From Speaking Skills to Virtual Mobilities: Challenges of VR Technologies in Communication from the European University of Technology

Within the vision of the European University of Technology (EUt+), a University Alliance of 8 European partners, augmenting a Mobility Friendly Plan through a virtual worlds approach, helps prepare students to overcome communication, language and cultural barriers. Such virtual environments can allow students to be immersed in the academic environments of the destination location, creating spaces for team building, collaboration, and creative activities. In the context of effective social interaction, communication and language learning become key pillars. Technological means that develop key competencies and abilities in such immersive environments, should be tackled. The current paper describes three uses cases of VR environments from the European University of Technology Alliance, implemented with the purpose of facilitating communication skills to overcome language and cultural barriers. The application of various technology levels, from prototype-based to customization of existing platforms is analyzed, under a TAM adoption assessment, to identify common challenges that may accompany the development of a shared VR campus, intended for effective communication, while providing the students a feeling of comfort, safety and confidence

Circular Pedagogy to Advance the Integration of Learning Technologies: Supporting Technological Universities Cultural Transformation

European countries need active and proactive educational systems assisted by models that can drive a cultural transformation that supports sustainable socio-economic and environmental development. In this paper, we reflect on the future of European education. We offer some insights on how the foundations of a new educational model (ANEM) could be cemented and solidly supported by pillars that acknowledge our societies\u27 rich and diverse cultures. Furthermore, the European University of Technology\u27s (EUt+) future educational model is taken as a case study to enable us to reflect and analyse the need for novel pedagogies that drive change for a more sustainable socio-economic and environmentally friendly European society. European education faces significant challenges from the need to enable learning environments guided by equity, diversity, and inclusive frameworks for all categories. To make progress, it is essential that we first learn how new inclusive learning environments can be articulated to help us address our contemporary society\u27s learning needs and demands. We are conscious that education worldwide faces a stark and unpleasant reality as the students/learners\u27 learning experience is significantly impacted by social status and economic disparities. Students are often confronted with difficult situations involving racism, discrimination and exclusion that materialise in students suffering mistreatment and microaggressions in learning environments still blind to the biases forwarded through teaching practices. The richness of our European cultures and languages and their significance in helping us to work together are paramount in our quest for high-quality education that cultivates, promotes, and cherishes European educational values while welcoming other cultures and languages. Within the complexities of our global societies, we argue that the future of our educational system must enable and foster mechanisms that nurture behaviours that will help us address cultural conflict, clashes, and potential detachment. Cultural clashes emerge as a major challenge for the development of our future European University, and we need to be able to minimise potential problems associated with multicultural, plurilingual and diverse working and learning environments. We are conscious of the need to develop appropriate educational programmes and curricula guided by our novel Circular Pedagogy , where we provide an initial and evolving framework for students, teachers, and researchers to interchange their roles. We propose a learner-centred, dynamic, and proactive pedagogy that helps us to manage and navigate the inevitable cultural conflict and supports us in understanding and identifying the triggers that might arise due to cultural clashes and increasing levels of detachment

Enhancing Human Security by Transforming Education Through Science, Technology, and Innovations

In this paper, we provide in-depth critical analysis and reflections on how technology, innovation and digital literacy can help to bring awareness on the need for a new dimension and approach to foster a transformational attitude towards education. Learning drives change, and if we aim to make an impact, there is a need to enable collaboration between different disciplines so that new transformative educational models can emerge. At the centre of our analysis, we identify the role of pedagogy and how it can contribute to put forward humans as central and critical actors in using science, technology, and innovations (STIs) to foster human security. We explore the critical role of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and their engagement with science, technology, and innovation in the search for educational transformation that supports multicultural, diverse and inclusive learning environments within the tenets of social engagement and cohesion that guide us towards the principles of human security

Contribution à l'étude du comportement et au calcul de poteau mixtes acier-béton (sous des charges transversales de variation monotone ou cyclique alternée)

L'étude présentée dans la thèse concerne les poteaux mixtes acier- béton où la partie métallique constituée d'un profil laminé est complètement enrobée de béton. Ce travail a été effectué à l'INSA de Rennes au Laboratoire de Mécanique des Structures et Matériaux, en France et à l'Université Technique de Cluj-Napoca, Département de Construction Métallique, en Roumanie. Les poteaux, de différents élancements, ont été soumis en tête à une charge transversale monotone croissante ou cyclique alternée d'amplitude croissante selon la procédure de la CECM, tout en conservant une force de compression constante. Sur la base des résultats d'essais effectués en chargement monotone et en chargement cyclique alterné au moyen d'un dispositif expérimental original, réalisé à l'Université de Cluj-Napoca, tout une démarche d'interprétation a pu être développée en vue d'aboutir à une caractérisation du comportement de poteaux mixtes de ce type.L'interprétation analytique des résultats des essais expérimentaux sous chargement monotone a conduit tout d'abord à un examen critique de la rigidité sécante des poteaux à un stade de service permettant de proposer une formule qui apporte une correction sensible à celle de l'EN 1994-1-1.En se basant sur le concept de rotule plastique étendue sur une certaine longueur critique, une modélisation analytique de type bilinéaire tronqué a été proposée, qui permet une évaluation par des calculs simples de la résistance ultime et de la flèche ultime associée. En comportement cyclique, une comparaison des caractéristiques globales obtenues au cours des essais cycliques avec celles obtenues au cours des essais monotones a été effectuée. L'étude de l'évolution au cours des cycles des paramètres de résistance maximale, de rigidité flexionnelle au déchargement et de degré d'énergie dissipée par rapport au cycle idéal, a été nécessaire en vue de pouvoir évaluer un facteur de comportement global q pour le dimensionnement sismique, établi ici en partant d'un concept d'énergie de dissipation cumulée. A titre d'application avec un spectre élastique classique , la valeur numérique de q a été déterminée pour deux cas de portique en pendule inversé dans des zones de faible et moyenne sismicité ; il semblerait que la présence d'articulations ordinaires en pieds de poteau et l'utilisation de poteaux trop élancés et soumis à un effort normal significatif puisse conduire à prendre des valeurs de q inférieures à 2, même dans des zones de faible sismicité.The present study is concerning with steel-concrete composite columns of fully encased type .This work was carried out in the Laboratoire de Mécanique des Structures et Matériaux of INSA Rennes Laboratory, France and at the Steel Department of Civil Engineering Faculty, of the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The columns, of different lengths were subjected to a variable transverse load at one end , according to the ECCS procedure, while keeping a constant value of the axial compression force.On the base of the experimental results on monotonic tests as well as on the cyclic ones, with an original experimental gauge made at the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, an analytical interpretation could be developed for the characterization of the behavior of these types of columns.The analytical interpretation of the results of the monotonic tests leads, in the first place, to a critical examination of the flexural stiffness and ultimate resistance of the investigated columns, for the serviceability loading, allowing to make a correction to the formula given by the EN 1994-1-1.A simplified analytical modeling of bi-linear type is proposed, on the base of the concept of a plastic hinge extended on a certain critical length, allowing an evaluation with simplified computation for the ultimate resistance and of the associated displacement.A comparation between the global obtained characteristics for the cyclic behavior and for the monotonic tests was made. The study of the evolution of the maximal resistance parameters, flexural stiffness in unloading and of the degree of dissipated energy related to the ideal cycle was necessary for evaluation of the global behavior factor q, for the seismic design, established here by using a cumulated dissipation energy concept. Only for application with an classical elastic spectrum, the numerical q value was determined for two cases of inverted pendulum frame, in zones of low and medium seismicity; it seems that the presence of ordinary hinges at the bottom of the column and the use of slender columns subjected to a significant normal effort can lead to take q values lower than 2, even in low seismicity zones.RENNES-INSA (352382210) / SudocSudocFranceF

From Speaking Skills to Virtual Mobilities: Challenges of VR Technologies in Communication from the European University of Technology

Within the vision of the European University of Technology (EUt+), a University Alliance of 8 European partners, augmenting a Mobility Friendly Plan through a virtual worlds approach, helps prepare students to overcome communication, language and cultural barriers. Such virtual environments can allow students to be immersed in the academic environments of the destination location, creating spaces for team building, collaboration, and creative activities. In the context of effective social interaction, communication and language learning become key pillars. Technological means that develop key competencies and abilities in such immersive environments, should be tackled. The current paper describes three uses cases of VR environments from the European University of Technology Alliance, implemented with the purpose of facilitating communication skills to overcome language and cultural barriers. The application of various technology levels, from prototype-based to customization of existing platforms is analyzed, under a TAM adoption assessment, to identify common challenges that may accompany the development of a shared VR campus, intended for effective communication, while providing the students a feeling of comfort, safety and confidence