Academic performance of 9th graders on spatial geometry: impact of personal and contextual variables

This article presents and discusses results from a study investigating the quality of spatial geometry academic performance of 9th grade students when they are about to be exposed to more complex concepts, geometric solids, and related problems in curricular learning experiences. Participants were Portuguese public school students. We also collected information about previous mathematics grades and mother’s schooling. A geometry test, a causal attribution to a school achievement test, and two reasoning tests – spatial and mechanical – were applied, and all collected data was statistically analysed and interpreted. To address the different nature of variables, we conducted a hierarchical linear regression. Results suggest that nearly 41% of variance on Spatial Geometry academic performance can be explained by the personal and contextual variables studied. The recommendation to schoolteachers involves designing learning experiences that engage students in spatial reasoning and high-order thinking skills

Evaluating the Impact of the Urban Requalification Project of Praça Duque De Saldanha and Avenida Da República in Lisbon

UID/SOC/04647/2013 SFRH/BPD/76893/2011In dense urban areas, reducing traffic and increasing green areas is foreseen as a way of promoting urban comfort. Using the urban requalification project for Lisbon’s Avenidas Novas neighbourhood as a case study, the effects of vegetation on microclimate and urban comfort are evaluated. In this context, the ENVI-met software is used to model the present and the future urban scenario. The simulation results indicate: i) increased urban comfort in the morning and in the afternoon resulting from the decrease in temperature due to the presence of new green areas foreseen by the urban project; ii) a reduction of up to 3 degrees in the morning (9h) and up to 3 degrees in the afternoon (15h); iii) the model implemented in ENVI-met suits the urban and environmental characteristics of Lisbon and it is, therefore, desirable that future urban rehabilitation projects should consider ex ante simulation of this typepublishersversionpublishe

Recent Advances in Welding

Welding is a conventional joining process that has followed the recent developments in other manufacturing processes, continuing to be an extremely used and investigated process. Several technologies developed in other areas of knowledge have converged in the area of welding, allowing significant improvements in the quality of the products obtained and in the increased productivity of the processes. Although some techniques have been implemented and studied for several decades, the interest of researchers in welding has not diminished, as it can be seen through new processes that have emerged, such as Friction Stir Welding, in addition to many other notable developments in welding processes which apparently seemed to have reached their final stage of maturity. This work brings together a set of very interesting works, being a living proof that welding continues to be heavily investigated and that the developments around this manufacturing process are constantly emerging. Because the materials continue to evolve and the technology around welding also continues to develop at a very good pace, studies on the weldability of new materials and the application of new techniques and technologies to already well known welding processes does not stops happening. The editors are proud to have collected this set of works that can help scholars and researchers to broaden their knowledge in the field of welding, thus contributing to the creation of a knowledge base that allows researchers to start new investigations and achievements in the coming decades.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A holonic approach to the integration of automated systems

During several years building and residential automation was thought as a good test bed for integration methods applied to automated systems. A reason for that is the large response time of these systems and the fact that they assemble a set of very well known sub-systems (HVAC, security, elevators, etc.). Even recent innovations in residential environments are based on components based on solid and scalable technology. On the other hand the degree of integration did not improve as much as expected. In this paper we investigate this problem, first from a practical point of view, that is, based on the design and implementation difficulties that designers and vendors face everyday, and second from a technical and methodological point of view, which means finding a new control architecture that could lead to real flexible and integrated systems. Frame architectures could provide a better and modern approach relying on a heterarchic arrangement of sensors and actuators. Some years ago part of the authors proposed a similar architecture based on a generic element called integron. Now we revisit the same point with a new version of the same element focusing on the arrangement of the whole system and on the information flow instead of just distributing the control. We claim that such approach is more efficient. Also it will better fit the requirements in a heterogeneous environment such as residential automation

Geographical differentiation of apple ciders based on volatile fingerprint

With the globalization of food trade, it’s traceability and genuineness becomes increasingly more difficult. Therefore, it is necessary to develop analytical tools to define the authenticity and genuineness of food-derived products. In the current work, headspace solid-phase microextraction followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC–MS) combined with chemometric tools was used to establish the volatile fingerprint of apple ciders produced in different geographical regions of Madeira Island, in order to define their typicity and to identify putative geographical markers. A total of 143 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) belonging to dif ferent chemical families have been identified, of which 28 were found in all apple ciders independently of geographical region. Esters, terpenic and furanic compounds presented on average a higher contribution for the total volatile fingerprint in cider produced in northern region of the Island, whereas alcohols, acids, volatile phenols, carbonyl compounds and lactones in cider from southern region. Considering the relative areas of the VOCs, 43 revealed statistically significant differences (p < 0.001) between geographical regions, and 11 be tween northern and southern regions. A clear differentiation among cider-producing regions was observed on the developed partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) model. Two alcohols (1-hexanol, 1-octanol), 6 esters (methyl acetate, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol acetate, ethyl hexanoate, ethyl nonanote, ethyl octanoate, isoamyl oc tanoate) and 1 terpenic compound (limonene), can be considered putative geographic markers due to their discriminatory ability. The results obtained recognize the specific and typical geographical characteristics of the cider, which will allow the forthcoming guarantee for the construction of a sustainable platform for the es tablishment of the authenticity and typicality of the regional cider.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

(In)competências linguísticas em crianças com atraso de linguagem

Pós Graduação em Educação Especial - Domínio Cognitivo e MotorA linguagem é muito importante no processo de desenvolvimento da criança, estando presente em todas as suas aquisições e aprendizagens, proporcionando-lhe um desenvolvimento harmonioso, bem como uma correta inserção no meio familiar, escolar e social. A linguagem é o ato de comunicar, com recurso à utilização de um código. Por vezes, surgem problemas na aquisição e/ou desenvolvimento de linguagem, que pode ser percetível nas salas de jardim-de-infância. Por este motivo é fundamental o educador estar atento na deteção dos sinais de atraso, e na intervenção precoce destas situações. A presente investigação baseia-se no estudo de caso de 6 crianças, que apresentam dificuldades de linguagem. Observamos e estudamos as crianças, para termos motivos de comparação, valorizando, assim, o estudo. O estudo realizado foi a aplicação da Prova de Avaliação Fonológica em Formatos Silábicos (PAFFS) em cada uma das crianças e um registo espontâneo de produção de linguagem. Posteriormente, classificamos todos os erros obtidos, criando, assim, os perfis linguísticos das crianças em estud

O desenvolvimento de significados das letras na aprendizagem de equações literais

Nesta comunicação aborda-se a questão do desenvolvimento de significados das letras na aprendizagem de equações literais, explorada no âmbito de uma intervenção pedagógica supervisionada do curso de Mestrado em Ensino de Matemática no 3º Ciclo do Ensino Básico e no Ensino Secundário, da Universidade do Minho. A intervenção de ensino, implementada pelo primeiro autor e supervisionada pelos dois outros autores, decorreu numa turma do 8º ano de escolaridade no ano letivo de 2011/2012, durante sete blocos de 90 minutos e incidiu sobre o tema Equações literais e Polinómios, embora neste texto apenas nos referimos às Equações literais. Neste último caso, o desenvolvimento de significados das letras foi incentivado através da exploração de tarefas contextualizadas, relacionadas com situações da realidade, de modo a levar os alunos a ligarem as letras a referentes desses contextos. Apesar da análise das primeiras tarefas exploradas nas aulas mostrar que os alunos tinham dificuldade em atribuir significado às expressões e às letras envolvidas nas equações, o que revela a dificuldade dos alunos face ao uso e interpretação das letras, com o progresso da intervenção de ensino verificou-se que os alunos se tornaram mais capazes de atribuir significados às letras e de manipularem expressões e equações com várias letras. Para essa evolução dos alunos terá contribuído a ênfase dada ao tipo de tarefas exploradas, uma visão da Matemática associada ao desenvolvimento de capacidades e à construção de conhecimentos e uma perspetiva de ensino e aprendizagem centrada no aluno

Improving The Order Fulfilment Process At A Metalwork Company

This article describes the 14 measures implemented at a company in the metalwork sector with a view to improving its order fulfilment process. Based on Lean thinking, each of the actions, as well as their potential impact on the process, is explained. Despite the constraints encountered during implementation, and the fact that manufacturing processes are invariably different, the overall results achieved were satisfactory. As a result of the interventions, internal functions were revised and processes simplified. There was also a reduction of 25% in budgeting time, as well as an improvement in communication systems and production management. One additionally was achieved the reorganization of storage spaces, a reduction in logistic operation times of about 20% and a decrease in the time spent accessing tools in near 61%. Far more important than the first results obtained is the company’s current commitment to the pursuance of these measures, allowing the different actions to generate synergies and produce improvements, which will undoubtedly set the company on the course of Lean culture.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Lean Six Sigma Approach to Improve the Production Process in the Mould Industry: a Case Study

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to explore the optimization of internal process is assumed as a critical factor to be capable of answering to the moulds industries. Consequently, it has been considered essential to adopt high-valued methodologies to support tooling industry in order to achieve global competitive advantages. For that purpose, this work aims to apply LEAN principles and techniques to support mould design and manufacturing processes. Methodology/Approach: The methodology used was based on PDCA/DMAIC, with the following stages: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control. For each stages was taken some of Lean Six Sigma techniques, such as Continuous Improvement, Value Stream Mapping, Pareto analysis and Overall Equipment Effectiveness. Findings: This study results was revealed that there are many areas on the organizations in the Mould Industry, when they utilize otimizations tools obtain hugt successes. With the Pareto analysis was carried out to show that events that contributes the most to the stops. The results were: unavailability of the operator (16.4%), programming the machine (14.4%) and tool exchange (12.4%) In the case of this Mould Industry study was obtained for the CNC machines studies, with the implementation of Lean Six Sigma tools as obtained a improvement about 20% of global OEE. Research Limitation/implication: This research was revealed that there the moulds are Project unique and difficult to analyze. Moreover, this paper reports that the approach LEAN Six Sigma is very interesting for the continuous improvement of processes and profitability of moulds industry. Originality/Value of paper: This research highlight areas of future research using of quality management methods and Lean Six Sigma tools to analyse and optimize production in the moulds industry. Therefore this research It is considered to promote and adopt high-valued methodologies to support tooling industry in order to achieve global competitive advantages.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Trazer vida à sala de aula: utilização inovadora de dispositivos móveis no processo educativo

Problemas da educação dos nossos dias, como o insucesso educativo, o abandono escolar e o desinteresse pelos conteúdos abordados nas aulas tornaram-se algo com que entidades governativas, professores e pais se têm vindo a preocupar. Nesse contexto, apresentamos o desenho e desenvolvimento de um projeto europeu Erasmus+, aprovado, de que fazem parte escolas da Polónia, Portugal, Itália, Grécia, Turquia e Roménia, bem como a Universidade do Minho. Este projeto propõe o uso de dispositivos móveis em ambientes educativos, como forma de transformar práticas pedagógicas através da formação e acompanhamento de professores na experimentação de cenários pedagógicos inovadores, como o mobile learning e o flipped learning. Assim, o presente artigo pretende apresentar, de forma detalhada, os contornos desta parceria colaborativa, os objetivos, o público-alvo e a forma de concretização prática. Hoje, faz ainda mais sentido esta partilha de experiências e desenhos de projetos de intervenção, por darem respostas aos desafios do futuro, aos desafios promovidos pela União Europeia, com o intuito de desenvolver competências de formação e educação.ERASMUS+ 2016-1-RO01-KA201-024659info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio