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During the last decades, achieving water efficiency in buildings has increasingly become an important challenge in the scope of sustainability. Water consumption is directly related to individual conduct. Despite the various technological improvements in fixtures and appliances, their performance will be influenced by human preferences and behavior. As a result, the potential for effective water consumption saving is influenced by behavior change as well as water-efficient fixtures and appliances. This work evaluates the impact of user preferences and behavior change on the water-efficient performance of tap aerators in a case study building: the Department of Civil Engineering building of the University of Aveiro, Portugal. Four aerators with different discharge reductions and types were installed in the toilet’s washbasins and the user’s preferences and behavior change measured through direct and online questionnaires. It was observed that the effective water consumption reduction (15 to 49%) was less than the discharge reduction (30 to 70%), confirming that user factors influence water savings. Water use reductions in the tested range (2.0 to 6.7 l/min) also varied according to gender, with male users using less water than their female counterparts. It was noted that an awareness of sustainability values prevailed amongst the users when confronted with the choice between comfort and water efficiency, although differences were observed in the user preferences regarding the various aerators. When confronted with the information that the lower discharge aerator would contribute to a reduction of about 70% on the water discharge, 25% of the users agreed with its use, even if it resulted in a certain degree of dissatisfaction. In comparison, only 8% of the users completely disagreed with its installation. On average, the water consumption reduction was 46% smaller than the discharge reduction achievable with the aerator alone. This further confirms the user factors inform the degree of water savings that is achievable from water-efficient fittings and fixtures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cadmium (Cd) is a non-essential metal widespread in the environment, to which humans are exposed through different routes, being food consumption the most important one. It is considered an endocrine disruptor that is associated with estrogen-dependent diseases with women being particularly susceptible. In order to assess the exposure to this metal through diet intake in premenopausal women, levels of Cd were quantified in 7-days duplicate diet samples provided by 23 women working or studying at University of Aveiro , Portugal. Cd was detected in all analyzed samples with concentrations ranging between 0.007 and 0.21 μg g − 1 ww (median: 0.009 μg g − 1 ww). The estimated dietary weekly intakes varied from 1.4 to 48 μg kg-bw − 1 week − 1 (median: 2.3 μg kg-bw − 1 week − 1 ), and 35% of the participants exhibited dietary intakes of Cd higher than the tolerable weekly intake (2.5 μg kg-bw − 1 week − 1 ) set for this metal which suggest health risks for these women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Educação is the property of EDIPUCRS - Editora Universitaria da PUCRS and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Since 2007/2008 project-based learning models have been used to deliver two fundamental courses on Geotechnics in University of Aveiro, Portugal. These models have evolved and have encompassed either cooperative or collaborative teamwork. Using data collected in five editions of each course (Soil Mechanics I and Soil Mechanics II), the different characteristics of the models using cooperative or collaborative teamwork are pointed out and analysed, namely in terms of the students’ perceptions. The data collected include informal feedback from students, monitoring of their marks and academic performance, and answers to two sets of questionnaires: developed for these courses, and institutional. The data indicate students have good opinion of the project-based learning model, though collaborative teamwork is the best rated. The overall efficacy of the models was analysed (sum of their effectiveness, efficiency and attractiveness). The collaborative model was found more adequate. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Brands undeniably constitute a significant asset for a company and are usually specified in its organisational strategy. Typically, employees are not invited to participate in debates or decisions about branding since they access brand information in a unidirectional way. Many of them do not even know how to convey appropriate messages and fail to recognise the importance of brand consistency. In this article we propose a heuristic for an interaction structure aimed at brand artefact co-design, through a computer-mediated platform, so that employees may learn about the brand, develop brand knowledge, propose meaningful brand artefacts and manage the evaluation of their peers’ proposals. We prepared a non-functional prototype of a Participatory Brand Centre and tested it in focus group sessions with the University of Aveiro's employees. We found that though our proposal is consistent with employees’ brand-related needs, authorship is a sensitive issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DETI-Interact is an interactive system that offers information relevant to students in the lobby of the University of Aveiro's Department of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics (DETI). The project started in 2009 with a master's thesis addressing interaction with public displays through Android smartphones. Since then, it has evolved considerably; it currently allows gesture interaction based on a Kinect sensor. Meanwhile, it has involved third-year students, master's students, and undergraduate students participating in a research initiation program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of (nano)materials based on the renewable cellulose is a challenge. The present article provides a brief overview of the recent research efforts carried out at the CICECO Laboratory of the University of Aveiro on the development of novel composites based on nanofibrillated plant and bacterial cellulose embedded in natural and synthetic polymeric matrices such as poly(lactic acid), chitosan, starch, and pullulan. These materials have high potential for applications in packaging, paper coating, organic electronics, and biomedical products and devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we describe the integration and evaluation of an existing generic Bayesian student model (GBSM) into an existing computerized testing system within the Mathematics Education Project (PmatE - Projecto Matemática Ensino) of the University of Aveiro. This generic Bayesian student model had been previously evaluated with simulated students, but a real application was still missing. In the work presented here, we have used the GBSM to define Bayesian Student Models (BSMs) for a concrete domain: first degree equations. In order to test the diagnosis capabilities of such BSMs, an evaluation with 152 students has been performed. Each of the 152 students took both a computerized test within PMatE and a written exam, both of them designed to measure students'' knowledge in 12 concepts related to first degree equations. The written exam was graded by three experts. Then two BSMs were developed, one for the computer test and another one for the written exam. These BSMs were used to obtain estimations of student's knowledge on the same 12 concepts, and the inter-rater agreement among the different measures was computed. Results show a high degree of agreement among the scores given by the experts and also among the diagnosis provided by the BSM in the written exam and expert's average, but a low degree of agreement among the diagnosis provided by the BSM in the computer test and expert's average. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Information about several papers discussed at the International Council for Educational Media (ICEM) & International Symposium on Computers in Education (SIIE) 2011 conference that was held on September 28-30, 2011 organized by the University of Aveiro, Portugal on the old and new duality of media in education. Topics include old and new media in education, in isolation, cost-benefit relationships and implications of it in terms of technological, professional and social barriers.

The engineering programmes offered at the Higher Education Polytechnic School of Águeda, University of Aveiro, have been organised, since 2001, around the Project Based Learning paradigm. This paper will briefly set the scene for the educational development and will then proceed to describe the curricula implementation that is nowadays on the field, reflecting the accumulated nine-years' experience of running the programmes. Finally, the author will offer his personal perspective on the difficulties of the development and its implementation, as an actor engaged in the process [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decades, scientific literacy has emerged as a fundamental concept for informed citizens. As a result, Higher Education institutions are facing the challenge of supplying students with the key abilities to become scientifically educated. This paper is one of a series aiming to share the experience of the University of Aveiro, in Portugal, in developing and implementing a first year chemistry course aiming at enhancing students' scientific literacy. The purpose of this paper is to describe how chemistry mini-research projects can be used to develop students' higher order skills, such as quality questioning, critical thinking, creativity and communication. The chemistry course described in this paper shows that, with the appropriate strategies, students can enhance their interest, motivation and engagement with learning chemistry, adopting deep learning approaches and, ultimately, increasing their scientific literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines students' views on a blended learning module developed and offered at the University of Aveiro. The paper presents the module and the strategies, tools, activities and assessment. In order to examine the effectiveness of the module, data were collected from reflections, postings and questionnaires. Findings document students' opinions concerning the module, the activities and their learning. Students valued the module but expressed concerns in using the wiki tool, assessing collaborative work and in engaging in peer assessment activities. The results have practical implications for the design of collaborative activities and innovative assessment in blended learning environments. Bewertung kollaborativer Arbeit in einem gemischten Hochschulbildungs-Lernkontext: Strategien und Wahrnehmungen der Studenten Diese Studie untersucht die Ansichten von Studenten auf einem gemischten Lern-Modul, entwickelt und angeboten von der Universitat Aveiro. Das Papier stellt das Modul und die Strategien, Tools, Aktivitaten und Bewertung vor. Um die Wirksamkeit des Moduls zu untersuchen, wurden die Daten von Reflexionen, Notizen und Fragebogen gesammelt. Die Ergebnisse dokumentieren die Meinungen uber das Modul, ihre Aktivitaten und ihr Lernen. Studenten schatzten das Modul hatten aber Bedenken beim Wiki-Tool, bezuglich des kooperativen Arbeitens, Bewertungen und Peer-Bewertungs-Aktivitaten. Die Ergebnisse haben praktische Folgen fur das Design gemeinsamer Aktivitaten und innovative Bewertungen 'gemischter Lernumgebungen'. L'evaluation du travail collaboratif dans un contexte d'enseignement universitaire mixte: le strategies et les perceptions des etudiants La presente etude examine les opinions des etudiants sur un module d'apprentissage mixte (blended) mis au point et assure a l'Universite d'Aveiro. Cet article presente le module et les strategies, les outils, les activites et l'evaluation. Pour determiner l'efficacite de ce module, on a rassemble des donnees a partir des reflexions, des envois et des questionnaires. Les elements recueillis illustrent les opinions des etudiants a propos du module, des activites et de ce qu'ils ont appris. Les etudiants ont apprecie le module mais exprime leur inquietude quant a l'usage de l'outil wiki, de l'evaluation du travail collaboratif et de l'engagement dans des activites d'evaluation de leurs camarades. Ces resultats ont des retombees pratiques pour la conception des activites collaboratives et d'un mode d'evaluation innovant dans des environnements d'apprentissage mixte. La evaluacion del trabajo colaborativo dentro de un entorno de aprendizaje mixto (Blended Learning) en la ensenanza superior: estrategias y percepciones de los estudiantes El presente estudio examina las opiniones de los estudiantes acerca de un modulo de aprendizaje mixto desarrollado y propuesto por la Universidad de Aveiro. El articulo presenta el modulo y las estrategias, herramientas, actividades y evaluacion. Para determinar la eficacia del modulo se hizo una recogida de datos, basandose en reflexiones, mensajes y cuestionarios. Los resultados ilustran las opinones de los estudiantes acerca del modulo, de las actividades y de lo que han aprendido.Los estudiantes valoran el modulo pero expresaron su preocupacion acerca del uso de la herramienta wiki, de la evaluacion del trabajo cooperativo y de la dedicacion a actividades de evaluacion mutual. Esos resultados conllevan consecuencias practicas para el diseno de actividades cooperativas y la evaluacion innovadora en entornos de aprendizaje mixto. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Informática Educativa Comunicaciones is the property of Asociacion para el Desarrollo de la Informatica Educativa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract: This paper provides a systematized overview of patterns in the scenario planning literature published in the last decades. Recently, scenario planning has enjoyed a revival, apparent in the ‘boom’ in published research on the matter. Consequently, a major issue that needs to be addressed is how to organize the literature along precise lines. A number of reviews that describe the current status of the body of literature and knowledge on scenario planning have made attempts to respond to such requirements. These studies agree that systematizing the existing literature is a necessary step in developing the field. This paper aims to contribute to this purpose. The review of the academic literature here conducted is thought to be useful for both academics and practitioners. For researchers, this systematic overview will be constructive not only in providing an analysis of the directions of published research but also in setting up a research agenda for the future. For managers and practitioners, it provides a clear outline of firm-related articles and discusses their contribution from a managerial point of view. It also raises awareness with regard to future analytical methods, and in particular, to scenario planning and its potential contribution to the competitiveness of firms. The research was carried out under the research Project Enterprise of the Future of the University of Aveiro. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Revista Lusofona de Educacao is the property of Universidade Lusofona de Humanidades e Tecnologias, CEIEF and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The quality of teaching and learning has been one of the major concerns of foundation chemistry disciplines for science and engineering undergraduates at the University of Aveiro, Portugal. Student-centred approaches are being continuously developed, exploring ways of stimulating active and meaningful student learning by encouraging questioning by students. The development of questioning competences is regarded as fundamental, particularly in science education. In order to reinforce adequate alignment with teaching strategies, a new assessment method was implemented during the academic year of 2004-2005. This study is mainly aimed at exploring the use and integration of students' questions as alternative assessment tools. Written formative and summative problem-based cases were designed for these purposes. The questions raised by students during those assignments were analysed according to their cognitive level, relationship and orientation to the problem posed, herein considered to be quality indicators for learners' questions. The findings suggest a deep engagement of students within these situations along the year, supporting the use of these alternative assessment tools as a way of fostering students' questioning capability. Results also reveal that it is possible to achieve, with students' questions placed at the centre of these processes, alignment between teaching, learning and assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Educação is the property of EDIPUCRS - Editora Universitaria da PUCRS and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article discusses the impact of internationalisation on the strategy and language policy of the Portuguese University of Aveiro. In addition, it analyses how the Department of Languages and Cultures of the University contributes to the language policy. For the University of Aveiro, internationalisation is a priority and a distinctive feature of its profile. It is a member of many international networks and consortia in Europe and participates in a wide range of international study and research programmes. The principles of the Bologna Process have challenged UA policy makers to adopt a language policy and to give study programmes a more international profile by considering the option of English as a medium of instruction. At the same time, and paradoxically, the role of the Portuguese language will become increasingly important in the near future because many of the foreign students at Aveiro come from the former Portuguese-speaking colonies. We conclude that the question of language has led to local dilemmas, discussions and sometimes tensions about the role of the English language in processes of internationalisation and curriculum change at the University of Aveiro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design process for a washing machine prototype is described. The prototype was developed within the final-year project of the Mechanical Engineering course at the University of Aveiro. Professional designers at the School of Arts and Design of Matosinhos carried out conceptual studies and the CAD modelling. To develop the appliance, different design and engineering aspects were carefully studied, namely concept studies, scaled model prototyping, structural engineering, materials selection, CAD/CAM mould making, advanced sandwich composite manufacturing structures, automation (programming and control) and testing. Within the project, pedagogic objectives were also set. In fact, these types of projects incorporate extra teaching and learning values because they involve students in more practical learning of engineering topics. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Focuses on the design of the library of the University of Aveiro in Portugal. Background on the architect of the library; Description of the building's façade; Details on library equipment.

Laboratory sessions of the introductory chemistry course at the University of Aveiro are restricted to two hours. Thus, the more time an experiment takes, the less time for the discussions of the results and conclusions. This problem has become more acute in recent times as the field of chemistry is becoming more sophisticated. In response the authorities have developed an electrolysis experiment with shorter deposition times and thus shorter total experiment times. Students are attracted to novel instrumentation, especially if a relationship to real-world components exists.

Invited for this month's cover are groups from the University of Aveiro and the University NOVA of Lisbon/Bioscope. The cover picture of the lighthouses of Barra (Aveiro) and Cabo Espichel (Lisbon) in Portugal represents the remarkable sensing ability of benzoporphyrin derivatives for Hg2+ metal ions. These systems have high potential for use as chromogenic and fluorogenic sensors. Read the full text of the article on can be found on . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical network operators could find it easier to predict the limits of their infrastructure in the future thanks to an experimentally proven model of fibre fuse effect dynamics. Researchers from the Instituto of Telecomunicaçoes and the University of Aveiro in Portugal have shown how the velocity of the fuse zone depends on the optical intensity of the signal, and have identified a 'saturation region' in erbium-doped fibres for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on several events related to the International Year of Chemistry (IYC) celebration in 2011 including a symposium to be observed by the University of Aveiro in Portugal titled Twelve Months of Chemistry, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) World Chemistry Congress to be held in Puerto Rico on July 30-August 7, and the Australian National Chemistry Quiz to be held on July 28.