O espaço do lazer infantil e as suas cores, formas e texturas

Given the high significance of playing on achildren's life, the existence of spaces for the same becomes essential. However, there are elements that should not be overlooked during its conception. In order for the space to become of the child, he must establish with it three relationships: with the space, with the objects in the room and with the other children. This article describes a part of the first empirical phase of an investigation. This phase of the project observed 14 children's play areas inserted in different environments, from the point of view of one of the main visual elements of design: colour. The aim is to understand which colours are the most used in the spaces and how the colour combination is performed. Thus, by crossing the observed colours and their meaning it is possible to determine what kind of space environments are intended to be created.

Avaliação de vigas de madeira de Castanho tendo por base a classificação visual e ensaios não destrutivos

Dissertação de mestrado Internacional em Sustentabilidade do Ambiente Construído

A comunicação online: a página Web como o BIO Empresarial: estratégias de comunicação visual e web design

Dissertação de mestrado em Ciências da Comunicação (área de especialização em Audiovisuais e Multimédia)

Implementation of a probabilistic based framework for safety assessment of existing timber elements

The assessment of existing timber structures is often limited to information obtained from non or semi destructive testing, as mechanical testing is in many cases not possible due to its destructive nature. Therefore, the available data provides only an indirect measurement of the reference mechanical properties of timber elements, often obtained through empirical based correlations. Moreover, the data must result from the combination of different tests, as to provide a reliable source of information for a structural analysis. Even if general guidelines are available for each typology of testing, there is still a need for a global methodology allowing to combine information from different sources and infer upon that information in a decision process. In this scope, the present work presents the implementation of a probabilistic based framework for safety assessment of existing timber elements. This methodology combines information gathered in different scales and follows a probabilistic framework allowing for the structural assessment of existing timber elements with possibility of inference and updating of its mechanical properties, through Bayesian methods. The probabilistic based framework is based in four main steps: (i) scale of information; (ii) measurement data; (iii) probability assignment; and (iv) structural analysis. In this work, the proposed methodology is implemented in a case study. Data was obtained through a multi-scale experimental campaign made to old chestnut timber beams accounting correlations of non and semi-destructive tests with mechanical properties. Finally, different inference scenarios are discussed aiming at the characterization of the safety level of the elements.

Detection of road accident accumulation zones with a visual analytics approach

Nowadays, road accidents are a major public health problem, which increase is forecasted if road safety is not treated properly, dying about 1.2 million people every year around the globe. In 2012, Portugal recorded 573 fatalities in road accidents, on site, revealing the largest decreasing of the European Union for 2011, along with Denmark. Beyond the impact caused by fatalities, it was calculated that the economic and social costs of road accidents weighted about 1.17% of the Portuguese gross domestic product in 2010. Visual Analytics allows the combination of data analysis techniques with interactive visualizations, which facilitates the process of knowledge discovery in sets of large and complex data, while the Geovisual Analytics facilitates the exploration of space-time data through maps with different variables and parameters that are under analysis. In Portugal, the identification of road accident accumulation zones, in this work named black spots, has been restricted to annual fixed windows. In this work, it is presented a dynamic approach based on Visual Analytics techniques that is able to identify the displacement of black spots on sliding windows of 12 months. Moreover, with the use of different parameterizations in the formula usually used to detect black spots, it is possible to identify zones that are almost becoming black spots. Through the proposed visualizations, the study and identification of countermeasures to this social and economic problem can gain new grounds and thus the decision- making process is supported and improved.

Thin panels of cement composites reinforced with recycled fibres for the shear strengthening of reinforced concrete elements

A new technique was developed for producing thin panels of a cement based material reinforced with relatively high content of steel fibres originated from the industry of tyre recycling. Flexural tests with notched and un-notched specimens were carried out to characterize the mechanical properties of this Fibre Reinforced Cement Composite (FRCC) and the results are presented and discussed. The values of the fracture mode I parameters of the developed FRCC were determined by performing inverse analysis with test results obtained in three point notched beam bending tests. To appraise the potentialities of these FRCC panels for the increase of the shear capacity of reinforced (RC) beams, numerical research was performed on the use of developed FRCC panel for shear reinforcement by applying the panels in the lateral faces of RC beams deficiently reinforced in shear.

Investigating the durability of FRP-masonry elements immersed in water

Nowadays, there is an increasing interest in using fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) for strengthening masonry elements. It has been observed that these materials, when used for externally bonded reinforcement (EBR), improve the performance of masonry components. However, issues such as durability and long-term performance of strengthened elements are still open. The bond between composite material and masonry substrate is a critical mechanism in EBR strengthening techniques, and therefore its durability and long-term performance should be deeply investigated and characterized. In the present study, the influence of water immersion on the bond performance is investigated by performing single-lap shear bond tests on two sets of GFRP-strengthened specimens immersed in water for six months. Different surface preparation techniques are used for each set of specimens to study their effect on the bond degradation. The specimens are prepared following the wet lay-up procedure. The observations and the obtained results are presented and discussed.

Automatic visual detection of human behavior: a review from 2000 to 2014

Due to advances in information technology (e.g., digital video cameras, ubiquitous sensors), the automatic detection of human behaviors from video is a very recent research topic. In this paper, we perform a systematic and recent literature review on this topic, from 2000 to 2014, covering a selection of 193 papers that were searched from six major scientific publishers. The selected papers were classified into three main subjects: detection techniques, datasets and applications. The detection techniques were divided into four categories (initialization, tracking, pose estimation and recognition). The list of datasets includes eight examples (e.g., Hollywood action). Finally, several application areas were identified, including human detection, abnormal activity detection, action recognition, player modeling and pedestrian detection. Our analysis provides a road map to guide future research for designing automatic visual human behavior detection systems.

Ilustração de livros de literatura infantojuvenil em Portugal [2000-2009]: tipificação, tendências e padrões de recetividade do público-alvo

Tese de Doutoramento em Estudos da Criança (área de especialização em Comunicação Visual e Expressão Plástica)

Light-distortion analysis as a possible indicator of visual quality after refractive lens exchange with diffractive multifocal intraocular lenses

METHODS: Refractive lens exchange was performed with implantation of an AT Lisa 839M (trifocal) or 909MP (bifocal toric) IOL, the latter if corneal astigmatism was more than 0.75 diopter (D). The postoperative visual and refractive outcomes were evaluated. A prototype light-distortion analyzer was used to quantify the postoperative light-distortion indices. A control group of eyes in which a Tecnis ZCB00 1-piece monofocal IOL was implanted had the same examinations. RESULTS: A trifocal or bifocal toric IOL was implanted in 66 eyes. The control IOL was implanted in 18 eyes. All 3 groups obtained a significant improvement in uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA) (P < .001) and corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) (P Z .001). The mean uncorrected near visual acuity (UNVA) was 0.123 logMAR with the trifocal IOL and 0.130 logMAR with the bifocal toric IOL. The residual refractive cylinder was less than 1.00 D in 86.7% of cases with the toric IOL. The mean light-distortion index was significantly higher in the multifocal IOL groups than in the monofocal group (P < .001), although no correlation was found between the light-distortion index and CDVA. CONCLUSIONS: The multifocal IOLs provided excellent UDVA and functional UNVA despite increased light-distortion indices. The light-distortion analyzer reliably quantified a subjective component of vision distinct from visual acuity; it may become a useful adjunct in the evaluation of visual quality obtained with multifocal IOLs.

Análise e melhoria da produtividade numa empresa do sector de componentes de automóveis

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia e Gestão Industrial

Cognitive rehabilitation in a visual variant of Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is commonly associated with marked memory deficits; however, nonamnestic variants have been consistently described as well. Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is a progressive degenerative condition in which posterior regions of the brain are predominantly affected, therefore resulting in a pattern of distinctive and marked visuospatial symptoms, such as apraxia, alexia, and spatial neglect. Despite the growing number of studies on cognitive and neural bases of the visual variant of AD, intervention studies remain relatively sparse. Current pharmacological treatments offer modest efficacy. Also, there is a scarcity of complementary nonpharmacological interventions with only two previous studies of PCA. Here we describe a highly educated 57-year-old patient diagnosed with a visual variant of AD who participated in a cognitive intervention program (comprising reality orientation, cognitive stimulation, and cognitive training exercises). Neuropsychological assessment was performed across moments (baseline, postintervention, follow-up) and consisted mainly of verbal and visual memory. Baseline neuropsychological assessment showed deficits in perceptive and visual-constructive abilities, learning and memory, and temporal orientation. After neuropsychological rehabilitation, we observed small improvements in the patient's cognitive functioning, namely in verbal memory, attention, and psychomotor abilities. This study shows evidence of small beneficial effects of cognitive intervention in PCA and is the first report of this approach with a highly educated patient in a moderate stage of the disease. Controlled studies are needed to assess the potential efficacy of cognition-focused approaches in these patients, and, if relevant, to grant their availability as a complementary therapy to pharmacological treatment and visual aids.

Visual search for normal color and dichromatic observers using a unique distracter color

It is well known that color coding facilitates search and iden- tification in real-life tasks. The aim of this work was to compare reac- tion times for normal color and dichromatic observers in a visual search experiment. A unique distracter color was used to avoid abnormal color vision vulnerability to background complexity. Reaction times for nor- mal color observers and dichromats were estimated for 2◦ central vision at 48 directions around a white point in CIE L∗a∗b∗ color space for systematic examination on the mechanisms of dichromatic color percep- tion. The results show that mean search times for dichromats were twice larger compared to the normal color observers and for all directions. The difference between the copunctual confusion lines and the confusion direction measure experimentally was 5.5◦ for protanopes and 7.5◦ for deuteranopes.

Controlo de qualidade e inspeção visual por imagem: definição de uma aplicação para registo de alterações e avaliação de desempenho

Dissertação de mestrado em Engenharia e Gestão da Qualidade

O impacto do ponto de venda da marca de calçado nacional Eureka no comportamento do consumidor

Dissertação de mestrado em Design de Comunicação de Moda