Interactive and Live Program Construction

In the highly technological and advanced society we live nowadays, it is essential to explore new development approaches in order to increase the efficiency and flexibility with which software is built. Our work focuses on the design and conception of a live graphical environment to allow for incremental and interactive construction of web applications through visual manipulation interactions. Our research is introduced in the context of a prototype, Live Programming, that provides a style of incremental and agile development of web applications, allowing for efficient updates of code and data. However, the construction of a web application through the existing coding environment is still slow and not as flexible as one would wish. This is due to the fact that its user interface is based on text editors, resulting in a heavy reliance on computer code to build these applications. The goal of our work consists on the conception of a visual construction model and graphical environment that interacts with the Live Programming system, allowing to incrementally develop web applications through the manipulation of visual symbols on the screen. The user does not need to program: instead, our tool automatically generates code according to the user’s manipulation of the visual components. The user must then be able to visually define the data model, queries, logical operations and presentation views (for example, html pages). We aim, as well, at idealizing and proposing creative and convenient techniques to program visualization and methods to visually organize the structure of a program, in order to help the user comprehending the relationships between elements and their responsibility within the system. This way, developers leverage an agile and interactive approach to efficiently deal with increasingly demanding requirements throughout development

Unfolding the drivers for academic success: The case of ISCTE-IUL

Predicting the success of academic students is a major topic in the higher education research community. This study presents a data mining approach to predict academic success in a Portuguese University called ISCTE-IUL, unveiling the features that better explain failures. A dataset of 10 curricular years for bachelor’s degrees has been analysed. Features’ selection resulted in a characterising set of 68 features, encompassing socio-demographic, social origin, previous education, special statutes and educational path information. Understanding features’ collection timings, distinct predicting was conducted. Based on entrance date, end of the first and the second curricular semesters, three distinct data models were proposed and tested. An additional model was designed for outlier degrees (i.e., a 4-year Bachelor). Six algorithms were tested for modelling. A support vector machines (SVM) model achieved the best overall performance and was selected to conduct a data-based sensitivity analysis. Relevance and impact review allowed extracting meaningful knowledge. This approach unfolded that previous evaluation performance, study gaps and age-related features play a major role in explaining failures at entrance stage. For subsequent stages, current evaluation performance features unveil their predicting power. Also, it should be noted that most of the features’ groups are represented on each model’s most relevant features, revealing that academic success is a combination of a wide range of distinct factors. These and many other findings, such as, age-related features increasing impact at the end first curricular semester, set a baseline for success improvement recommendations, and for easier data mining adoption by Higher Education institutions. Suggested guidelines include to provide study support groups to risk profiles and to create monitoring frameworks. From a practical standpoint, a data-driven decision-making framework based on these models can be used to promote academic success.O sucesso académico é um dos tópicos mais explorados nos estudos sobre o ensino superior. Este trabalho apresenta uma abordagem de data mining para a previsão do sucesso académico no ISCTE-IUL. Numa abordagem focada no insucesso, são estudados os fatores que explicam estes casos. Neste estudo foram utilizados dados de licenciatura de 10 anos curriculares. Foram analisadas 68 características sociodemográficas, origem social, percurso escolar anterior (ensino secundário), estatutos especiais e percurso académico. Foram adotados diferentes vetores de análise para o primeiro ano curricular (entrada e final dos primeiro e segundo semestres curriculares), dando origem a 3 modelos distintos. Um modelo suplementar foi projetado para cursos especiais. Entre os seis algoritmos de modelação testados, SVM obteve a melhor performance, sendo utilizado para a análise de sensibilidade. O processo de extração de conhecimento indicou que fatores como desempenho anterior, interrupções do percurso educacional e idade, demonstram grande impacto no (in)sucesso num estágio inicial. Nos estágios seguintes, fatores de performance atuais revelam um grande poder de previsão do (in)sucesso. A maior parte dos grupos de características faz-se representar, nas características mais relevantes de cada modelo. Estes e outros resultados, como o aumento do impacto dos fatores relacionadas com a idade no final do segundo semestre curricular, suportam a criação de recomendações institucionais. Por exemplo, criar grupos de apoio ao estudo para perfis de risco e criar ferramentas de monitorização são algumas das diretrizes sugeridas. Em suma, é possível criar uma ferramenta de apoio à decisão, baseada nos modelos apresentados, podendo ser utilizada pelo ISCTE-IUL para promover o sucesso académico

A new millennium for women and kidney disease

Introduction: Taking advantage of this year’s synergy, as World Kidney Day (WKD) and International Women’s Day fall on the same day, the theme chosen for WKD 2018 was “Kidneys and Women’s health”, drawing the attention of the nephrology community to the special features of diseases of the kidney as they affect women. When focusing on this subject, we come to see the major gaps in this area of knowledge. On one hand, it is now comprehensively accepted that there are unique biological and behavioral differences resulting in sex/gender variances, albeit mostly in favour of women. However, on the other, despite mounting evidence in multiple medical disciplines, these disparities have not been so well explored in nephrology, and so we try, in this editorial, to review current knowledge n this field.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A comparison of generalized multinomial logit, random parameters logit, wtp-space and latent class models to studying consumers' preferences for animal welfare

The European societies are requiring that animals to be raised as closely as possible to their natural conditions. The growing concerns about animal welfare is resulting in continuous modifications of regulations and policies that led to ban of a number of intensive farming methods. The European authorities consider the pig welfare as a priority issue. They are studying to ban surgical pig castration by 2018, which may seriously affect markets and consumers due to boar tainted-meat. This study analysed consumers’ preferences and acceptance regarding an alternative to castration of high-level boar-taint frankfurter sausages. Non-hypothetical discrete choice experiments was applied by creating a real shopping scenario before and after tasting the products. Data were collected for a sample of 150 consumers from the metropolitan area of Madrid, Spain. Different modelling approaches (Generalized Multinomial Logit-GMNL, Random Parameters Logit-RPL, WTP-space and Latent Class-LC models) were applied to figure out which model have the best goodness of fit. Results showed the appropriateness of the proposed alternative by using a new flavour as a masking strategy. When consumers tasted the products, they showed their willingness to pay a premium for this flavour. The WTP space model showed the best goodness of fit in terms of likelihood, Akaike information criterion and McFadden Pseudo R2. Furthermore, the degree of randomness identified by the scale parameter is also estimated. Uncertainty in selection decreased significantly after the sensory experiencePostprint (published version

Alocação dos custos de melhorias em bacias hidrográficas entre os usuários de água: uma aplicação do valor de Shapley

The objective of this work was to analyze the cost allocation of improvements in river basins among the water users. It was used, as example, the Paraíba do Sul river basin, located in the states of Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and, as criteria of allocation of costs, they were used the volumes of water extracted and consumed, and the quantity of pollutants deposited in the basin area by water users. The methodology used consists of the rule of allocation known as Shapley value, which belongs to the cooperative branch of game theory. In the case of Paraíba do Sul river basin, the values found indicated that the urban users should pay the higher part of the costs of improvements, given that these users are responsible for most of the pollution in the basin area, being the reduction of water quality an important problem in this basin.Water resources, cost allocation, shapley value, Paraíba do Sul River basin, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Alocação dos custos de melhorias em bacias hidrográficas entre os usuários de água: uma aplicação do valor de Shapley

The objective of this work was to analyze the cost allocation of improvements in river basins among the water users. It was used, as example, the Paraíba do Sul river basin, located in the states of Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and, as criteria of allocation of costs, they were used the volumes of water extracted and consumed, and the quantity of pollutants deposited in the basin area by water users. The methodology used consists of the rule of allocation known as Shapley value, which belongs to the cooperative branch of game theory. In the case of Paraíba do Sul river basin, the values found indicated that the urban users should pay the higher part of the costs of improvements, given that these users are responsible for most of the pollution in the basin area, being the reduction of water quality an important problem in this basin.water resources, cost allocation, Shapley value, Paraíba do Sul river basin, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Fabricar a memória da violência: imagens do massacre de eldorado dos carajás na arte contemporânea

ResumoEste ensaio pretende investigar as relações entre arte, violência e políticas da memória, por meio da comparação entre obras de arte produzidas a partir do Massacre de Eldorado dos Carajás. Estuda-se a relação entre a criação artística e a produção de imagens memorialistas, analisando de que maneiras a arte contemporânea tem atuado no campo das políticas da memória, constituindo meios complexos às imagens de acontecimentos históricos, assim como meios de reflexão crítica sobre a própria fabricação de tais imagens.AbstractThis essay intends to investigate the relations between art, violence and politics of memory, by comparing artworks produced about the Eldorado dos Carajás Massacre. The relationship between artistic creation and the production of memorialist images is studied, analyzing in what ways contemporary art has acted in the field of politics of memory, constituting complex mediums to the images of historical events, as well as mediums of critical reflection on very fabrication of these images

CONSIDERAÇÕES EM TORNO DO CONCEITO DE ARTE AMAZÔNICA

ResumoEste ensaio busca investigar o termo arte amazônica enquanto conceito, operado desde o campo da arte especializada, cujo significado é fabricado e disputado pelos diversos atores sociais que o manejam. São abordados textos críticos e curatoriais que tratam da arte amazônica. Também são analisadas algumas relações da arte amazônica com as fabricações de uma identidade cultural amazônica. Por fim, são apresentadas propostas de compreensão das relações da arte amazônica com tendências artísticas e ideológicas de circulação local e/ou global.AbstractThis essay seeks to investigate the term Amazonian art as a concept, operated from the field of specialized art, whose meaning is formulated and disputed by the various social actors who manage it. Critical and curatorial texts dealing with Amazonian art are addressed. Some relations between Amazonian art and the fabrication of an Amazonian cultural identity are also analyzed. Finally, proposals are presented to understand the relationship of Amazonian art with artistic and ideological trends of local and/or global circulation

Situs ambiguous and absence of the inferior vena cava: an extremely rare cause of femoral hemodialysis catheter dysfunction

Hemodialysis catheter dysfunction (CDys) has been defined by Kidney Disease utcomes Quality Initiative (K/DOQI) guidelines as “failure to maintain an extracorporeal blood flow sufficient to perform hemodialysis without significantly lengthening the hemodialysis treatment” [1], influencing stage 5 chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients’ morbidity and mortality [2]. Among the causes of CDys, those occurring within the first 2 weeks of placement are defined as early dysfunction commonly resulting from mechanical problems, which include inadequate positioning, kinking, or constriction, while late dysfunction usually results from thrombus formation [1]. However, this case report demonstrates that one must also consider other causes of CDys.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio