The application of the lean innovation aproach in the stage-gate model

Innovation has become over the last decades an essential factor for survival of the organizations. Its scope and its its importance includes not only technological aspects but also the administrative area, with the clear objective of increasing competitiveness, thereby making the mission to innovate not only the responsibility of a single area, but the responsibility of all employees in all areas. Accelerated competition has pushed companies to use innovation management tools in research and new product development. Although several models exist in the literature of innovation management, with regard to new product development, there is room for improvement in the management of innovation, from idea generation until product launch. This paper seeks to identify an alternative for improving innovation management, buiding on the stage-gate model, and using the concept of lean innovation, which is a new approach toward the management of the innovation process, based on the concepts of the Toyota Production System. With the use of the lean innovation aproach during some stages of the stage-gate model, it is possible to achieve results in time and cost reduction in new product development.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, PEst- OE/EME/UI0252/201

Desenvolvimento de sensor piezoresistivo flexível para aplicação têxtil desportiva

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia TêxtilAtualmente, os têxteis inteligentes vêm promover à indústria um fator económico e competitivo muito importante para a sua sustentabilidade. A sua importância vai permitir às empresas novas oportunidades de negócio e expansão para outros mercados. A modernização e a evolução do mercado, passa pela diferenciação de produtos e pela produção de artigos de valor acrescentado. Neste sentido, a incorporação de funcionalidades tecnológicas aos produtos vestíveis vai permitir elevar a indústria e os têxteis a outro patamar. Por outro lado, a implementação de tecnologia nos têxteis pode ser aplicada em vários campos, como em áreas de medicina, militar, social, desportiva, entre outras. No que diz respeito ao âmbito desportivo, a procura por têxteis inteligentes está muito valorizada e é hoje, efetivamente, um produto apetecível na medida em que garantam o mesmo conforto que habitualmente conferem. Têm funcionalidades acrescidas, como por exemplo o de reagir perante um estímulo, adaptar, informar, medir ou quantificar mediante à atividade que exercem. O incremento da tecnologia nos têxteis vai permitir que, por exemplo, um atleta monitorize o seu treino instantaneamente, e permita melhorar a sua performance e rentabilidade desportiva. Nesta conjuntura, a implementação de sensores nos produtos têxteis vai garantir a criação de produtos inovadores. Assim, este trabalho teve como objetivo principal desenvolver um sensor têxtil de pressão flexível para envolver um saco de boxe, capaz de quantificar a força exercida quando aplicada uma pancada. Os sensores foram produzidos com base num tecido condutor e num filme piezoresistivo, em que a união destes dois materiais fez-se através de um termoadesivo, obtendo por fim uma sandwich de materiais. Foram testados dez termoadesivos distintos, com diferentes estruturas e composições químicas, para garantir elevada adesão e excelente resistência ao uso. O estudo permitiu a análise das propriedades térmicas e mecânicas dos materiais, por forma a assegurar a fiabilidade e a resistência necessária. Quanto à construção do sensor, recorreu-se a um método industrial em processo contínuo, para assegurar a reprodutibilidade e a otimização de produção. O processo utilizado para a união dos materiais foi através de laminagem com uma calandra rotativa. O comportamento dos sensores foi avaliado através de um processo integrado, entre a análise da força exercida e da tensão aplicada em simultâneo sobre o sensor, por forma a verificar a fiabilidade, a sensibilidade e a linearidade do sensor. Após a identificação do termoadesivo com melhores resultados de adesão - termoadesivo 6388.003, foi realizado recorte a laser com estruturas distintas para avaliar a estrutura ideal. O recorte do adesivo é necessário para proporcionar condução elétrica entre os elétrodos e a camada piezoresistiva visto que o termoadesivo é isolante elétrico. Assim, o termoadesivo 6388.003 estrutura G, recortado com circunferências de diâmetro 0,3cm e superfície livre de 59% apresenta resultados mais positivos que as outras estruturas testadas. Quanto à resistência ao desprendimento, o termoadesivo 6388.003 apresenta 87% de maior adesão face ao termoadesivo 311 testado. Em suma, neste estudo, o sensor têxtil piezoresistivo que apresenta melhores características eletromecânicas e de desprendimento é o que se apresenta na forma combinada de tecido condutor Statex, filme polimérico piezoresistivo Linqstat e do termoadesivo 6388.003 estrutura G.Currently, smart textiles are a very important factor for textile industry’s economic and competitive progress, as well as for its sustainability. It is one of the areas that provides companies with new business opportunities and expansion to other markets. Modernization and evolution of the market involves product differentiation and added-value- articles. In this sense, incorporation of new technological functionalities into wearable products will allow industry and textiles to be taken to another level. On the other hand, implementation of technology in textiles can be applied in several areas, such as medical, military, sports, social areas, among others. In regards to sports, the search for smart textiles is highly valued and it’s today, effectively a product in high demand that should provide the same comfort as normal products confer. By adding functionalities, it offers the capability of reacting to stimulus, adapting, recording, measuring or quantifying parameters related to the activity exercised. By applying technology in textiles, it is possible, for example, for an athlete to monitor his training instantly, and allows him to improve his performance and sports profitability. In this context, the implementation of sensors in textile products provides a development opportunity of new and innovative products. Therefore, this work had as the main objective developing a pressure sensor made with flexible materials to involve a punching bag, capable of quantifying force applied when punched. The sensors were produced based on conductive fabric and a piezoresistive film. The bonding of these two materials (sandwich) was made through a thermo-adhesive material, having in this work ten different adhesives been tested with distinct structures and chemical compositions, to guarantee high adhesion and excellent wear and tear resistance. The study enabled the analysis of the thermal and mechanical properties of the materials used, in order to guarantee reliability and the necessary mechanical resistance. In regards to the creation of the sensor itself, an industrial method based on a continuous process has been tested, to allow reproducibility and optimization of production. The bonding of the materials was completed by a laminating process by the use of rotating calander (rolling machine). The behaviour of the sensors was evaluated through an integrated process, involving the analysis of force applied on the sensor and relating this to the sensor’s reaction, in order to verify the reliability, sensitivity and linearity of the sensor. After identifying the thermal adhesive with the best adhesion results – thermal adhesive 6388.003, a laser cut with different structures was performed to evaluate an ideal structure. Given that the adhesive is an electric isolator, it was necessary to produce a cut pattern to allow electrical contact between the sensor’s material layers. It was found that the thermal adhesive 6388.003 cut with pattern G, with a diameter with 0.3 cm and a free surface of 59% provides better results than other tested forms. Regarding resistance of adhesion, thermal adhesive 6388.003 presents 87% higher adherence than others thermal adhesive tested. Based on the results, the piezoelectric textile sensor that offer the best electromechanical behaviour and characteristics is the sandwich with conductive fabric Statex, piezoresistive polymeric film Linqstat and adhesive 6388.003 structure G

Teaching of Botany in higher education: representations and discussions of undergraduate students

The teaching of botany is characterised as being taught in a technical and uninteresting way for students. The objective of this work is to find out what students think of the way Botany is taught and their views on this as students and in the future as teachers. To achieve this objective an open questionnaire was given to first year undergraduate students studying Biological Sciences. Two hundred and twenty one students from four different Universities filled in the questionnaire. From the results collated, students in our sample were in favour of a more practical teaching of Botany, however if they were the teachers they would teach more theoretically. This shift of position (from student to teacher) brought about a change in the way Botany would be taught, as it changed the perspective, in spite of the players being the same. This work has pointed out that the representation of a concept can vary depending on the subject’s point of view and that it is important to pay close attention to the training of these future Biology teachers.CIEC – Research Centre on Child Studies, IE, UMinho (FCT R&D unit 317), PortugalNational Funds through the FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology) and co-financed by European Regional Development Funds (FEDER) through the Competitiveness and Internationalization Operational Program (POCI) through CIEC (Research Centre on Child Studies, of the University of Minho) with the reference POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007562Strategic Project UID/CED/00317/201

Higher education biology students’ conceptions on botany teaching : a Brazil – Portugal case study

Generally, the teaching of botany is seen as mainly based on the transmission of knowledge and on empirical-logical thinking, in a context of scientific knowledge and with the purpose of affirming truth about the world. From this perspective, both in Brazil and in Portugal botany is usually seen as a list of scientific names remote from the daily life of students, which might make classes demotivating. This project was designed with the aim of understanding the prior conceptions of higher education students training to be biology teachers. It was based on a questionnaire that allowed open answers, completed by students in the beginning of their degree. The purpose of this questionnaire was to collect data that would show how students understood teaching in general and botany teaching in particular, and how they conceived the teachers’ role in the development of their knowledge of teaching methods. Data showed that Brazilian students considered the teaching of botany as a theoretical subject that was followed by a practical component. The practical classes were based on demonstration of what had previously been explained in theory. The Portuguese students considered the teaching to be more practical. Teaching was seen as based on practice and classes were more dynamic and fostered interaction. All students said that the teacher was a source of knowledge who also encouraged practice, which made teaching essential for their training. However, Portuguese students stressed that teachers should motivate students to see botany as a field of knowledge.CIEC – Research Centre on Child studies, UM (FCT R&D 317

Improvement opportunities: Quality service in public schools

O artigo avalia a qualidade do serviço ofertado por escolas públicas situadas no sertão paraibano e adjacências. Para isto, foram apreendidos as expectativas (importância) e o desempenho em relação a um conjunto de 18 atributos; os quais estão relacionados aos docentes (conhecimento técnico, didática, estímulo ofertado aos alunos), aos aspectos tangíveis (salas de aula, banheiros, biblioteca), aos materiais didáticos disponíveis, à organização escolar (horários, serviços administrativos) e à reputação institucional. Foi utilizado um questionário estruturado para capturar as respostas de 1394 alunos de dezessete instituições de ensino. Com o auxílio do Statistical Package for the Social Science – SPSS, versão 19.0, foram extraídas estatísticas descritivas e realizado o teste de Spearman. Os resultados relevaram que o padrão de expectativas dos alunos, em essência, foi heterogêneo. Em geral, os atributos mais valorizados referem-se aos docentes (conhecimento e estímulo), ao passo que aqueles relacionados à infraestrutura (internet, recursos multimídias e segurança) foram percebidos como menos importantes. Ademais, o conjunto de ações apontado pelas matrizes de posicionamento competitivo e de avaliação de desempenho podem subsidiar às decisões gerenciais de aperfeiçoamento dos níveis de serviço prestados pelas escolas públicasThe article evaluates the quality of the service offered by public schools located in Paraiba and adjacencys. For this, were captured expectations (importance) and performance in relation to a set of eighteen attributes; which are related to teachers (technical knowledge, didactics, incentives offered to students), the tangible aspects (classrooms, toilets, library), the teaching materials available, school organization (timetables, administrative services) and institutional reputation. We used a structured questionnaire to capture the 1394 students answers from seventeen educational institutions. With the support of Statistical Package for Social Science - SPSS, version 19.0, descriptive statistics were extracted and the Spearman test was performed. The results showed that the standard of students' expectations, in essence, is heterogeneous. In general, the most valued attributes refer to teachers (knowledge and stimulus), while those related infrastructure (internet, multimedia resources and safety) were perceived as less important. Moreover, the set of actions appointed by competitive positioning matrix and performance evaluation matrix can assist in management decisions to improve the service levels provided by public school

PRODUÇÃO DA BIBLIOTECA DIGITAL DO IBICT SOBRE INTERSECCIONALIDADE E SABERES DOCENTES

Dialogar acerca do panorama da produção do conhecimento sobre o uso da interseccionalidade como parte dos saberes docente, nos bancos de dissertações e teses publicados na Biblioteca Digital do Instituto Brasileiro de Informação em Ciência e Tecnologia (IBICT), consolida-se foco do presente manuscrito. A abordagem do diálogo proposto centra-se nos estudos pós-críticos em educação por se propor relacionar diferenças e ato de ensinar. Utiliza-se, para isso, a pesquisa bibliográfica, especialmente o recurso do estado da arte, a partir da junção dos descritores: interseccionalidade e saberes docentes. Com estes dados, pretende-se levantar, tabular, periodizar e caracterizar as contribuições das dissertações e teses das áreas filtradas. Dos dados, conclui-se que são inovadores os diálogos da interseccionalidade como recurso metodológico promotor de práticas de ensino que reconheça as possibilidades de se alcançar contextos pedagógicos e curriculares preocupados com os direitos humanos, diferenças e a desconstrução de vias de subalternidades

Simulação Empresarial: desenvolvimento de novas funcionalidades

O modelo de Simulação Empresarial é desenvolvido na unidade curricular, com a mesma designação, do 3º ano da licenciatura em Contabilidade ministrada no Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administração do ISCA da Universidade de Aveiro. No âmbito de protocolos interinstitucionais, abrange uma rede de escolas do ensino superior politécnico portuguesas, e ainda dois estabelecimentos de ensino superior moçambicanos: Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (Maputo e Chibuto) e Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Auditoria de Moçambique (Maputo). As metodologias de ensino inovadoras presentes nesta rede de ensino implicam um acompanhamento contínuo das equipas de docentes envolvidas por forma a tornar real a partilha de experiências. Com este projeto procurou-se melhorar o conjunto de instrumentos que facilitam a automatização da informação relevante para avaliação do aluno, face aos dados que estes têm de submeter na plataforma no decorrer da unidade curricular.Simulação Empresarial’s model is part of the unit with the same name, present in the the 3th year of the program's degree of “licenciatura em Contabilidade”, offered by Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administração do ISCA, University of Aveiro. It is a net model, which includes several portuguese politechnical schools and also two mozambican institutions, the University Eduardo Mondlane (in Maputo and Chibuto) and Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Auditoria (in Maputo). This teaching network brings inovative methodologies that requires a continuous support to local teachers so they can experience a real teaching sharing event. With this project we take one further step to improve the set of working instruments. The goal is to facilitate the automatization of treating relevant information related to the process of evaluation of students, considering the amount of data they have to upload into the platform during the course