Digital literacy, technology and social inclusion: making sense of one-to-one computer programmes around the world

This book was produced in the scope of a research project entitled “Navigating with ‘Magalhães’: Study on the Impact of Digital Media in Schoolchildren”. This study was conducted between May 2010 and May 2013 at the Communication and Society Research Centre, University of Minho, Portugal and it was funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (PTDC/CCI-COM/101381/2008).

Introduction [to Digital literacy, technology and social inclusion: making sense of one-to-one computer programmes around the world]

This book was produced in the scope of a research project entitled “Navigating with ‘Magalhães’: Study on the Impact of Digital Media in Schoolchildren”. This study was conducted between May 2010 and May 2013 at the Communication and Society Research Centre, University of Minho, Portugal and it was funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (PTDC/CCI-COM/101381/2008). As we shall explain in more detail later in this book, the main objective of that research project was to analyse the impact of the Portuguese government programme named ´e-escolinha´ launched in 2008 within the Technological Plan for Education. This Plan responds to the principles of the Lisbon Strategy signed in 2000 and rereleased in the Spring European Council of 2005.

Foreword [to Digital literacy, technology and social inclusion: making sense of one-to-one computer programmes around the world]

(Excerto) In times past, learning to read, write and do arithmetic was to get on course to earn the “writ of emancipation” in society. These skills are still essential today, but are not enough to live in society. Reading and critically understanding the world we live in, with all its complexity, difficulties and challenges, require not only other skills (learning to search for and validate information, reading with new codes and grammar, etc) but, to a certain extent, also metaskills, matrixes and mechanisms that are transversal to the different and new literacies, are necessary. They are needed not just to interpret but equally to communicate and participate in the little worlds that make up our everyday activities as well as, in a broader sense, in the world of the polis, which today is a global world.

HLT Hilotec: self-building manual for sustainable housing

The future of the construction industry will require changes at many levels. One is the ability of companies to adapt to new challenges, converting needs to opportunities and simultaneously contributing to the solving of social and environmental problems. In the coming decades we will see a change in attitude in the industry, with a strong tendency to adopt natural and recycled materials, as well as bet on green technology and social innovation oriented to emerging countries. On the other hand, emerging countries have a high demand for housing construction on a large scale, but the current techniques in the developed countries for building requires a large amount of natural resources and skilled labor. This contextualization brings sustainability problems for the construction sector in emerging countries, often with scarce natural resources and with the construction sector underdeveloped. Through a cooperative action between the construction company Mota-Engil Engineering and the University of Minho in Portugal, a construction technology was developed based on the use of Compressed Earth Blocks as part of a social concept for innovative small houses, favoring the adoption of local and natural materials and with the main premise of being dedicated to self-construction. The HiLoTec project - Development of a Sustainable Self-Construction System for Developing Countries was based on this idea. One of the several results of this project is this construction manual. To Mota-Engil the project was a platform for incubation of knowledge about earth construction and to obtain a constructive solution validated technically and scientifically, suitable to be implemented in the markets where it operates. For the University of Minho the project was an opportunity to strengthen skills in research, laboratory and scientific development, through the development of engineering studies, architecture and sustainability, as well as supporting the doctoral scholarships and dissemination of scientific publications. May the knowledge of this project be of benefit, in the future, for the welfare of those who build a HiLoTec house.

Enhancement of adhesion and promotion of osteogenic differentiation of human adipose stem cells by poled electroactive poly(vinylidene fluoride)

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) is a biocompatible material with excellent electroactive properties. Non-electroactive α-PVDF and electroactive β-PVDF were used to investigate the substrate polarization and polarity influence on the focal adhesion size and number as well as on human adipose stem cells (hASCs) differentiation. hASCs were cultured on different PVDF surfaces adsorbed with fibronectin and focal adhesion size and number, total adhesion area, cell size, cell aspect ratio and focal adhesion density were estimated using cells expressing EGFP-vinculin. Osteogenic differentiation was also determined using a quantitative alkaline phosphatase assay. The surface charge of the poled PVDF films (positive or negative) influenced the hydrophobicity of the samples, leading to variations in the conformation of adsorbed extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, which ultimately modulated the stem cell adhesion on the films and induced their osteogenic differentiation.

Innovation in “low-tech” industries: Portuguese footwear industry

ICEIM – International Conference in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, Roma, 17-18 de setembro de 2015.

Analise técnico-funcional da parede WoodenQuark

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Civil

Construção de uma cultura de projeto numa comunidade de aprendizagem através do projeto curricular integrado

Dissertação de mestrado em Estudos da Criança (área de especialização em Integração Curricular e Inovação Educativa)