Technology integration although highly recommended has proved to be complex. This study aims to characterize the perceptions of secondary mathematics teachers (grades 7th to 12th), from Portugal (Braga region) and Brazil (Campinas region), regarding the teaching of Functions and the use of technology. We also intend to consider the context of the two countries, reflecting on justifications for the differences identified (if any). The study adopts a mixed methodology based on a questionnaire applied to 129 Portuguese teachers in Braga region and 136 Brazilian teachers in Campinas region (quantitative dimension) and on an interview to six Portuguese teachers and six Brazilian teachers (qualitative dimension). The results point to similarities between teachers from Portugal and Brazil, but also to some differences. Technology potential is recognized by teacher from both countries, however teachers from Brazil tend to assume a more traditional use of technology, based on showing and more teacher-centered. This difference can be related to the Portuguese curriculum, valuing a relevant use of technology for more than three decades.

Industrial robots are increasingly integrated into manufacturing workspaces, leading to significant changes in work design and altering workers’ framing of work and technology. Even without anthropomorphic design or autonomous features, employees may treat industrial robots as more than mere tools, attributing human-like qualities to them. Yet, prior research typically considers technology either as a tool or as an occasion for altering work relationships between humans, overlooking how relationships with technology itself are crafted. Drawing on 133 interviews across multiple organizations—including robot users, robot producers, and solution providers, we show that mind perceptions (attributions of agency and experience to industrial robots) catalyze relational job crafting with robots. We identify four co-evolving practices—crafting responsibilities, crafting hierarchies, crafting collaboration, and crafting emotional connection—that help workers regain control and regulate daily stress levels, thereby linking relational crafting to both performance and well-being outcomes. Our study extends relational job crafting theory by theorizing mind perceptions as the trigger of human-robot relationality and shifts attention from agentic/anthropomorphic design of technologies to workers’ perceptions of these technologies as core drivers of human-robot-interaction and technology adoption in organizations.

A problem that has been studied for a long time in Vegetation Science consists in finding distinct groups among a collection of vegetation samples (relevés). Recently a criterion has been proposed to capture the patterns of differential species among the groups from any arbitrary M-cluster of relevés. The criterion optimization is quite complex (NP-hard) as it implies searching a huge set of possible combinations of relevés into M groups. In this paper we give an integer linear programming formulation to optimize the criterion for M=2, that can be used to solve moderately-sized data problems; we also describe a greedy randomized adaptive search procedure and a simulated annealing algorithm for arbitrary M. We combined these different approaches and prepared a collection of software functions, which are available in the open-source R package diffval. We illustrate the use of such functions using real-world data.

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Dyrosauridae are one of the few clades of large marine vertebrates that survived the Cretaceous/Palaeogene (K–Pg) extinction event. The early diversification of this clade, dated to the Cretaceous, is still poorly understood. We describe a new specimen of Dyrosauridae from the Late Cretaceous of Bentiaba, Angola, represented by a posterior portion of the skull, a left ectopterygoid fragment, and a tooth. Comparative morphological analysis reveals a unique combination of characters distinguishing it from known dyrosaurid taxa but due to the fragmentary nature of the specimen and the absence of key diagnostic features, we assign it to Hyposaurinae indet.. Phylogenetic relationships were tested through maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference, using the SFBD model with time-binning criteria for the K–Pg boundary. Both of our phylogenetic analyses recover this new specimen as Hyposaurinae, which is consistent with our comparative study. Evolutionary rates accelerated during the latest stages of the Cretaceous, although the fossil bias prevents the ability to appreciate their impact on cladogenetic events. We estimated diversification, fossilization, and extinction rates, and we did not find evidence of radiation after the K–Pg in this clade. Biogeographically, this discovery supports hypotheses of longirostrine crocodyliform dispersal in Africa leading to hyposaurine diversification during the Maastrichtian.

In this paper we address a wireless network design problem on a railway line. Given a finite set of locations along a railway line and different types of communication antennas that can be installed at each of these locations, which locations and which type of antenna should be selected to ensure a certain level of signal coverage along the railway line while minimizing construction costs? We formulate the problem as a 0/1 linear optimization model, prove that the problem is NP-hard, and report computational experiments using real and simulated data. The computational tests showed that the model is capable of solving the problem for railway lines longer than any existing real railway lines.

The European Metal sector is at a critical juncture, navigating through the complex landscape of the twin transition towards digitalization and sustainability. This transformative journey, though essential, is fraught with challenges that if not addressed, could undermine the sector's resilience, competitiveness and social equity. The Metallica project emerges as a pivotal initiative in this context, aiming to mitigate these challenges by fostering enhanced worker engagement, participation and conflict resolution.

The European Metal sector is at a critical juncture, navigating through the complex landscape of the twin transition towards digitalization and sustainability. This transformative journey, though essential, is fraught with challenges that if not addressed, could undermine the sector's resilience, competitiveness and social equity. The Metallica project emerges as a pivotal initiative in this context, aiming to mitigate these challenges by fostering enhanced worker engagement, participation and conflict resolution.

Although the Portuguese industry is often considered semi-peripheral within the European context. This classification stems from Portugal's position in the global and European economic systems. However, the Portuguese automotive industry is a significant sector within the European automotive landscape. Portugal’s industrial sector is heavily integrated into European supply chains, particularly in industries like automotive, textiles, and electronics. However, it often relies on core European countries (e.g., Germany, France) for advanced technology, capital, and market access. This is also the case for the Portuguese automotive.

The potential of STE(A)M has been widely recognised in recent years; however, challenges have also been identified in the implementation of this approach, making it important to deepen research into teachers’ practices. In this study, we conducted a systematic review focused on teaching practices within a STE(A)M approach, to understand what challenges and limitations teachers encounter, as well as the possibilities authors suggest to overcome them. The research question is: What are the challenges and potentialities of implementing the STE(A)M approach in teachers’ practices? This review analysed articles indexed in the Web of Science and Scopus databases over the last eight years, following the PRISMA scheme. The 26 articles examined highlight challenges such as time management, lack of resources and funding, limited guidance, gaps in teacher training, difficulty integrating subject areas, issues implementing new technologies and obstacles imposed by school structures. In light of these, the following proposals were suggested: placing greater emphasis on STE(A)M in initial and continuing teacher education, increasing support from schools and government bodies, encouraging collaborative work between teachers from different areas, adopting innovative strategies and methodologies and offering a clearer conceptualisation of STE(A)M.

The digitalisation of logistics and assembly lines in the Portuguese automotive sector is reshaping manufacturing processes, work organisation and competence requirements. The research aims to assess the challenges and opportunities associated with these technological changes and their impact on workforce skills and organisational structures. Findings suggest that digitalisation is progressing unevenly across logistics and production, with logistics leading in automation while production struggles with legacy systems and high costs. The shift to alternative engines supports digitalisation, but significant workforce skill gaps in AI and digital systems remain a challenge. Companies are implementing internal training, yet outdated vocational programs fail to address Industry 4.0 needs. Rather than full automation, digitalisation is fostering new human-machine collaboration, requiring cooperation between AI specialists, managers, and workers. To ensure success, policymakers and industry leaders must prioritise workforce reskilling and align digital strategies with labour market realities.

The Upper Jurassic beds of the Lusitanian Basin in central Portugal yield diverse dinosaurian fauna, dated to the Kimmeridgian–Tithonian interval. Saurischian dinosaurs are, overall, more abundant than their ornithischian counterparts, in terms of both specimens collected and species recognized. Iguanodontians are so far represented by the styracosternan Draconyx loureiroi, the dryosaurid Eousdryosaurus nanohallucis and the enigmatic dryomorphan Hesperonyx martinhotomasorum. Here we aim to highlight the diversity of this clade in the Late Jurassic of Portugal, presenting evidence for yet another species of ankylopollexian iguanodontian dinosaur, represented by the specimen SHN.JJS.015, which is housed at the Sociedade de História Natural, Torres Vedras. Detailed comparisons rule out attribution to previously known taxa, and phylogenetic analyses that include SHN.JJS.015 indicate early-diverging ankylopollexian affinities for this specimen. As there is no robust diagnosis, we do not erect a new formal species for it at this stage. Nevertheless, this specimen represents a previously unreported taxon that highlights greater diversity than previously estimated among the iguanodontians of the Late Jurassic and highlights the importance of Europe in diversification and dispersal events of this clade. A series of smaller, isolated femora from the same sub-basin as SHN.JJS.015 may represent the same taxon, presenting evidence of thriving communities of ankylopollexians during the Kimmeridgian–Tithonian interval in Portugal.

The process of industrialization – as a sustained trend in history and developing new socio-economic concepts – presuposes higher rates of growth of the economy and a structural change. It is on this basis diverse concepts of industrial revolutions have been accepted. These concepts have been coherent to reveal singular developments. Recently, the accepted concept of Industry 4.0 (i4.0) has shown some limitations regarding the need to develop automation technology in an anthropocentric orientation. This is why Industry 5.0 has two orientations: either the experiences that adopt this concept seek solutions to adapt the human factor to the features of the technology or, knowing the social and organizational requirements, look for solutions to develop this technology in accordance with these requirements. The debate is still developing. There is not yet conceptual maturity to propose a new topic that would be based in a new eventual structural change observed like a possible “Industry 6.0” era. Most arguments for an Industry 6.0 are still those which have been discussed for Industry 4.0, since they are mostly based on eventual not yet ready developments of technology. That is why we should continue the debate on the late developments of industrialization and its social and economic conditions.