assess the motivation for the use of the wikis by a group of students from the technological area of higher education, and to carry out a comparison between students that intend to continue making use of this tool in future activities and those that do not plan to use this technology. This experience was made in the context of a classroom, and the data were obtained through the application of two questionnaires and analysis of the history of the wiki created for the activity developed in the classroom. The results showed that the students, despite knowing the tool, did not know in practice about its editing mode. The features of the wikis better classified by the students are related to the perceived ease of use and with the usefulness of the tool, in so far as it promotes learning through contents placed in it by others and through the conduction of group work relying neither on the physical presence of the members nor on their schedules. It has also been observed that the motivation for the use of the wikis turned out to be, in some items, significantly different among the groups compared

Investigating the use and acceptance of technologies by professors in a higher education institution

This article analyses the use and acceptance of technologies by professors in the teaching and learning context in a higher education institution. In the empirical study, a questionnaire based on the technology acceptance model was applied. The results indicated that the most used technologies are Moodle, Facebook and YouTube and it was concluded that in general, those technologies are well accepted. Few statistically significant differences between respondents’ gender, scientific areas or ages were found, revealing that the use of those technologies is already widespread in the studied institution. Results also showed that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are two important determinants of Moodle acceptance, and that the majority of respondents did not know the MOOC concept. This article is valuable for researchers in the area and for professors that want to implement the use technologies in the teaching and learning context.publishe

MADE.PT: design crítico para o desenvolvimento e prosperidade

Sem resumo disponível.publishe

Praxis and poiesis: from arts practice towards art theory

Sem resumo disponível.publishe

Selecting an open-source framework: a practical case based on software development for sensory analysis

The use of frameworks based on Free Open-Source Software (FOSS) has become a viable alternative in the software development process, when compared with Proprietary Software or Closed Source Software. Given that the quality of Open-Source Software (OSS) products varies widely, the careful evaluation of such frameworks, according to a set of requirements, is an important step in the software development process. This work presents the evaluation of some open-source frameworks in order to find the most suitable one for developing a Decision Support System (DSS) to use in Sensory Analysis. This DSS is being designed to support the evaluation of Tasting Panels in sectors where Sensory Analysis is used to assess products’ quality. The methodology used, based on content analysis in Online Collaborative Spaces, proved to be appropriate to achieve the objectives of this study and therefore, can be extended to select OSS in other areas. Thus, the result of this work is valuable not only for researchers on trends in the OSS area, but also for software developers that intend to implement DSS using FOSS

THEME: Theory and Memory: adding, interpreting & weaving layers

A presente coleção, DRX: Registos de Investigação em Design, vem assinalar dez anos de significativa produtividade académica e científica na Investigação em Design em Portugal. Por via da criação do Instituto de Investigação em Design, Media e Cultura [ID+] em 2008 foi possível potenciar esta disciplina científica a nível regional; é agora o tempo certo para congregar a sua correspondente produção de pensamento numa série de volumes, dotados de perspetivas próprias, mas convergentes no mote do ID+. O ID+ é uma unidade de investigação centrada na área do Design, mas alargada a outras áreas criativas da Arte e da Cultura. Desde a sua fundação o ID+ tem norteado a sua atividade pelas seguintes orientações estratégicas: (1) intervir ativamente na produção e aplicação de conhecimento, potenciando a função de mediação cultural que caracteriza o Design, a par do questionamento social e da inovação poética que a Arte permite; (2) demonstrar a importância estruturante do Design e da Arte na definição e implementação multidisciplinar de cenários credíveis para o crescimento sustentá-vel onde a qualidade de vida seja um pressuposto de prosperidade; (3) validar o Design e a Arte enquanto agentes éticos de uma cidadania exigente, critica e participada, cultivando a sua apropriação e tradutibilidade a nível social, cultural e económico; (4) escrutinar a contemporaneidade da herança cultural, na sua relação dinâmica com os novos paradigmas tecnológicos e mediáticos. O ID+ desenvolve esta missão principalmente na região Norte de Portugal e noutras regiões periféricas, mas também em redes de cooperação nacionais e internacionais. Opera contextualmente produzindo, transferindo, traduzindo e comunicando o conhecimento científico e profissional sobre o design, os media e a cultura em ambientes onde poderá gerar benefícios. O ID+ está atualmente organizado em oito grupos de investigação, cobrindo perspetivas específicas, mas mantendo a capacidade de reconfiguração e cooperação de acordo com os vários projetos e desafios em jogo: - CAOS: interfaces com indústrias locais - DESIS Lab: redes de inovação social e sustentabilidade - LUME: laboratório para os media inesperados - MADE.PT: design crítico para o crescimento e prosperidade - PRAXIS & POIESIS: prática e teoria da arte - SD Lab: estratégia e gestão do design - THEME: teoria e memória. Para além dos grupos referidos, PERIPHERIES é um grupo em fase de criação na Universidade da Madeira, que pretende investigar a relação do Design com a Natureza, a Cultura, o Turismo e outros conteúdos relacionados com o Oceano. A escala regional do ID+ é assegurada através de uma estrutura de consórcio baseado num acordo formal de cooperação entre a Universidade de Aveiro, a Universidade do Porto e o Instituto Politécnico do Cávado e do Ave. A convergência das respetivas competências institucionais garante um grau de hibridação e massa crítica que favorece um território de investigação expandido. A equipa conta, atualmente, com 168 membros, dos quais 69 são doutorados integrados. Além das Universidades de acolhimento e do Politécnico acima mencionados, a proveniência dos membros alarga-se a outras dez instituições de ensino superior e de investigação. O ID+ reúne um número significativo de jovens investigadores formados em Design e em outras áreas criativas e culturais. Nesse contexto o ID+ tem sido pioneiro na construção de um modelo operacional para uma cultura de investigação adequada ao Design, gerada entre a primeira geração estruturada de programas de doutoramento a nível nacional. A consolidação de uma cultura de investigação exige tempo e é por isso que decidimos incluir na celebração dos dez anos de existência do ID+, o desenvolvimento do corpo editorial já iniciado, preocupado tanto com a validação da investigação de acordo com os cânones científicos, como com a tradução e o impacto dessa investigação junto de públicos mais amplos e diversos. A publicação desta primeira coleção de DRX: Registos de Investigação em Design tem como objetivo sistematizar as dinâmicas de cada grupo, que se apresenta à comunidade nacional e internacional com a escolha dos artigos científicos mais relevantes que produziu ou escritos por personalidades de referência internacional com os quais trabalham ou trabalharam. A todos eles – Alastair Fuad-Luke, Bruce Brown, Clive Dilnot, Sophie Van der Linden e Victor Margolin - o nosso agradecimento pelas suas valiosas colaborações e, em especial, aos familiares da saudosa Anna Calvera (1954-2018), por terem autorizado a publicação de um texto da sua autoria. Com esta frente editorial que agora se inicia, o ID+ pretende incrementar a visibilidade do seu trabalho de investigação. Esperamos que conduza a novos desafios, ao fortalecimento de parcerias, à promoção de novas colaborações, qualificando novos horizontes de produção de sentido, conhecimento e valores com impacto no futuro coletivo.The present collection, DRX: Design Research Records, marks ten years of significant academic and scientific productivity in Design Research in Portugal. By means of the creation of the Research Institute for Design, Media and Culture [ID+] in 2008 it was possible to promote this scientific discipline at a regional level; it is now the right time to bring together their corresponding written output into a series of volumes, with their own perspectives, both specific and convergent in the motto of ID+. ID + is a research unit focused on the area of Design, extended to other creative areas of Art and Culture. Since its foundation, ID+ has guided its activity through the following strategic guidelines: (1) to actively intervene in the production and application of knowledge, while enhancing the nature of cultural mediation that characterises Design, while maintaining the social questioning and poetic innovation that art provokes; (2) to demonstrate the structuring importance of Design and Art in the multidisciplinary definition and implementation of credible scenarios for sustainable growth where quality of life is a prerequisite for prosperity; (3) to legitimize Design and Art as ethical premises of a demanding, critical and participating citizenship, fostering its appropriation and translatability at social, cultural and economic levels; (4) to scrutinize the contemporaneity of cultural heritage in its dynamic relationship with new technological and media paradigms. ID+ develops this mission primarily in the Northern region of Portugal and peripheral environments, as well as in national and international cooperation networks. It operates contextually by producing, transferring, reverting and communicating the scientific and professional knowledge of design, media and culture into environments where it may generate benefit. ID+ is currently organised in eight working groups, covering specific outlooks while maintaining the capacity for reconfiguration and cooperation according to the various projects and challenges at stake: - CAOS: interfaces with local industries - DESIS Lab: networks for social Innovation and sustainability - LUME: lab for unexpected media - MADE.PT: critical design for growth and prosperity - PRAXIS & POIESIS: art practice and theory - SD Lab: strategy and design management - THEME: theory and memory Besides the above groups, PERIPHERIES is under creation at the University of Madeira, focusing on Nature, Culture, Tourism and Ocean-related content. The regional scale of ID+ is ensured through a consortium structure based on a formal cooperation agreement between the University of Aveiro, the University of Porto and the Polytechnic Institute of Cávado and Ave. The convergence of the respective institutional competences ensures a degree of hybridity and critical mass that furthers an expanded research territory. As of 2018 the team comprises 168 members, of which 69 are integrated PhDs. Besides the aforementioned host Universities and Polytechnic, member provenance includes ten further higher education and research institutions. ID+ gathers a significant number of young researchers from Design and other creative and cultural areas. ID+ has therefore, in this context, pioneered an operative model for a proper research culture in Design amongst a first, structured national generation of PhD students. The consolidation of a research culture demands a temporal scope and this is why we decided to include in the celebration of the ten years of existence of ID+, the development of the editorial venture hereby, pertaining to the validation of research according to scientific canons, as well as with the translation and the impact of this research on broader and more diverse publics. The publication of this first DRX: Design Research Records collection aims to systematize the dynamics of each group through a selection of the most relevant scientific articles it has produced together with others written by, currently or formerly collaborating, internationally recognized experts. To all of them - Alastair Fuad-Luke, Bruce Brown, Clive Dilnot, Sophie Van der Linden and Victor Margolin - our sincere thanks for their valuable contributions to this effort, and especially to the family of the late Anna Calvera (1954-2018) for having authorized the publication of one of her texts. Through this new publishing venture, ID+ ultimately aims to increase the visibility of its research work. We hope this will lead to new challenges, the strengthening of current partnerships and fostering new collaborations, thus qualifying new outlooks for the production of meaning, knowledge and values that will impact our collective future.publishe