A importância do papel do Arquiteto-urbanista na caracterização dos conceitos e no planejamento das Smart Cities é um tema com muito por estudar e desenvolver. Este artigo faz uma aproximação a esta questão através de análise crítica com a seguinte abordagem: 1 - é feita uma descrição mais detalhada do porquê deste trabalho de investigação; 2 – apresenta-se uma contextualização da transição dos cenários; 3 - é levantada a problematização e a identificação de alguns motivos do “desenquadramento” da atuação do arquiteto-urbanista na cena; 4 – são discutidos aspectos e elencadas algumas características para “(re)enquadramento” dentro do cenário ideal, 5 – são analisados alguns casos de estudo; 6 - são tecidas conclusões. Este artigo mostra, portanto, o resultado deste estudo comparativo entre panorama atual e desejado, considerando este último como o cenário conceitual. É inicialmente caracterizada a situação atual através de levantamento da crítica especializada, depois é descrita a situação desejada tendo como base a análise de quatro casos de estudo; sendo dois de Smart Cities construídas a partir do zero e dois de cidade existentes que estão sendo transformadas em Smart Cities. Por fim, são identificados elementos que contribuem, na opinião dos autores, para o reassumir do papel do arquiteto-urbanista. Com este trabalho, foi possível, de uma forma sistematizada, estudar e suscitar ações deficitárias na atuação dos arquitetos-urbanistas, como também descortinar potenciais ações que podem induzir e reverter a transformação do cenário atual. Ficou claro que as necessidades intrínsecas ao novo modelo de cidade exigem ainda mais proposições criativas. O delinear das futuras cenas seria então ideal se os arquitetos-urbanistas retomassem posicionamento crítico propositivo e o utilizassem na solução que imagina novas e condizentes maneiras de habitar o espaço. O prelúdio já delineado convida então, os protagonistas na produção do espaço a alforriar-se da inércia, saindo da condição de espectadores e passando a condição de entendedores antecipados do cenário.

A Developmental Coordination Disorder can be identified when children show motor skills either below the expected levels considered adequate to their physical age or the opportunities provided for their learning. This problem affects four to six percent of school-age children, meaning that, from a very early stage of their life, they have several difficulties to adapt to the daily needs. In order to reduce the impact caused by this disorder, a team of therapists from “ – collected a wide range of exercises that allow the stimulus of several motor areas, including both the Gross and Fine Motor Skills. However, the application of this therapeutics is restricted to regular appointments. Since the motor stimulus, in order to be effective, need continuous application, it was found to be necessary to have a tool that in a practical and affordable way, fulfill this need. Therefore, the proposal presented in this article describes the creation of a systematic collection of such exercises in a friendly user manner for the children to be able to exercise elsewhere.

Despite the fact that FRP composites are a reliable structural material with reasonable durability performance, the environment to which the strengthened structure is exposed can make the strengthening system vulnerable. In this study, the effectiveness of Externally Bonded Reinforcement (EBR) systems when external compressive stresses are applied to glass (G) FRP-to-concrete interfaces in several aggressive environments is analysed. The compressive stress imposed on the GFRP-to-concrete interface intends to simulate, for instance, the effect produced by a mechanical anchorage system applied to the EBR system. The design and the region to set those mechanical anchorage systems are not yet well understood and are mostly applied without really knowing how they will behave. This work shows an exhaustive experimental programme based on several double shear tests subjected to salt fog cycles, dry/wet cycles and two distinct temperature cycles: from -10ºC to +30ºC and +7.5ºC to +47.5ºC. The Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion was found to provide a good representation of the performance of the GFRP-to-concrete interface, and changes of cohesion and internal friction angle of those interfaces during the hours of exposure to the aggressive environments are reported.

© 2016 Taylor {&} Francis.A laboratory-based methodology was designed to assess the bioreceptivity of glazed tiles. The experimental set-up consisted of multiple steps: manufacturing of pristine and artificially aged glazed tiles, enrichment of phototrophic microorganisms, inoculation of phototrophs on glazed tiles, incubation under optimal conditions and quantification of biomass. In addition, tile intrinsic properties were assessed to determine which material properties contributed to tile bioreceptivity. Biofilm growth and biomass were appraised by digital image analysis, colorimetry and chlorophyll a analysis. SEM, micro-Raman and micro-particle induced X-ray emission analyses were carried out to investigate the biodeteriorating potential of phototrophic microorganisms on the glazed tiles. This practical and multidisciplinary approach showed that the accelerated colonization conditions allowed different types of tile bioreceptivity to be distinguished and to be related to precise characteristics of the material. Aged tiles showed higher bioreceptivity than pristine tiles due to their higher capillarity and permeability. Moreover, biophysical deterioration caused by chasmoendolithic growth was observed on colonized tile surfaces.

n/a

Deductive reasoning, being central in mathematics, is also usually a source of difficulties for students, more used to the empirical approaches. In this study we focus on mathematical proof and we try to give attention to how this kind of reasoning is envisaged by the students, to the options they assume when asked to develop a deductive reasoning and to the factors affecting the implementation of this kind of reasoning. The study follows a qualitative and interpretative methodological approach, including the completion of two case studies of students of the 10th grade. Data were collected in work sessions and through interviews. The main findings point to a devaluation of mathematical proof and a strong preference for empirical approaches. Yet students show ability to develop different approaches. The preference for the mathematical subject and the attention given in class to the deduction work, appears to be relevant factors when considering the students' ability to develop a deductive reasoning when involved on a mathematical proof.

The design of timber beams has strict limits when it comes to the Serviceability Limit States (SLS) either in short-term or in long-term deflections. In order to face this aspect efficiently, the increase of the cross section of the beams might be considered as a solution. However, the prohibitive increase of the costs associated to this solution or the change of the initial architecturedesign of the building, opens the opportunity to find new and more efficient solutions. In that way, the use of additional reinforcements to the timber beams may be seen as a promising solution because either new or old structures would keep always their original aesthetical aspect with no significant self-weight increase and improving their behaviour to short and long-term actions.Therefore, the current study is dedicated to the analysis of composite timber beams where Fiber Reinforcement Polymers (FRP), steel or stainless steel are used to improve the stiffness, strength and deflection behaviour of old suspended timber floors. An experimental program was conducted where old suspended timber floors reinforced with CFRP strips were subjected to 4-point bending tests. A simplify nonlinear numerical model was developed to simulate the bending behaviour of the specimens and several other cases with other reinforcement configurations and different structural materials were assumed. The numerical analysis herein presented also takes into account both Ultimate and Serviceability Limit States of the reinforced specimens.

There are several research initiatives that tackle gesture recognition. Nevertheless the interaction between the input devices and an application level is still a hard task that has to be accomplished each time a new system is being developed. The objective of this research work is to facilitate that endeavor by introducing a new generic software layer between the gesture capture device and the application level. This layer will provide the introduction of a gesture library and a set of functionalities both to feed this library and pursue gesture recognition afterwards. The objective is to hinder lower-level software/hardware details from a developer towards letting him or her to focus directly at the Application Level. This article presents the created architecture for this new layer. The validation was made using the Leap Motion, at the Sensor Level, and creating a Serious Game devoted to Sign Language exercising, at the Application Level.

n/a

The integration of the graphing calculator in mathematical activity encourages students to express many of their processes and ways of thinking. Since some of the activities at the high school level are carried out with the graphing calculator, we intend to investigate the contribution of this resource to promote the learning of nonlinear continuous models in the 11th grade. By adopting a qualitative methodology, we collected and analysed the students‟ writing productions. At first, students used to present the information given by the calculator with no justification. As they acquire skills in the use of this resource, they usually set up the viewing window in order to visualize the graphical representations of functions that model the problem situation they are working on and also relate the different existing menus in the study of those functions characteristics. Such procedures make students to present the data collected in the calculator with a justification of their arguments and a validation of their conjectures.

Computers and technology can play a key role in supporting learning, namely for students with special educational needs. Nevertheless, despite the emphasis the society puts on the use of technology and its fast proliferation in the area of education, few initiatives focus on the specific needs of children with disabilities. Motivated by this gap, this research work proposes a computer assisted education application that targets to teach talking and reading through games. The work described herein was carried out in close cooperation with - , a child-care institution that works with children with distinct growth disorders, namely the Down syndrome.